#1- Any new golf cart will probably last longer than you
#2- The Villages golf cart sales dealership sells so many carts they are the only ones to get the latest and best configurations
#3- Even if you pay $1,000 more over ten years of expected use (most people believe they will live another ten years regardless of how old they are) the cost is minimal
And, #4- Yamaha Gas

Note: Buying used from an individual would be a last resort - “if it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t “

I've always thought that if any of my friends with a gas cart drove my electric cart for a week, when getting back in there's, they would quickly decide they needed an electric cart.

I paid 4K for a 4 year old Club Car DS in early 2012. Most of my neighbors bought new Yamahas that they have already replaced. Mine runs just the same way it did when I bought it...fantastic.

One caveat I'll grant, my wife and I are small people, if we weighed 375 lbs combined, the electric cart would not drive as nicely and I might prefer gas.

Same
 

We are having a cart delivered from the same place. Did you have any issues on delivery? We are so excited. Riding in the golf cart is one of joys of moving into TV.

Gas
 

We did the same in May.

Went through a couple of electric carts during my time living in a golf community in Savannah. Was very surprised to learn that most Villages carts are gas, as there had been none where we lived before.

Not finding any downsides here to the gas Yamaha. Worn out batteries were a pain - even for those who remembered to add water on a timely basis. :-)

Golf Carts
 

For the Villages the Yamaha gas golf cart is the best way to go. Electric Lithium battery carts just stop moving when battery get low, no warning.

No problem with the delivery, and they came back to the house after I put 30 hours on the cart and did a free oil change (I paid a $5 up-charge for Amsoil) and checked and adjusted everything as needed. When the cart was about 2 months old, I had a problem with the headlight switch and they came to our house a couple days later and put in a new headlight/blinker control assembly. The cart now has 150 hours on it without any issues and we love it. We would definitely use them again and highly recommend them. Enjoy your new Quietech : )

I think your answer is very helpful. Nice!
We bought a lithium battery operated cart from Cart World and it is FANTASTIC.
Friends critique us because they hear that those batteries can catch fire. We do not care. No noise, no maintenance beyond an annual physical. 8 year lithium battery warrenty.

Actually, we do care about the controversy over lithium batteries, but we charge it and unplug it right away.
It charges very quickly and we don't leave it plugged in for hours beyond a full charge.

I have electric Carts for over 20+yrs.now I have Lithium Battery, just love quiet ride, no gas fumes not loud !

Just for info the Yamaha gas is no where near a quiet as the electric carts. They have been using lithium batteries in cars since before 2010 with great success. I thinks that should be an adequate track record.

Don’t be a drama queen

Most older gas golf carts are noisier than most cars and trucks. That is stupid crazy to me. Put a good muffler on those older ones!

All the older gas golf carts smell after they have gone by your location. It has to be unhealthy to breathe in those pathetic gases. Cars and trucks with much larger motors have much less smell. And not to mention the effect on the upper atmosphere layer.

Yes instead of scaring people away from electric golf carts, there should be a rule to ONLY allow electric in The Villages. Oh, I forgot......that would be progressive and we would NEVER want that. Never be at the forefront of progress.

An electric golf cart helps keep DOWN the earth's temperatures. Less upper atmosphere HEAT reflection. Anyone notice the record temperatures here in Florida this summer? Gas golf carts put out a lot of smoke and pollution, especially the older ones!

Star Electric Cart has been GREAT!
 

We bought a STAR electric Cart that has 8 Lead-Cell Batteries. We have about an 80 mile range, but our range reduced to about 50 miles after 5 years, prior to replacing the original batteries. It has been very reliable, plus there's no nasty smells that gas carts emit and it's quiet. The NEW Yamaha carts are very clean burning and quiet, but they're much more expensive than a used electric STAR or Club Golf cart. As far as convenience is concerned, I plug my electric cart into a 120V outlet at night, after use. Never have to make a trip to buy gas and no need to store hazardous gas at home.

Difficult to get parts for anything related to the litium battery if you have trouble. Comes from China and can take months.

There are no parts related to the lithium battery.

