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title: "Why Choose Us vs a National Stairlift Chain"
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[S Salford Stairlifts Family-run · BHTA ](/)

[Products](/products)[Locations](/locations)[Services](/services)[Guides](/guides)[Reviews](/reviews)[About](/about)

[07897 037526](tel:07897037526)[Free survey](/free-quote)

[Products](/products)[Locations](/locations)[Services](/services)[Guides](/guides)[Reviews](/reviews)[About](/about)[Book a free survey](/free-quote)

-   Family-run · Local, 10+ years 
-   Same-week install · Most straight lifts 
-   12-month warranty · On every fit 

Why choose us

# Local vs national — the honest comparison

No marketing spin. Here's how we compare to the larger national stairlift chains on the things that actually matter.

1.  [Home](/)
2.  Why choose us 

Point

Salford Stairlifts

Typical national chain

Local ownership

Family-run from Salford 

Owned by national group 

Sales model

Salaried surveyors, no commission 

Commission-based salespeople 

Typical install timeline

Same week for straight lifts 

1–2 weeks 

Reconditioned curved

Bespoke quote after survey 

From £3,500+ installed 

New straight stairlift

From £1,995 installed 

£2,500–£3,500 

Who answers the phone at 9pm

An on-call engineer 

An out-of-hours call centre 

Brand range

Independent — all major brands 

Often tied to one or two brands 

Free home survey

Yes — within 48 hours 

Usually yes 

## Where the price difference actually comes from

When two stairlift quotes for the same staircase come in £1,000 apart, it's almost never because one company is using a better lift. It's the cost of how the company is structured. National chains run TV advertising, regional sales offices, and commission-based salespeople who often take 10–15% of every job. Those costs have to be recovered somewhere — and they're recovered in the quote you get on your kitchen table.

A local family-run fitter has none of that. One yard in Salford, salaried surveyors, engineers on the payroll rather than subbed out, and almost all work coming from word of mouth and reviews. That's why our [reconditioned straight stairlifts](/products/reconditioned-straight) start at £995 installed and our [new straight models](/products/new-straight) at £1,995 — those are the same brands you'd be quoted £2,500–£3,500 for by the bigger chains.

The other thing that often gets lost is who looks after you afterwards. With a national chain, the engineer who fits the lift is rarely the engineer who comes back to repair it, and the after-hours number usually routes through an outsourced call centre. With us, the same engineer who fitted your lift is the one likely to [come back to repair it](/services/repairs), and the after-hours number is one of our own mobiles. That matters most when something goes wrong on a Sunday evening — which is, of course, when stairlifts always seem to break.

A few honest caveats. National chains do offer a couple of genuine advantages: same-week availability across the whole country, and slightly stronger manufacturer-backed extended warranties if you're prepared to pay for them. If you're moving house often, that portability can matter. For most Salford customers staying put, though, the trade-off lands in favour of local — see how much you'd save with our [reconditioned vs new breakdown](/guides/reconditioned-vs-new), or read about our [family business background](/about).

Salford Stairlifts

Family-run stairlift specialists. 10+ years fitting new, reconditioned and curved stairlifts across Salford and Greater Manchester.

-   [07897 037526](tel:07897037526)
-   [hello@salfordstairlifts.co.uk](mailto:hello@salfordstairlifts.co.uk)
-   3 Acton Square, Salford M5 4NY
-   Mon–Sat 8am–7pm · Emergency callouts 24/7

Stairlifts

[New straight](/products/new-straight)[Reconditioned straight](/products/reconditioned-straight)[Used](/products/used-second-hand)[New curved](/products/new-curved)[Reconditioned curved](/products/reconditioned-curved)[Narrow-stairs](/products/narrow-stairs)

Service areas

[Salford](/locations/salford)[Swinton](/locations/swinton)[Prestwich](/locations/prestwich)[Cheetham Hill](/locations/cheetham-hill)[Deansgate](/locations/deansgate)[Northern Quarter](/locations/northern-quarter)[Eccles](/locations/eccles)[Worsley](/locations/worsley)

Help

[Installation](/services/installation)[Repairs](/services/repairs)[Servicing](/services/servicing)[Removal](/services/removal)[Free survey](/services/free-home-survey)[FAQs](/faqs)[Contact](/contact)

© 2026 Salford Stairlifts. BHTA member. Postcodes served: M3, M5, M6, M7, M8, M25, M27, M28, M30, M44.

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[Call 07897 037526](tel:07897037526)[Free survey](/free-quote)