How to Inspect a Used Scissor Lift Before You Buy (15-Point Pre-Purchase Checklist)

You’re at the auction site, the dealer lot, or the seller’s yard. You’ve found a used scissor lift in your price range and you’ve got 30 minutes to figure out if it’s worth buying.

This guide walks through the 15-point inspection that experienced refurb buyers run on every used unit. We’ve inspected thousands of these in our shop in Addison, IL. Here’s what to look at, in order, and what to walk away from.

Skip the inspection — buy refurbished from us instead | [Call 773-790-7299]

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Before you start — paperwork and history

The first three items aren’t physical inspection. They’re documentation. If you can’t get clean answers on these, walk before you even open the toolkit.

1. Verify the serial number against the manufacturer database

Genie and Skyjack both have free serial-number lookup. The serial tag is on the chassis (varies by model — usually near the platform pivot or on the drive frame). Confirm:

• The unit is what the seller says it is (year, model, original equipment)
• It’s not flagged for safety recall
• It’s not stolen (the manufacturer can flag this)

If the serial tag is missing or scratched off, walk. That’s a stolen-goods red flag.

2. Get the maintenance log

Real units have logs — when service was performed, what was done, by whom. Auction sellers often don’t have logs, which means you’re buying blind on history.

Without a maintenance log, assume the worst case on every other inspection point and price accordingly.

3. Check the last ANSI/OSHA inspection

OSHA 29 CFR 1926.453 requires annual aerial work platform inspection. The certificate should be:

• Dated within the past 12 months
• Signed by a qualified service technician
• Specific to the unit’s serial number

If it’s expired or missing, you’ll need to pay for a fresh one ($225–$350) before the lift is safe to use commercially.

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Walk-around — exterior

Now the physical inspection. Allow 20–30 minutes for this.

4. Hydraulic hoses, cylinders, and fittings

Look for:

• Oil weep at any cylinder seal. A small bead is normal; running drips are not.
• Cracked or chafed hoses. Especially where they bend over the scissor stack.
• Rust or corrosion on cylinder rods (you’ll see staining when extended)
• Loose fittings — any tool-tight connection that’s actually finger-loose

A unit with weeping seals will run, but you’re looking at $300–$1,500 in seal kits and labor to make it right.

5. Wheels, tires, and bearings

For indoor use, tires must be non-marking compound. Black rubber tires that scuff a finished floor disqualify the unit for indoor work — that’s a $400–$600 tire replacement before you can use it.

Other things to check:

• Tread depth — minimal tread is fine for indoor; needs more for outdoor slab use
• Cracking or dry rot in the rubber
• Wheel bearing play — grab the tire at top and bottom and rock it. Major play means bearing replacement.

6. Frame welds and damage

Walk around the entire chassis. Look for:

• Crack repair welds in load-bearing structure (especially around the scissor pivot points)
• Dents in the platform or guardrails that suggest the unit has been hit
• Missing or damaged decals (covers up scratches and dents)
• Body filler under the paint — tap with a coin; sounds different from steel

Any structural damage is grounds to walk. Cosmetic damage is acceptable if priced accordingly.

7. Pivot pins and scissor stack

The scissor pivot pins are wear items — Genie units especially have a known wear pattern at the lower pivot. Check by:

• Looking for excessive paint wear or shiny metal at the pivot points
• Asking the lift to lift slowly and watching for hesitation or chatter

Pivot pin replacement is part of any real refurbishment. On an auction unit, you may be doing it yourself.

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Battery and charger

8. Battery voltage and condition

For 24V flooded lead-acid (most common):

• Voltage at rest: should read 25.4V+ across the pack (each 6V cell at ~2.1V open-circuit). Below that, batteries are tired.
• Specific gravity (if you can pull caps): each cell should read 1.265+ when fully charged. Anything under 1.20 means the cell is shot.
• Visual — corrosion at terminals, cracked cases, dry cells visible through fill caps

Budget for new batteries on any used unit. $1,200–$1,800 installed for a 24V flooded set. Win Win includes new batteries on every Fully Refurbished unit.

9. Charger output cycle

Plug it in. Watch the charger cycle:

• Starts at high amps (bulk charge phase)
• Tapers down as batteries fill (absorption phase)
• Drops to maintenance current (float phase)

A charger that never tapers is dumping current and frying the batteries. A charger that immediately drops to float isn’t actually charging. Either way, charger replacement is $400–$800.

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Control box, emergency stop, and electrical

10. Control box function tests

At the platform controls:

• Joystick — full-range proportional control (not on/off behavior)
• Function switches — lift, drive, emergency lower
• Emergency stop — engages, fully stops all functions

At the ground controls:

• Emergency stop at ground level
• Lift / lower override
• Tilt indicator (if equipped)

Any non-functional control is a safety issue and a service appointment.

