[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by VillageIdiots

Several things to consider. First what are your must haves on a cart? You mentioned quiet - that is a relative thing. If you want total quiet, electric is the way to go. However, that limits how far you can go and for how long and, in my opinion, with the villages only getting larger, it's really not a practical option, at least not for a primary cart. They make a quiet(er) gas cart now but it has only been out a couple of years so they are not as easy to find used and will cost more than others that still may suit you. I bought a used fuel injected gas Yamaha and it is quiet enough for my needs. Not all carts are equal so you can't just go by model year and cost. As with automobiles, accessories and upgrades cost more but will only be worth more to you if they are upgrades you want and will use. Some have much nicer seats which can run close to $2000 new, especially the ones that are adjustable back and forth. In the Fenney area, if you play a lot of golf, it's almost a must have right away. Otherwise, right now it's just a fun luxury as you can't get to the rest of the villages yet. However, on that note, Gracie's comment about 3 years is incorrect - the bridges and tunnels to connect everything together are already planned and announced and some are even already under construction. The announced date for full connectivity is January 2020, so hardly 3 years away even if the date slides by a couple of months (rare in The Villages).

Used vs. New:

A new cart will get you full warranty and peace of mind. You can also choose exactly the upgrades, accessories, and colors you want. But you will pay for all of that. I did just hear, last night, though, that if you buy a new cart from TV Carts and you live in Fenney/DeSoto, etc., you can go to any of TV cart locations and they will provide you a loaner to use in the other parts of the villages. That's a nice perk I wasn't aware of until someone told me last night.

A used cart can be a good deal. And, if you wait and look around long enough, you can often find something very close to what you'd want at a much better price. They key is to make sure it has been taken care of. Often you can tell a lot about that by just looking it over and taking it on a test ride. The owner may even be willing to let you have someone that knows carts look it over. I'd be careful about buying from anyone that wouldn't let you do that if you ask them about it. One option may be to just find a solid used cart to use around the area until it's more opened up and then upgrade to a newer or brand new cart. It's still nice to have a cart to run to the mailbox, the pool, the dog park, or just take a ride around.

For what it's worth, I kept my eyes open for a used cart. I know enough about them that I felt comfortable buying used without getting stuck with a lemon. I found one that we liked the colors, had most of the upgrades we wanted (we added a few others on our own), and still had a little of the warranty left on it. It was a few years old but was obviously kept well as it looked brand new. Best I can tell it had never been used on a golf course because it had no sand bottle and the straps that hold the golf bags didn't appear that they had ever even been taken loose from the clasps. It had less than 200 hours on it and I asked someone at the cart store if that was a good number and they told me the average is 250 to 300 hours per year. Finding a cart that was originally bought from the villages could be a plus because they can look up service records by the serial number on the cart. Most people have routine service (oil change, etc.) on them once a year, so if you can verify that it has been serviced as it should, that's a good sign as well. If you buy used from the dealer (I did not), they also generally check them out and get them up to snuff before selling them. And they may even provide at least a short term warranty. But you can expect to pay a little more even for used at a dealer as opposed to an individual - again, you are paying for peace of mind.

Quite the opposite of your name, good post and good advice.