http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Ramp-Low-Rise-1-Pair-Breakdown-Vehicle-Repair-AA-Garage-Jack-Access-1pr-/352148394285?hash=item51fdae112d:g:nRMAAOSwnVVZnYMh

Any thoughts on the above? They are advertised as low rise (7 cm elevation), and are made of moulded plastic. Does that substantially reduce risk?

I stupidly already ordered wheel chocks and the mechanics trolley to crawl under the car. Hence if the ramp in any form is a bad idea, I will need to return the trolley and chocks as well (which of coure, I will do, if best option)

Waste of time using those imo, not enough height, Just get a hydraulic jack and stands as backup in case of jack slippage, far safer me thinks, I had a set of ramps once but they kept slipping while driving on to them, so used hydraulic jack and once at height you need put stands underneath!

<< I stupidly already ordered wheel chocks and the mechanics trolley to crawl under the car. Hence if the ramp in any form is a bad idea, I will need to return the trolley and chocks as well >>

Chocks will be useful whatever lifting device you use, as a secondary safety measure. The low trolley will also be useful (unless you get a hoist :-) ). You could easily make chocks from pieces of 2 x 4, for example (or bigger).

If I needed to have such a facility these days...I'd use a railway sleeper.!...now that I WOULD trust.!

Wonder why car washes don't use ramps, to get cars onto it and allow a proper wash of the underside...

(a) it would take too long and (b) it would soon lead to an accident ..

Some used to have undercar jetwashes, but they were not used very often though some people didnt know they were there, an old Jag garage used to have one but it was never used as it cost £5 on its own (garage has since gone)

I had a similar dilemma a couple of years ago, when looking for something robust to waxoyl under a new car. Personally, I don't have confidence in axle stands - I think large, really solid ramps are safer because the car won't fall off them. Many axle stands don't have the footprint (or build solidity) to give me confidence.

I briefly considered plastic ramps - they looked attractive but, I read some reports of them splitting; particularly when used on a rough surface (like my concrete).

And the usual metal ramps were too narrow to consider.

So I ended up building a pair of extra long ones out of some 4"x4"s and 4"x2"s (laid flat). I used more timber than I'd have liked (they worked out dearer than an ordinary metal set, and they're rather heavy to move and bulky to store), but they're solid, they don't move when driving on, there's enough width to comfortably accommodate modern tyres and enough length for gradual steps up. For safety, it's crucial that timber is on top of timber from wheel to ground.

I'd imagine the sliced sleepers would be just as good (and cheaper), but chain sawing a nice long slope tidily through a sleeper is probably beyond my skill.

During the brief period of years when I thought I might be able to do more than just change pads and discs, I had a set of ramps. I think I used them once, and they gave me no confidence at all that the car wouldn't roll down and squash me. A combination of trolley jack and axle stands are by far a better alternative. OK, you might not be able to lift the vehicle quite as high, but at least you'll come out in one piece rather than squashed so flat that your missus will be able to store you under the sideboard.

An ex neighbour of mine would throw his car up on a trolley jack and nothing else, on the public highway, and spend an hour or so fiddling about underneath. The wind from passing vehicles, a staggering pedestrian bumping into the car whilst ambling by or just a slight alteration in the centre of balance of the vehicle and he would have been toast. I suppose ramps would be fine with chocks/ sleepers/ whatever, but personally I'd avoid them like the plague, especially if you're working on the highway. On a level drive or in a garage, well, that could be a different matter.

Thanks all for your inputs.

I will visit my local timber merchant this weekend, and explore the possibility of getting railway sleepers, other material to use as a potential ramp.

If that's not viable / cost effective, then the Karcher car chassis cleaner, seems to be the way to go.

Years ago I used to pass an Express Dairy depot (closed long ago) on my way to work. Often saw electric milk floats sitting on a plastic milk crate while the brakes were being serviced.

eustace, I've just checked my ramps, which are the metal strut type, against my Civic and the lower edge of the bumper fouls the rising part of the ramp before the wheels can reach the bottom of the ramp. I think lots of cars are now built with lower bumpers than in the past.

Wooden ramps will therefore have to have a shallow angle to suit modern cars. Better to work it out before you end up with the world's most over-engineered bookends ;-).

Having had an 07 Type S Civic and needed to put it up on a pair of ramps for oil changing, I made a couple of simple wooden ramp extensions out of 1" thick douglas fir planks the width of the ramp to stop the lower edge of the front spoiler fouling the ramp. Screwed and glued some blocks to the underside to locate and support in the gaps between the cross strakes of the ramp.

Make the extensions about 1.5 times the length of the angled part of the metal ramp, it makes the angle of the ramp less, it's also easier to get the car up on it.

If you have a heavy vehicle like our L200 pick-up, beware using the ordinary metal car ramps, our L200 weighs 2.0 tonnes plus unladen and is very front heavy. I had to weld some reinforcement into another pair of ramps as they were showing signs of flexing.