Our process
How we rebuild a stairlift
Reconditioned doesn't have to mean second-rate. Here's the six-step process every reconditioned lift goes through before it lands in your home.
- 1
Collection
We collect every used stairlift personally — no skip finds, no auction stock.
- 2
Strip down
The seat motor is fully stripped to its component parts; the rail is recycled (every reconditioned lift gets a new rail).
- 3
Inspection
Motor, gearbox, PCB and brake are bench-tested against manufacturer spec.
- 4
Parts replacement
Batteries, brake pads, drive belt, charge points and upholstery are always replaced.
- 5
Rebuild & test
Reassembled, run through a 200-cycle test rig, then signed off by a senior engineer.
- 6
Fitted with a new rail
Installed in your home on a brand-new rail cut to your staircase. Warranty starts on install day.
Always replaced
- Batteries (pair)
- Brake pads
- Drive belt
- Charge-point contacts
- Seat upholstery
- Safety-sensor switches
Why reconditioned, done properly, is as good as new
Reconditioning a stairlift means taking the seat-and-motor unit completely apart, replacing every part that wears, and putting it back together to a bench-test standard before it goes anywhere near your home. The parts we always replace as standard — batteries, brake pads, drive belt, charge-point contacts, seat upholstery and safety microswitches — are the parts that fail in service. Anything that survives bench testing against manufacturer spec stays; anything that doesn't gets replaced before reassembly.
Every rebuilt unit then goes through a 200-cycle test on our workshop rig — up and down a full-length rail, under load, with sensor and brake-out tests at the end of each travel. Only units that pass go on the van.
The single most important thing to understand: the rail is always brand new. Reconditioned applies only to the seat motor unit. The rail itself is cut from new stock to your exact staircase, with new brackets, new charge points and new fixings. That's why a reconditioned straight lift at £995 isn't a compromise on safety — it's a compromise on the age of the motor, which we've already rebuilt to spec. The full reconditioned vs new comparison covers warranty differences and when new is worth the extra outlay.
What you get with the reconditioned route: a 12-month parts-and-labour warranty (extendable with an annual service plan), the same install team and the same aftercare. What you don't get versus new: the two-year manufacturer warranty and the absolute latest motor revision. For most straight Salford staircases, that's a trade-off worth making.