When should I ask these questions, before or after the site survey?

Ask the service, parts and reference questions at the first meeting, because they do not depend on your building. Ask the quote, timeline, warranty and payment questions after the site survey, when the company has measured the shaft, pit and headroom and can answer for your actual site.

What if a lift company refuses to answer in writing?

Treat it as an answer in itself. Anything that matters, such as the standard followed, the safety features, the warranty, the AMC price and the payment stages, should appear in the quotation or the order. A verbal promise is hard to rely on two years later.

Do the same questions apply to a home lift and a commercial lift?

Yes. The ten questions are the same for a home lift, an apartment passenger lift, a hospital lift or a goods lift. What changes is the weight you give each one. A hospital will care most about parts and night support; a family will care most about the survey, the rescue device and a company that explains things clearly.

How many companies should I put these questions to?

Three is usually enough. Give all three the same brief, including floors, capacity, door type and power backup, so that their answers and prices can be compared side by side.

Is a longer warranty always better?

Not on its own. Check what the warranty covers, when it starts, and whether free service visits continue through it. A shorter warranty with clear cover and regular visits can be worth more than a long one full of exclusions.

Who is responsible for lift registration, the owner or the lift company?

Under the state rules in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh the responsibility sits with the owner of the lift. A good lift company supports you with drawings, test records and technical details. Confirm the current forms and procedure with your local authority, because notifications can change.

10 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Lift (With Answers)

Key takeaways

Ask every company the same ten questions and write the answers down; differences show up quickly.
A good answer is specific: a town, a named person or team, a part make, a date, a document. A weak answer is a promise with no detail.
Service location and spare parts decide how your lift behaves in year five, long after the price is forgotten.
IS 17900, the scope of the quote, the warranty and the AMC price should all be in writing before you pay the advance.
Payment stages should follow visible progress at your site, with a part held back until testing and handover.
Visit at least one working lift the company installed and maintains, and talk to the person who calls them when it stops.

The most useful questions to ask before buying a lift are not about the cabin finish or even the price. They are about what happens after the sale. Ask where the service engineer is based, which spare parts are stocked, whether the lift meets IS 17900, what the quote includes, what the AMC will cost, who helps with registration, how long the job takes, which installations you can visit, what the warranty covers and how payments are staged.

Below are the ten questions, why each one matters and what a good answer sounds like. Use them with every company on your shortlist, whether you are buying a home lift for a family house in Sasaram or a passenger lift for an apartment block in Patna or Varanasi.

The 10 questions to ask before buying a lift: quick table

Keep this table open during the meeting. If an answer does not contain the item in the last column, ask again.

No.	Question	A good answer contains
1	Where is your nearest service engineer?	A town, own staff or contractor, a night number
2	Which spare parts do you stock?	Named parts, named makes, where they are kept
3	Is the lift supplied to IS 17900?	A written statement and a list of safety devices
4	What does the quote include and exclude?	A line-by-line scope and the owner's work
5	What are the AMC terms after warranty?	Price, type, visits and breakdown response
6	Will you help with registration?	The documents they will prepare
7	What is the timeline?	Stages with dates and what depends on you
8	Which installations can I visit?	Real sites, a few years old, near you
9	What does the warranty cover?	Period, start date, cover and exclusions
10	What are the payment stages?	Payments tied to milestones you can see

Questions about service after the sale

A lift is installed in weeks and maintained for decades. Start with the two questions that decide how those decades go.

1. Where is your nearest service engineer based?

Why it matters: when a lift stops with someone inside, distance is the only thing that counts. A company can have a fine product and still leave you waiting if its engineers travel from another state.

A good answer sounds like: "Your building will be looked after from our office in this town. The engineers are our own staff. This is the number that is answered at night and on holidays, and this is the person in charge of service."

Be careful if: the answer is "we cover all of Bihar and UP" with no town named, or if service is passed to a local contractor whose name you are not given. A sub-contractor is not automatically bad, but you should know who it is and meet them.

2. Which spare parts do you keep in stock, and can anyone else repair this lift?

Why it matters: the parts that fail most often are small: door rollers, sensors, contactors, push buttons, rescue-device batteries. Waiting days for a small part keeps a whole building on the stairs. The second half of the question is about lock-in. Some controllers can only be diagnosed with the maker's own tool, which ties you to one company for life.

A good answer sounds like: "We keep door parts, sensors, contactors and batteries locally. Controller boards and drives are ordered from the factory. The controller and drive are of this make, and here is what other trained technicians can and cannot do on it."

Be careful if: the company will not name the make of the controller, drive, machine or door operator. You cannot judge parts availability for something that has no name.

Questions about safety and the quote

3. Is this lift supplied to IS 17900, and how?

Why it matters: according to BIS, IS 17900 is the Indian lift safety standard harmonised with EN 81-20 and EN 81-50, and it became mandatory for new installations from 22 December 2025. It replaces older codes such as IS 14665 for traction lifts and IS 15259 for home lifts, and it places emphasis on UCMP (unintended car movement protection), ACOP (ascending car overspeed protection) and the ARD (automatic rescue device). Check the current notifications yourself as well.

