The problem here is whether you will actually like the Mathews bows. While they are great bows, not everyone really likes them in their hands. What I would suggest is to go to a shop and shoot the Lift. If you like the draw cycle, the grip, the hold of the bow, etc., then you can decide if you want to spend the money on the used P4.

 

This right here is the only correct answer to your question.

I love everything about a Mathew bow but, I could never own one because they have never produced a bow in the last 25 years that has a grip I can stomach much less be accurate with.

I shoot every years new release bows from pse, bowtech, Mathews.

You need to go to a shop and shoot some before you buy.

 

Consider these factors:
-Lift is the lightest Mathews bow in a decade or so, I was sold on its weight.
-The axle design is totally different on the Lift.
-The draw is smoother to me, but people differ on wether or not it actually is that different from Phase 4.
-Buying new gives you the warranty which is life time for Mathews, and they will have parts available for many years to come. SO instead of buying a used Lift for $1300, buy a new one for $1500, and enjoy the peace of mind.

The only other consideration would be to find a new Phase 4 with warranty at $800, that or the fact that a Lift may be very slow in delivery, unless you walk in the shop and one is available at your specs.

 

Both are great options and you won't be disappointed with either. If you get a used lift you should be able to pick one up close to 1000 used bare bow if you keep an eye out.
Personally I like the lift better. It holds so well for a light bow and has a more firm backwall. I believe it is the best mathews to date.
If you don't plan on using the integrated stabilizers I would definitely look at the V3X. It's pretty much the Phase4 other than the integrated stabilizers and rubber between the limbs.
If you plan on keeping a long time look for a new one and have a warranty.

 

Thanks everyone for your $0.02. Sounds like I need to go to the local shop this weekend and pray they have a Mathews that I can pull back haha

 

I'm a Mathews guy, and I haven't seen measurable advances in their bows in the past five years. The lift shaves off 4 ounces from the Phase 4 and is theoretically faster. In reality, those four ounces will get eaten up quickly depending on what accessories you bolt onto it. The phase 4 is virtually identical to the V3X, minus the split limbs.

If you like spending $2500 on a brand new bow fully set up, then go for it. If you want the same performance for a fraction of the price, go for a V3X. Hell, save even more money and get either a Vertix (30") or Traverse (33"), which still have practically the same specs as the Lift 29 and 33. Once you get to the pre-2019 model years you'll see actual differences in grip angle and cam technology, and brace height options for the same length, which may make an actual difference to you, and might actually be more desireable.

Only go new if you want the warranty. Even then, you might be able to buy a used unregistered bow and put it into your own name.

 

Buying a bow is like buying a car, if you can afford it, buy this year's model, new, with all the bells and whistles and warranties and hold on to it for a long time.

 

If you haven't spent time shooting a Lift or other bows for comparing it might be worth spending some time shooting what you can get your hands on and compare multiple models. I finally settled on a new bow after 2-3yr of test driving at my local Scheels and ended up with a Darton Sequel 33 from a small time guy. I have a 2009 Mathew's Hyperlite and still like it for what it is but wanted to setup a bow more specific for mule deer hunting and shooting longer distances for practice is the reasons for me. I still like Mathew's and think they made a great bow this year especially when I test shot it a couple times it had a lot to like but the Darton edged it out for me. To me it had the best combination of features, feel and performance along with a little better price. Sure I bought a "heavier" bow but I wanted a certain amount of weight to help me be steady, the different draw weight mods and ability to go up to 80#'s would have been great for me but they didn't have them available for me to try so couldn't factor that in the way I wanted, the grip wasn't horrible like some talk about to me but I still would have replaced is which might have ended up being $100 on top of the price already, sounds like the strings have been holding up well so there is a plus there where I ordered a replacement set for my Darton already with the idea of shooting this set in then replacing them so I got a reliable backup if anything were to happen. Lots of great bows out there and you never know you might find something that agrees with you better than buying off of brand recognition. My buddy has a Hoyt RX3 and told me once that he is already invested in Hoyt so he doesn't plan on switching brands, which I don't understand but its his money.

 

Would not buy one of the newer bows used as the warranty is worth its weight in gold, going without it has the potential of it being an extreme money pit. Take a few minutes and price out replacement cams and limbs and either will smoke what you saved buying used. There's been more than a few cases of bearings going bad, limbs splintering and few derailments that caused bent cams. It's an honest crap shoot and are you feeling lucky today?

 

Maybe for the two newest. But when you’re spending less than half the money on a used bow, it’s a solid bet.

 

If you get a Mathews measure everything and see that its actually being sold in spec. if it isn't in spec on axle to axle measurement or something seems off/odd skip it and keep looking. Its also nice to go with a brand you can send the bow back to without a shop involved. I took a lift 29.5 to 3 shops after it had problems. in the end it was over 1.25" out of spec axle to axle after twisting buss cables 8 times then re-timing the bow, changing shims, d-loop etc. I got it to behave. no shop could understand why it wasn't tuning and people are on here talking about grips and shooter form being the issue. its not, problems were in assembly. it shoots decent now. Im not sure if the strings were the correct size to begin with but I got tired of dealing with it then started from square one and figured it out. bows are never the same even in the same model. id stay away from integrate rests as well and wasting money on Mathews accessories.

