Should You Repair or Replace a Faulty Trolley Jack?

Most trolley jacks are made to very high standards and should serve you well for years if looked after properly and serviced and maintained regularly - but it's inevitable that time will eventually take its toll on most jacks .

The old adage 'you get what you pay for' certainly applies with trolley jacks, so always buy one which has a good reputation for reliability and efficiency - don't be tempted to buy a cheap imported jack made from inferior materials.

A trolley jack will come with a warranty so if anything goes wrong with it during the period covered, you will be able to get it repaired or replaced free of charge.

If you've owned a floor jack for a few years and it has had plenty of use, a time will eventually come when its performance diminishes and parts of the device may start to fail. 

If the jack is out of warranty - which it probably will be - you will need to take the decision of whether to get your device repaired to simply replace it.

If your jack is a budget device which cost around £20 to £50 it may be best to cut your losses and invest in a new one. The cost of getting a cheap jack repaired would probably outweigh the expense of buying another budget jack. It may even be prudent to consider upgrading to a better quality jack with higher specifications and features. This is likely to last much longer than your original jack.

If your defective current jack is a mid to high price device it may be that getting it repaired is a more economical solution.

Many people who regularly carry out work on their own cars are keen to initially try to fix things rather than replace them. After all, few of us have money to throw away - so attempting to repair a faulty or malfunctioning jack, or even getting someone more experienced to do it for you, is worthy of consideration. 

However, you need to be sure that your jack is capable of being repaired to full working order - you don't want to get by with a patched up jack that may not hit the mark where safety is concerned. 

Admittedly it will be less of a safety concern if a jack fails when you always axle stands carefully placed under your vehicle, but nevertheless it isn't wise to continue owning a jack that is an accident waiting to happen.

Replacement parts for most makes of jack are available to buy online so there's a good chance you'll be able to find what you need. It you are keen to fix rather than ditch your defective jack you will need to add up the costs of the parts and the labour cost for the repair if you don't feel up to undertaking the repair work yourself.

A good starting point when you need to get hold of spares or replacement parts is to the contact the company you originally bought your jack from. Hopefully they will still be in business. If you still have the manual that came with your jack there will almost certainly be information in it relating to buying replacement parts.

There are also plenty of online forums offering advice about repairing jacks and other motoring accessories. These allow you to post a question about the problem you are having with your jack and other forum members may be able to offer advice.

If you do need new parts, members of a forum may be able to suggest where you can buy them from. It's also a good idea to take photos of the problem area on your jack so others can take a look and offer advice.