[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

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.

I have heard elsewhere that the majority of carts sold here are gas. I wonder where that statistic comes from.

I was in the golf business for 35 years and purchased and managed several fleets of golf carts. Over 85% of all carts sold nationally are electric. Of course using a golf cart to play golf on a golf course is very different than using one in a community like the Villages.

Someone told me that the majority of the carts that the Yamaha dealer sells are gas which would make sense since they make a great gas cart. Maybe that's where the story of the majority of carts sold here are gas.

My personal and very unscientific observation is that there are more electrics than gas, but I could be wrong.