A good jack is worth spending money on. I thought my Craftsman jack was pretty good until I got a Matco Beast jack.
Napa sells the exact same jack for like $259. Comes with a pair of stands. Low profile, serious capacity, , padded saddle, long handle for awesome leverage, and even a pad on the handle to protect the sheet metal.
Same jack sells from matco for a lot more money. Theres an article that discusses it here:
http://www.vorshlag.com/tech_jacks4.php about 2/3 of the way down the page (they're covering the Beast jack from Matco, but its the same thing). Sadly the prices have come up since the article was written, but everything else is the same.
Those cheap aluminum racing jacks are great for changing to slicks at the track, provided you only lift one side of the car at a time, but they suck for serious work. Can't get leverage, handle pushes back up saddle is small and doesnt' really "grab" the car.
I've had the Beast for 10 years, hauled it all over the country in an enclosed trailer (mine is sunfaded from time at the track) and its never let me down. Its a little more money than you'd spend otherwise, but you'll be glad you did.
Steve
