YOU GOT IT!!!

Keep your gas tank filled.

Are you talking to me:wave: if so I usually agree. I didn't think I was arguing just explaining the problems and pros and cons of both based on few decades of hands on mechanical experience.

Only a few decades ? Sounds like you’re the newbie [emoji51]


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This is a great article. In a nutshell, both electric and gas require maintenance.

Maintenance - Gas - need oil changes and replacement parts such as spark plugs, starter belts and so on, and fuel. Electric - need charging, and once a month or so fill the batteries with water. At some point a few years down the road, replace the batteries. All carts need tire pressure checked. As far as carts dying along the roadside, all carts will do that if you don't gas them up or recharge the battery sufficiently.

Noise - the electric cart is very quiet. You can drive along and have a pleasant conversation. Gas carts - the newer ones are better than the older ones, but electric are still quieter. If you do a lot of driving and noise is important to you, avoid gas cart.

We don't use our cart a lot for general driving, pretty much just golf, so we have an electric cart because it is quieter, and we find plugging it in to recharge it is more convenient than having to deal with filling up a cart with gas. But that is personal preference. A lot of people have gas carts and seem to like them. I personally hate the smell of the carts and the noise, but to each his/her own.

If it burns gas it has a smell, no way around it. Sure The Villages is getting big but if I am going to go the often used number of "50 miles", my behind is going to be in a car. Have one of both and we would choose electric for the noise, smell(even the EFI's smell) and fewer parts to have to replace with breakdowns. It is a personal choice on both sides.

I have personally towed home 6 electric carts since moving here. I have stopped to ask another 20 to 30 broken down carts if they needed help, all but one was electric, and I have seen many more crawling along at night with the headlights off because they are running out of juice. Hope they made it home.

I would strongly suggest most of this was caused by user error. Didn't plug it in, left the lights on, didn't replace the batteries when they should have, didn't get the plug seated correctly when they did plug it in, didn't add water to the batteries, and a few other well known user caused failures.

However most people do remember to add gas because it is something they have done all their life. The "all but one" mentioned above had run out of gas so it does happen.

So if you don't like walking home gas seems to be the better choice. And all the folks who claim electric is so much cleaner should really understand that the electricity has to be generated someplace using some type of fuel and those batteries have to be disposed of someway that breaks up lead, acid and plastic. There really is no good ecological footprint other than your own.

From a repair aspect, we see pretty much the same amount, gas or electric break down out on the road. Dead battery, starter issue, broken belts, broken fuel line are all gas related issues. The debate will never end and everyone will always take there side.

Thanks TechGC. Most of the posts on this thread are opinions. You back yours up with professional experience.

From an actual "breakdown" (cart dead and you don't know why and it has to be serviced) I would really think more gas than electric. More there to go wrong. From a dead cart beside the cart path it is way higher for electric. Most folks just get towed home and plug them in. And again I would believe mostly caused by user error, but still many many more than gas.

I am skeptical.

To me this issue doesn't matter if the cart is dead as in Funeral or run out of juice. I see the Electric ones all alone sitting there along a cart path wishing they were home more. MORE.

Yes, an excellent point that may be overlooked by many. Lead acid battery recycling is pretty interesting. Essentially everything is recovered. The plastic and lead is reused to make new batteries. It does, however, consume energy and chemicals to recover the lead and plastic. There is no free lunch.

Regardless of the pros and cons it is all a matter of preference. Gas owners will swear by gas and electric owners will swear by electric. All the posts in the world will not change their opinions.

Your opinion is always enjoyable to read. At least yours are based on experience, not some silly conjecture.

I believe the nail on the head is many times user error or ignorance. I also have towed folks home with electric carts.

Ask them how many volts are in the pack and you will see a blind stare :). Not sure many know that volt is something more than a car...

Anyway, it is electric for me, but I fully understand why folks want gas carts also. I am not trying to sway anyone.