A good answer sounds like: "Yes, and the quotation says so. Here is the list of safety devices on this lift, and here is how UCMP, ACOP and the rescue device are provided on this model."

Be careful if: you hear "all our lifts are as per standard" but the quote names no standard, or if the rescue device, light curtain or overload sensor appear only as paid extras.

4. What exactly does the quote include, and what is left to me?

Why it matters: two quotes with the same total can describe two different jobs. One may include automatic doors, a steel structure, scaffolding, transport and taxes. The other may leave them out. The owner's side also varies: pit waterproofing, shaft plastering, a hoisting hook or beam, three-phase supply to the top floor and earthing are often the owner's work.

A good answer sounds like: a written list of capacity, speed, stops, drive type, door type and size, cabin finish and safety features, followed by a second list titled "work by the owner" with drawings to match. Our guide to lift prices in India explains the hidden costs that most quotes leave out.

Be careful if: the quote is one page with one figure, or the price was given over the phone before anyone measured your site.

Questions about maintenance and paperwork

5. What are the AMC terms once the warranty ends?

Why it matters: once the lift is in your building, you have very little bargaining power. The time to fix the maintenance price is before you sign the supply order.

A good answer sounds like: "After warranty the comprehensive AMC is this amount per year and the non-comprehensive AMC is this amount. Both include this many preventive visits. This is what is excluded. This is our commitment for a trapped passenger and for a normal breakdown." If the terms are new to you, read comprehensive vs non-comprehensive lift AMC first.

Be careful if: the reply is "we will see at that time". Ask for the figure in the quotation, even if it is stated as valid for the first year after warranty only.

6. Will you help with registration and inspection papers?

Why it matters: the Uttar Pradesh Lifts and Escalators Act, 2024 requires registration of lifts and escalators and regular maintenance. In Bihar, the Bihar Lift and Escalator Bill, 2024, passed by the Assembly on 2 August 2024, covers registration, inspections, mandatory maintenance and third-party insurance. The duty rests with the owner, but the technical papers come from the lift company.

A good answer sounds like: "We will give you the layout drawings, the specification sheet, the test and commissioning report and our company details, and we will be present if an inspection is called." A careful company will also tell you to confirm the present procedure with the local authority, because rules and forms are still settling.

Be careful if: the company says registration "is not needed here" without explaining why.

Questions about delivery and proof

7. What is the timeline, stage by stage?

Why it matters: a single delivery date hides the fact that half the timeline belongs to you. The shaft, pit, power supply and machine-room or top-slab work must be ready before lift installation can begin.

A good answer sounds like: a short schedule: drawings by this date, your civil work checked by this date, material at site by this date, installation over these weeks, testing and handover after that. For a typical low-rise building the whole journey commonly takes two to four months from a confirmed order, and civil readiness is the biggest variable.

Be careful if: a very short date is promised with no mention of what you must finish first. Delays then become your fault on paper.

8. Which of your installations can I visit?

Why it matters: a working lift that is a few years old tells you about both the product and the service. A brochure tells you about neither.

A good answer sounds like: two or three named buildings near you, of a similar type to yours, with the owner's or manager's permission to visit. When you go, ask three things: how often does it stop, how fast does the company come, and what does the AMC really cost each year?

Be careful if: every reference is far away, brand new or impossible to visit.

Questions about money and protection

9. What does the warranty cover, and when does it start?

Why it matters: warranty wording differs more than buyers expect. Some start from the date of delivery, not from handover, so months can pass before the lift carries its first passenger. Some cover parts but charge for visits.

A good answer sounds like: "The warranty runs for this period from the date of handover. It covers manufacturing defects in these parts and includes regular service visits. It does not cover damage from water, misuse, power-supply faults or consumables, and here is the list."

Be careful if: the warranty is mentioned in conversation but not in the quote, or batteries and door parts are excluded without being named up front.

10. What are the payment stages?

Why it matters: payments are your only real control over the job. If most of the money has gone before material reaches the site, you have none.

A good answer sounds like: an advance with the order, a second payment when material is delivered to your site, a third as installation progresses, and a final part released only after testing, handover and documents. The exact split is for you and the company to agree, but every stage should match something you can see.

Be careful if: you are pressed to pay nearly everything upfront for a "special price valid today".

How to use the answers

Ask in the same order. Put the ten questions to each company and write the answers in three columns.
Score detail, not confidence. A specific, slightly less impressive answer is worth more than a smooth, vague one.
Move the answers into the order. The standard, scope, warranty, AMC price, timeline and payment stages should all appear in the final purchase order.
Keep a copy. You will need these papers for registration, insurance and any future upgrade.

Put these questions to us as well. Eldeal Engineers Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 2017 and has its corporate office in Sasaram, branches in Patna, Varanasi and Bhagalpur and a registered office in New Delhi. Our lifts use V3F drives with ARD, overload sensor with voice prompt, intercom, emergency light and door light curtain, and each installation stage is inspected. Details of our maintenance plans are on the lift AMC page.

Book a free site survey and we will answer all ten questions in writing, with a line-by-line quote for your building. Call or WhatsApp +91 84489 44342 or +91 62077 91650.

10 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Lift