A few things keep me from being interested in E-carts:
1. A full 5-gallon tank of gas will last longer than a single full charge on an EV. If you use your cart every day for grocery, socialization, a round of golf every week, going to the squares, your clubs, doctor's office, picking up the mail - how often would you need to charge your batteries vs. how often you'd need to add gas to the tank?

2. When a gas cart battery needs to be replaced, it's around $100. When an electric cart's batteries need replacing it can set you back a few thousand bucks.

3. If the power's out, your e-cart will just have to sit there until the power's back on, and then you still have to wait for the charging process to complete. If you have a gas cart, just top it off from the 2-gallon can you keep in the garage for the lawnmower and you're good to go for another few days.

That wont make them quieter

Plug the electric cart in when you park and never have to worry about it. No trips to the gas station to fill the 5 gallon can, no need to remember to put fuel in the cart, no cleaning up the spills, ... Just plug it in and you're good to go.

May find out in eight years or so. Or may not if we replace the cart by then.

When was the last time the power was out for more than a couple of minutes? (and there was that one time but if I remember correctly the tunnels and paths were flooded so gas carts weren't usable either)

Golf Car
 

A general rule of thumb is that if you want gas, get a Yamaha. If you want electric get a Club Car.

Yamaha has the best gas car and it is is about 85% of golf cars in the villages, but, you want a late model so it is quiet. And you won't worry about running out of energy. If you want it duded up buy it at village golf cars. If you don't care how it looks, get it off property. Used ones may not be quiet.

Club Car makes the best electric car. You can go regular batteries or lithium. Both are quiet . After 5 years on regular batteries you just change the batteries. The electric motor will go on forever. After 8 years change the lithium, the electric motor will go on forever, lithium change is cheaper than getting a new golf car.

If you are going with a 4 seater, get the one with the seats facing forward. It is a much better ride as the seats are over the chassis and not over the back wheels.
Less bumpy ride, not a good ride in the ones facing backwards.

There is no shortage of people who will work on your golf car and if you have it serviced once a year you will be fine.

The Yamaha gas will go faster 20-28 miles per hour, the electric will go 20 mph. You don't have to join the Yamaha speeders, but, that too is your call.

Hopefully all of this input helps your decision process. :gc:

more only BUT<

Club Car electricIf its a budget decision get used or off campus.

When we moved here, we rented a house that came with an electric cart that would go 27mph! I've seen other posters claim electric aren't as fast as gas. Simply untrue. The bad news is I'm also one of the unlucky few who've been caught driving an unregistered electric cart and been forced to make the mandatory court appearance in Bushnell.

Is it possible to buy a cheap old (well...5 years +/-) lead acid cart and put in lithium? If so....wouldn't that be a pretty cheap option? Or is that just not a thing?

Joe

I had CC DS, 2005. I had different view, the front end was cheap hit anything and bend something, bushing worn creating steering wheel wobble. Had corrosion problems, spot on garage floor, battery cables inside corrosion. Smell when charging, Brakes dust problems, had to remove drums clean out grit. Then there was the 4 year old batteries that starting to loose amps. I will admit I had no clue how precious owner took care of it. I guessing he done little and most likely over filled batteries creating the corrosion problems? I had pretty much fixed everything except the weak batteries.

It came with house I brought and was fine for running about neighborhood in my district. But running all day all over the villages was taking chance.

Now the ride, seats was uncomfortable. Suspension was ridged. I didn’t want the expense of batteries and fighting corrosion. So I sold it and brought 13,995 list price Yamaha village read gas cart 2 years old for 7500. With my 2500 sale of the CC got about 5 grand into it. It has 18K miles on it. I have replaced start battery twice, tires, belts twice, spark plug twice, secondary clutch, tie rod ends, and changed oil twice year. It’s 2012 EFI. Still runs and rides like new. But, I was mechanic for 40 plus years and know what to look for.

Bottom line to each his own!

Electric cars 20 MPH? I got passed by parcar LSV going 38 MPH down BV. When I rented had electric Star cart that had high and low switch on dash. The low side 20MPH max, the high side 30MPH plus. Either electric or gas can be made to run well over 20 MPH.