 

Its also nice to go with a brand you can send the bow back to without a shop involved.

Curious as to what brands that might be. I think APA and maybe Xpedition have that policy, but that's due to almost no dealer network. All the big players require warranty work, and parts purchasing, to go through dealers.

 

For the weight savings alone, the Lift is the clear winner here for me. Put side plates on it if you don't like the standard grip.

 

If you can muster it spend the extra coin for new, me personally I like new because I know how I treat my equipment but I don’t know how others do, so I avoid taking a gamble. The lift is the better of the two bows for me (I just purchased a 33) but doesn’t mean it will be the same for you.

 

You bring up a good point. I hear guys often say "I'm hard on my equipment" and often wonder what they mean by that. Me personally I use my hunting equipment but I don't beat the tar out of it, maybe I'm not as clumsy as others or I pay attention better to what's going on.

 

Here’s the deal. If you buy the phase 4 you prolly won’t have a warranty with it being used. If you held off on Chick-fil-A for a couple weeks and cut corners you could easy come up with the extra 200 over 800 to get a used lift. You’ll have a faster bow that’s lighter which in my mind is a no brainer. Or with 500 over 800 you could get a brand new lift with warranty. The choice was easy in my case and I’m enjoying my Lift.

 

I was In your exact shoes. I went and test shot a used phase 4 29 and also shot the Lift 29.5 and 33. The phase 4 29 felt better to me than the lift 29.5 but the Lift 33 felt better than both… my shop sells Lifts for 1269 brand new bare bow. And I was only going to save about 200$ on a new phase 4 so I went with the lift 33. Also the warranty was something I seriously considered as well. Either way tho, both bows are excellent and hold up to the Mathews name. If you can, I can’t recommend test driving them first enough. You may actually find another bow / brand you never even considered. I was seriously considering buying the Prime Rvx 34. It came down to the way the bow felt in the hand after the shot and the noise. The Mathews was just dead as could be in the hand and super quiet even as a bare bow. I did prefer the lift 33 draw cycle over prime Rvx 34. I really contemplated about every aspect of the bow buying process. One of the biggest things that I thought about was parts availability and product support. When I found out Mathews still supports the original bows they ever made, that finalized my decision. I plan on keeping my bow for as long as I can before buying another and I wanted to know I was going to have that support.

 

I would've rather spent $800 on a like new Phase 4 but the 33" model doesn't go down to a 26.5" draw so I went with the Lift 33. I got mine new for $1265 if I remember correctly. So far I like the bow other than the Engage grip which I planned on changing out anyway. This is only the second Mathews I've owned in my life and I hated the first one(TRX38).

 

IMHO I don’t think a flagship model is worth it until you are shooting tight groups out to 40 or 50 yards with your current bow. if you are a pie plate at 20yd than you dont need a flagship, if your a pie plate at 80 than it’s an investment worth making. I shoot a Lift 33 and absolutely love it. the warranty that comes with a new bow is worth the extra money for me. If you buy on eBay you dont know if it’s been abused or not and if something goes wrong your are screwed.

 

Been shooting a Traverse for a few years. I was thinking hard about getting a Lift 33 this year. Found a minty V3X 33 here in the classifieds for half the price of a Lift. Fantastic shooting now. I am set for a few more years now.

 

I have two Traverse bows, and bought a Lift 33. I'll say the Lift feels like it holds better, but inside 70 yards I see no difference in my groups. At 100, the Lift is shooting incredible groups, not that I'd ever take a hunting shot at that distance. I still think the Traverse draws so much easier. A buddy of mine found these hard stops similar to lucky stops that put my Traverse at around 80% letoff. Made a huge difference for me and I'll never sell those bows.

 

If you’re someone who plans to buy a bow and keep it for a long time buy new. I personally can’t seem to make myself keep a bow for more than a month or two before I want to try something different so I buy used sometimes.

 

Was able to go to a 'sort of' local shop and they had a P4 and a Lift for me to try (along with the Hoyt Alpha X) and I ended up liking the P4 the most, so I ended up getting a great deal on ebay on a P4. Can't wait for it to arrive.

Thanks to everyone who responded to this thread. Going in and testing was definitely the move.

 

I hope your "great deal" actually turns out to be. Look it over very closely when you get it. Potential issues are string/cables (worn out, serving separation) and cam bearings. Make sure there are no bends to the cams (yes, people will sell dry-fired bows on Ebay without disclosing).

 

I like the Lift because of the weight variation , the mods are 55/60/65/70/75/80.. If someone hasn't already mentioned It..

 

The reason they are doing that is because the steel limb bolt actually threads directly into the aluminum riser, not into a steel barrel like prior models. The don't really want you turning those bolts much, so they offer 5lb increment mods and you're supposed to keep them maxed.

 

Why you choose p4 ?

 

Lift is noticably lighter, faster, more stable, and has a less aggressive backwall