11. Wiring and harness condition

Pop the control-box cover. Look for:

• Chafed wires rubbing against frame edges
• Pinched wires at panel hinges
• Corrosion at terminals (green or white deposits)
• Aftermarket fixes — splicing, electrical tape over connections, mismatched wire colors

Skyjack’s SkyCoded numbered/colored wiring is service-friendly — every wire is labeled to a published convention. Genie’s wiring is not standardized in the same way; troubleshooting takes longer.

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Drive test

12. Drive function under power

Walk it through full motion:

• Forward drive — proportional control through the joystick
• Reverse — same
• Steering — both directions, full lock to full lock, with no excessive play
• Brakes — engage when joystick returns to center; lift should stop within a few inches

Any uneven brake engagement, drive hesitation, or steering slop is a red flag.

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Lift function under load

13. Full extension under rated capacity

Load the platform to rated capacity (or as close as you can safely get). Then:

• Lift to full extension — should be smooth, no hesitation, no chatter
• Time the lift cycle — should match manufacturer spec within ~10%. (GS-1930 spec is ~22 seconds; SJIII3219 is ~25.)
• Confirm pothole protection deploys at platform height (the metal flaps drop when raised — keeps the chassis from tipping into a pothole)
• Test tilt sensor — manually tilt the platform on a slope (3°+) and confirm the alarm + lift cutoff fires

A unit that won’t reach full extension under load has a hydraulic or scissor-stack issue.

14. Slope alarm and tilt cutoff

ANSI A92.20 requires both. Test by:

• Driving the lift onto a slope (3° or more)
• Confirming the audible alarm fires
• Confirming the lift function cuts off (or restricts to lowering only)

A non-functional tilt system is a hard fail. Don’t buy.

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Platform, gate, and guardrails

15. ANSI A92.20 compliance

The platform itself has specific requirements:

• Guardrail height — 39″ minimum from platform deck
• Mid-rail — between platform and top rail
• Toe boards — present, undamaged, ~4″ tall
• Self-closing gate — closes on its own when you let go
• Self-latching gate — engages without you having to pull the latch
• Platform extension lock pins — engage when extension is deployed

Any failure here is a code violation. The lift cannot legally be used commercially until corrected.

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Common red flags by brand

Genie GS series:

• Pivot pin wear at the lower scissor mount (5-generation+ units especially)
• Function-switch failures on mid-2010s upper control panels
• Hydraulic cylinder seal weep on older 5-generation units

Skyjack SJIII series:

• Drive motor brushes on high-hour units
• Tilt sensor calibration drift on older units
• Charger output relay aging on units that sat idle in storage

JLG E-series boom lifts:

• Hydraulic seal aging at the boom lift cylinders
• Articulating jib pivot wear

These aren’t deal-breakers — they’re predictable wear items. Just budget for them.

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Should you bring an inspector?

For purchases over ~$10,000, bringing a qualified service technician costs $150–$300 and can save you thousands. They’ll catch things you’ll miss — bearing play in the drive system, hidden frame repairs, electrical issues that only show under load.

If you’re buying from a real refurb dealer (like Win Win), the inspection is already done and documented. If you’re buying at auction or from a private seller, hiring a technician for an hour is one of the smartest moves in the process.

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The honest alternative — buy from a refurb specialist

This whole inspection process is exactly what we do on every unit before we sell it. Win Win’s Fully Serviced and Fully Refurbished tiers come with:

• Complete ANSI/OSHA inspection certified by a qualified technician
• Photos of every step of the work
• Same-day video walk-around if you can’t visit in person
• A unit you can come see in our Addison, IL shop
• Service guarantee on rebuilt components

Skip the auction risk. We’ve already inspected the lift.

See current refurbished inventory →

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Frequently asked questions

How long does a thorough used-scissor-lift inspection take?
30 minutes if you know what you’re doing. An hour if it’s your first time.

What tools do I need for the inspection?
Multimeter, hydrometer (if checking flooded battery cells), torque wrench, flashlight, inspection mirror. A coin for the body-filler tap test.

Can I do the inspection from photos and video?
Partial. Video can show drive, lift, brake function and surface condition. It can’t show frame integrity, pivot wear, or hydraulic weep — those need eyes on the unit.

What if the seller refuses to let me run the lift through full motion?
Walk. A real seller will let you operate the lift before purchase.

How is buying refurbished different from buying used at auction?
Auction = you do the inspection yourself, you take all the risk. Refurbished from a real dealer = the inspection is done, documented, and warrantied.

Should I buy a unit that fails one or two checklist items?
Depends on the items and the price. Cosmetic + non-safety = negotiate the price down. Safety items (tilt sensor, brakes, structural) = walk.

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Get a quote on a pre-inspected unit

We’ve done the inspection. Come see the lift, get the documentation, get it shipped to your zip code in an enclosed trailer.

[Call 773-790-7299] [Email Win Win Equipment] Get a quote →

— Win Win Equipment

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Related pages

• Refurbished scissor lift buyer’s guide — pillar resource
• Scissor lift price guide — both tiers, all sizes
• Our refurbishment process — what we do on every unit
• ANSI/OSHA scissor lift inspection — annual inspection deep-dive
• All scissor lifts for sale
• Every model hub