If I take governor out of my Yamaha gas it will top out about 38 MPH with engine rpm maxed out.

PS
 

The number one priority is comfortable seats. ElTigre the best they will save your as......

You've changed alot of parts that shouldnt have been changed in that short a period of time. Id find a new mechanic.

You've changed alot of parts in a short time frame- Id find a new mechanic

And DARE I ASK..........why not?

About #2........You have to compare the cost of replacing the batteries in a E-golf cart with a gas engine overall in a gas cart because the electric motor almost never goes bad. Plus one type of golf cart is bad for the environment and the other is good for the environment. BIG difference!

Look into Villages Discount Golf! Many used and reconditioned carts with warranty, as well as new carts.

Customization of your cart is also available.

If you are tall be careful. Yamaha does have a taller roof. I am 6'2 and have to duck when getting in and out of a non Yamaha cart. Pay close to seats especially if you use it mostly for golf. Most custom seats do not have a side bar. Look for a seat which has contours in it. On a side hill, a person can slide out of the cart. Regarding used vs new. For a saving of $2-3K not worth the savings(my opinion). Lastly these carts are very reliable and there are a lot of mobile cart mechanics in TV.

They will do repairs on carts purchased elsewhere. Had to replace the plastic part/floor which holds the golf clubs in my Yamaha. They wanted over $220 and Country Power laughed and charged me $80 for same job. Also bought cart from them 2K less. The Villages does offer loaners and they are convenient. Cart going strong with 0 repairs in 3 years. Convenient and expensive service is not worth 2K.

Cars are liquid cooled which helps keep the noise down.

The original VW bug was air-cooled and was quieter than most golf carts. I had a 1970 250 CC AIR-COOLED Yamaha motorcycle that was quieter than most golf carts here. I had a 1965 Vespa air-cooled motorscooter that was WAY, WAY quieter than most golf carts here. The noise is NOT dependent on whether the motor is cooled by air or water. It is dependent on the size, quality, and design of the MUFFLER. A golf cart is designed to be used on a golf course pretty far away from most close-together residential homes. They are NOT designed to be quiet or have good brakes or safe bumpers or be basic transportation. You take them out of a golf course and they are not very well-designed for that use.
......The problem with gas golf cart noise, rollovers, and many accidents is the ILLEGAL tampering with the speed control in the golf cart. They are designed to do 15 MPH and people have them ILLEGALLY jacked up to as high as 30 MPH, which among the other bad things causes the motor to be MUCH LOUDER.
........Isn't it funny in today's society how many ILLEGAL things (like golf cart governor modification) are allowed to continue? We make laws and then don't bother to enforce them. I find it strange that we have 15 MPH speed zones in TV Land yet we have a range of golf cart speeds from 15 to 30 plus MPH depending on the extent of the ILLEGAL modifications. Please find a standard and enforce it.

Unless DUI or an accident, almost no enforcement.

Almost every residential community in the United States, has banned gasoline golf carts.

Almost no 1st Class Country Club in the USA uses gasoline carts.

Globally, electric golf carts represent 62% of the new cart market.

In the USA electric golf carts represent over 85% of the new cart market and dwindling.

Yet in TV, the debate goes on, like it's 1975 ... which was about the time they added steering wheels to golf carts. The last major improvement to gasoline carts.

Golf Cart Market Size & Industry Share Analysis | 2023-2032

Electric Vs. Gasoline Golf Carts: Detailed Comparison

Used the word "helps" regarding noise. Had a VW bug also.

Many here still prefer gas carts because they have seen or read about EV cart homes burning down. They take into account the cost of a new battery and the disposal. Also, the purchase price of an EV is much higher than a gas model in TV.

We are at a certain age where we consider our longevity. Is it really wise to purchase a $23,000 EV cart if you are 70 yrs old or above? We could care less what the younger generations buy. We no longer have a need to be part of the "new and improved" crowd. We are pleased to wake up and to live another day. At our age, it doesn't get much better than that.