I would not purchase a golf cart "two to four years" in advance, neither electric nor gas. Vehicles in storage deteriorate. Batteries go flat; seals in gas engines harden and leak. Tires develop dry rot.
I would wait until I was in The Villages to make my purchase and ask my friends and neighbors for recommendations.
Not to open the can of worms controversy over "Gas or Electric?" I would point out that the majority of golf cart sales here are gas and it seems to me that Yahama dominates the market.
I purchased a used gas Yamaha 4 passenger cart from The Villages Golf Cars in the Spanish Springs area. It had been a rental unit and was refurbished mechanically and from the frame up was entirely new. The price was lower than a new 2 passenger cart. We have been running all over the park in it and I am very happy with it.
I have strong opinions in favor of buying gas, but to me the point of this particular thread is whether to buy such a long time in advance of needing it and putting it in storage. I recommend against it.
You say the cart in question looks like a Mercedes. That would kick the price up. What is the asking price for the cart? Personally, I wouldn't buy a street legal unit for the reasons already detailed in other posts and because I wouldn't want to mingle in with automobiles and trucks in a vehicle as flimsy as a golf cart.
All of the foregoing could be summarized as Don't Do It.
