[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by JoMar

Narrowed it down to electric carts by Columbia and Star. I'm interested in experiences with the product and dealers and opinions on both.

We love our Columbia Par Car that we purchased in 2007. No problems whatsoever and great range.
We really like our Elite seats. My husband is a big man and fits very comfortably into the seats. I'm a foot shorter than he is, and the seats are fine for me also.
We considered a Star, drove it and found it uncomfortable, but perhaps the new ones are much better.

[DAN48]

Originally Posted by Paulz

I am a big fan and owner of a 2014 EZGO RXV and love it. The AC motor is amazing, just go over the 441 bridge, stop half way up without touching the brakes and the accelerate back up to 20+. With that said Star just introduced the Magellan with an AC motor and walk away breaks like EZGO and aluminum chassis like Club Car. The Par car are the best looking and most feature rich.

All good choices including Club, welcome to the world of electric.

Another vote for E-Z-GO. The above comments are accurate. Town and Country Golf Cars is a very good dealer and will treat you right.

[lynxville]

Originally Posted by Vinny

We have had a Star cart for over 4 years. Just got through upgrading it with big tires, lockable glove boxes, painted roof and custom bucket seats. We love the car and the fact that the manufacturer is right on Route 441 is a big plus. We looked at the Par car a few months ago after hearing all the ads on the radio. In the end, it is just another golf cart that costs a lot more than a Star and you have to pay for options that come standard on the Star EV. The car is not good as good looking and they do not offer a solid enclosure except a clear one that just looks plain goofy. The inside was not as good looking as the Star and they wanted extra money for a tray which came standard on my Star EV. There was not good looking either and looked like an afterthought that they fit in somehow. My Star is also 48 volts and claims the same mileage. The only big differences, which are not really big at all, are the self disengaging turn signals and extra cool looking LED lights under the carriage. For the large price difference it just was not worth it. We thought we would be seeing a cart designed for travel but it is really a golf cart that is marketed as something else with less standard features than you can find on other carts.

When we bought our Star EV, it was over $2K less than similar. Not a speck of trouble with ours and enough options to satisfy my need to make it look cooler. I would buy another despite the often misinformation about them. They use the same main components as the other cart companies do. The rumor of them being made in China is false but still believed even by the salesmen in other dealerships. Probably the same people who believe that the American car manufacturers make their cars in the USA. Most people have no idea of what constitutes made in America or the special trade zones in Mexico and Canada where a lot of our Detroit cars are sent be made or completed. Only ones who do 100% assembly in the US are Honda and Toyota. Bet you did not know that.

"Star EVs are assembled in Simpsonville, SC and distributed through a diverse retail network across the country."

MY Prius V is made and assembled in Japan, one exception.

[Frozen1]

If by assembled you mean the tires put on, the batteries installed and the roofs attached, yes they are assembled in SC. The come in off the boat from China in small crates, mostly pre-built with non-American labor. There's a huge difference between assembly and building. The body parts and the frames, which take the intensive time to build, are from someplace where American citizens are not being paid wages. Just because GSA says you can call it American Made, the get around is to to the mimimum assembly percentage required to make it.

I'm not anti-Star, I've worked on them and the curtis controller is a commonly available component like many other manufacturers. Body parts or chassis components get to be the issue in acquiring in a timely fashion.

From their own website: ... often travels with Jun to China to make product improvements and source new products.

[Villager Dude]

My Par Car Batteries went bad in less than 200 hours and right at 2 years. I followed all the directions on recharging and used a battery minder when required.

It would be nice to know what life people are getting with their batteries.

Thanks

[normgreg]

My 2012 Par Car has 465 hours on it and still going strong. It has the eight 6 volt battery configuration.

[Topspinmo]

We rented for month, the place came with Star EV cart around 2010 model. Rode & steered nice, had good power and pickup. Had high low switch on the dash I thought was for the head lights, Wrong! Was high low gear switch. In low it ran right at 19 MPH, hit the switch to high and it was like cart had another gear. It had regen. braking when I let off the go pedal you could here and feel the regen braking slowing down the cart. filling the batteries was easy, put the water tank on top, hook the hose up and it automatically filled each battery. Also had dash mounted battery gauge which was LED not old style needle with the green, charge area that was hard to read. Compared to my older club car elect. all features were better.

No comment on par cars except for the high center of gravity with the 12" wheels. I would be careful when going around corners with that cart. But that's me. See lots of them on the golf courses and going to and from.

[Sonny Craven]

I can testify to the quality of EZ Go. I bought mine in 2010 (after much research, and I was influenced because they are made in my hometown, Augusta, GA), EZ Go has a long history of quality since I was a teen in the sixties there. The AC motor is amazing..no slowdown on hills and inclines. My current and only set of batteries has lasted 5 years, 7 months, although I admit I don't golf or travel great distances, nor do I leave my charger plugged in 24/7. (My anecdotal experience with lead-acid batteries from extensive Army-related use of lead-acid battery-operated broadcast television equipment trained me to not overcharge (cook in the charging cradle), never allow batteries to drop below 50% capacitance level (EZ GO tech bulletin says same), and I wait an hour or more after hard use to charge when batteries are cooler (high thermal temperatures are the enemy of all electronics and batteries).

And, as someone rightly stated, the electric brakes are the best.

My EZ Go RXV still looks and runs like a showroom quality cart.

[JoMar]

Since I started this thread I probably should update it with our final decision....we purchase a Star and a Par Car. The Star is the cart I use for golf and the Par Car is the car my wife uses not playing golf....she hates the game. They are two different carts, built differently, handle differently and have a major cost difference. Both are working out great, and range has not been an issue.....today was Hillsborough Trail to Lopez back to Brownwood back to Hillsborough trail with 18 holes played in the middle. We plug it in whenever we aren't using it, the charges are smart enough to know when the batteries are full and turn off. We use a battery minder if we leave for an extended time. Time will tell......but so far no issues.