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Nearly every car hoist does the same basic job — lift a vehicle safely off the ground — yet there’s a surprising number of ways to achieve it. Most hoists fall into one of two families based on how they take the weight: frame-engaging hoists lift the vehicle by its chassis, while wheel-engaging hoists lift it by the tyres on a set of runways. Here’s how the main styles compare.
The most user-friendly option for many buyers. You simply drive on and park, which makes 4-post hoists a favourite in quick-service and exhaust shops, and hugely popular with home users. Because the load is shared across four columns, they generally offer higher capacities than a 2-post, and most don’t need to be bolted to the floor — some smaller models can even be made mobile with an optional castor kit. They’re also brilliant for storage, letting you stack two vehicles in a single space.
The trade-offs: they cost a little more thanks to the extra steel, and if you want to do wheel-off work you’ll usually add a rolling jacking beam to lift the wheels clear of the runways.
The workhorse of the professional workshop. Two sturdy posts and a set of swing arms lift the vehicle by its chassis, giving you completely clear access to the wheels and underbody. They take up less floor space than a 4-post and typically cost less, too.
2-post hoists come in symmetrical and asymmetrical configurations. On a symmetrical hoist the posts face each other directly and each arm carries roughly half the load. Asymmetrical hoists use rotated posts and arms of different lengths, shifting the vehicle back slightly for better door clearance — handy when you’re climbing in and out of the cabin with the car raised. For lighter vehicles the difference is minor; it matters most with longer, heavier or unbalanced vehicles.
They’re less common in home garages, mainly because they’re taller and need more care to position the vehicle on its correct chassis lifting points.
“Scissor” covers any hoist that raises the vehicle on a folding, accordion-style mechanism beneath the platforms. They come in a wide range of heights:
Their big advantage is a low, tidy profile — when lowered, many sit almost flush, so you can park over them at home. The trade-off is that you can’t walk fully underneath the vehicle the way you can with a 2-post, since the mechanism sits below the platforms.
If space is your main constraint, a portable hoist may be the answer. Options range from smaller 4-post hoists on castors through to purpose-built portable solutions like QuickJack. The key rule: never trade away the capacity you actually need for the sake of a smaller footprint — always confirm the hoist handles your heaviest vehicle first.
Long the standard for larger workshops that want a clear, uncluttered floor, in-ground hoists tuck neatly below the surface when not in use. They cost more to buy and install (the slab has to be cut and prepared), and older designs earned a reputation for hydraulic leaks. Modern sealed systems and environmentally safe fluids have largely resolved that, but there are environmental obligations worth checking for your site.
These are wheel-engaging hoists (usually 4-post or scissor) fitted with turnplates and slip plates built into the runways, so the wheels can pivot freely for wheel alignment work. If alignment is part of your business, this is the specification to look for.
The heavy-vehicle solution. Need to lift a truck or bus? Add more columns. Mobile column hoists work in matched sets — often wirelessly synchronised — to lift big, heavy vehicles by the wheels. They’re a commercial and industrial tool rather than something a home user would need.
Purely for storage, not service. A parking hoist lifts one vehicle on a full drive-on deck so another can park underneath — effectively turning one space into two. They’re not designed for working under a vehicle.
Your space, your vehicles and the work you do will quickly narrow the field. Once you’ve settled on a style, the next question is safety — because whatever you choose, you need to be able to trust it completely. See Car Hoist Safety and Compliance in Australia.
