MARCY Smith Machine Power Cage Squat Rack

I am a 45-year-old male with on and off history of weight lifting. I am recovering from a complicated forearm fracture 7 month ago, restarted weightlifting as part of my physical therapy. By now I have reached a level with multiple exercises where the weight started to be heavy – so, I was looking for something keeping me safe while I am working out alone in my garage.
Not sure where exactly saw this machine online, but I liked what I read about it. I liked the Smith-machine part of it, as well as the separate pulley system with two height-adjustable handles, with the low-pull cable, and with the pect machine part. My only concern was the incline of the Smith-machine, but eventually I pulled the trigger.
My heart skipped couple beats when (very fast) got an email with the subject “Unexpected problem with completing your order…”! And then my heart skipped again when I saw that the carrier will be FedEx (the email was just notifying me about multiple packages sent by FedEx), I had very unpleasant experiences with them for couple months now. However, the five packages showed up next day – thankfully FedEx left them without needing my signature (as they originally notified me). I guess, the boxes were so heavy that nobody would just take them… 🙂
Because of the heavy stuff inside, the cardboard boxes have seen better days… but inside turned out to be perfect. Few minor scratches, but nothing serious (no bent or missing parts). I just want to highlight here that each of the 5 boxes were heavy (do recommend some cart or somebody’s help if you need to carry longer distance).
The included manual for assembly is extremely straightforward. I am no mechanic or engineer, but had absolutely no issues assembling the machine. Well, I had two minor ones: I switched the Smith-machine guides with the rear pulley guides; and I mounted some pulleys before looking at the cables – both of these were looser errors, easily fixable. It took me (working completely alone in my pace) approximately 6-7 hours/two evenings with the corrections of my mistakes. To avoid mistakes, I would suggest to always look couple steps ahead. An another suggestion: make sure that you assemble it where you want to use it, or at least very close – this thing is heavy (specially if you are alone).
The assembled machine came out as a beast! It is massive and sturdy. I did use silicone lubricant for the guide rods – specifically the rear weight pulley was moving very hard/not returning to the base with light plates. The solution turned out to be loosening the lower and upper screws holding those guides.
So far I have spent 2x 3-day cycles on this machine and I could not be more satisfied! The incline of the Smith-machine does not bother me at all while doing bench presses and squats. It is quite a liberating feeling that the weights will not pin me down even if my healing arm fails during the bench presses!
As nothing is/can be 100% perfect, I could mention two things here: a lat pulldown attachment, and a little bit lower bench. I am too high to use the lateral side pulleys for lat pulldowns, and the bench is high to push my legs into the ground while bench-pressing. But these are minor issues, I have found solutions. I have attached a pulley to the middle of the pull-up bar on the top, and used an extra cable (both from Amazon) to the lower-middle pulley; then using the loaded Smith-machine barbell over my thighs to hold me down. For the bench presses I put flat weight plates under my feet.
Overall, I am very satisfied, cannot wait my next session on this machine!

4/1/2020 Update:
Cable flies are perfect on this machine, your pecs will respond very quickly.
The supplied bar that attaches to both adjustable pulleys is extremely versatile for a variety of exercises: lat pull downs, tricep push downs, rows front raises. Give it a try and see what works for you. I posted a new picture with the bar attached.
FIRST: if you do not see it listed here for the $1598 I paid, buy it directly from Marcy! The seller who has it here for over $3000 is seeking to take your money!
Second: This is a very sturdy piece of equipment that delivers big for less than $2000!

I am nearly finished with assembling the system. This is a preliminary review based on shipping, assembly and value. I will post an update after using the system for a few weeks.
The assembly is actually very straightforward. As long as you’re comfortable using a couple of wrenches and reading exploded view diagrams you’ll be fine. Be patient, it will take time to locate parts between the different boxes and bags contained therein. If you have room to lay each unwrapped piece out do so, it could help cut down the assembly time tremendously.

This is a high quality piece of equipment. The supplied accessories make it a great value. The foot plate for rowing is the main flaw I’ve found so far. It is a totally flat plate, not ergonomic for a natural foot/ankle position.

I need to reach out to Marcy to replace two of the bench leg pads. One cover was punctured in shipping and two pads have permanent deep depressions in them from shipping. They’ve been out of the box for several days but haven’t returned to a smooth round shape.

More to come after I finish the assembly later this week.

UPDATE:
Running the cables and attaching the pulleys is not difficult, tedious and repetitive but not difficult.

The smith machine is very smooth and has a natural range of motion.

A couple of issues I have with the system are the butterfly attachment and the foot plate for seated rowing.

The arc of the butterfly motion seems too long. When performing seared butterflies I noticed I am reaching out to keep my arms in contact with the pads as I complete reps, as if the bars are too far away from me. I have just over a 6ft-3in wingspan and and never had this issue with any other seared butterfly. I suspect either the support the arms attach to is an inch or two too long, or the back pad needs a spacer between it and the frame it connects to. A significant enough spacer will force you forward enough to maintain a natural range of motion while performing butterflies.

The last issue with the fly arms is that they touch at the peak of the motion. This will result in cosmetic damage to the ends of both arms over time. Simple fix is a rubber 2in sleeve over then ends of both arms but since that’s not provided, I will wrap mine with electrical tape.

The problem with the foot plate is it is flat, not ergonomic for a natural foot position.

Some of my photos will show the foot plate and the support for the butterfly arms.

The Marcy customer service representative was very helpful when I called to request the replacement pads and some rubber end caps.