[golfnut]

So edvin, after the rebate what is the ballpark cost for the Toberlin (I realize there are a lot of different options to be had) just looking for estimated cost...GN

[EdV]

Well, a new 2010 E2 has an MSRP around $7500. So figure a fairly equipped one with a custom Sunbrella enclosure and registration/dealer processing fees etc. will probably push that up to $8500. The official IRS tax credit for the E2 is $4239.

There’s a new Tomberlin dealership that opened on 301 in Wildwood 352-330-0359. You should be able to test drive one for yourself. Remember that the tax credit is only for new vehicles. Tomberlin essentially did not make a 2009 model and went from 2008 to 2010 but the new model includes several improvement, the most notable is rack and pinion steering.

Due to the awareness of the big LSV/NEV tax break, you’d be hard pressed to find a leftover 2008/09 model at this point.

[GatorFan]

Isn't it fun to live in The Villages? Where else could you walk out your front door, hop on a golf cart or LSV and go anywhere you want to go. Life in The Villages is great.

[ajbrown]

Originally Posted by EdVinMass

OK folks, time to clear this issue up. I registered my new 2008 Tomberlin E-Merge 2 LSV with Allstate for $210. It would have been more like 180 if I had also registered my full sized vehicle with them too.

The insurance policy is for an OFF-ROAD VEHICLE. That’s important to understand because that’s why it’s so low. Those that were quoted $400-500 for insurance is probably because their insurance company doesn’t offer that kind of policy. Google “off-road vehicle insurance” to find other insurers that offer this and get quotes from them.

So let’s say you’re insuring your regular and LSV vehicles with the same company. $180 for insurance and $45 for annual registration is $225. But since the annual insurance for a regular golf cart is ~ $70 the net outlay for the LSV is $155/yr. So it would take 29 years to offset the $4500 tax credit.

Let me preface by saying I am not a lawyer or insurance salesman, but am very interested in the whole discussion. With the tax credit I have been thinking about a new Par Car street car.

I have talked to several insurance companies in the last day or two, including two Allstate agencies. They have all told me that you cannot insure a street legal golf cart with Off Road Coverage. They tell me you must carry Personal Injury Protection. They said they had heard some brokers had been doing this but it is not correct (not my words). The quotes I am getting are around $600 per year to insure properly.

Not trying to stir trouble or saying I know which is right, but it may be worth checking for folks who have off road coverage to verify you have what you need if something were to happen.

[EdV]

Ask your ParCar sales rep to provide you with an insurance agency for NEV/LSV insurance and call them for a quote.

[NJblue]

I have talked to several insurance companies in the last day or two, including two Allstate agencies. They have all told me that you cannot insure a street legal golf cart with Off Road Coverage. They tell me you must carry Personal Injury Protection. They said they had heard some brokers had been doing this but it is not correct (not my words). The quotes I am getting are around $600 per year to insure properly.

While I don't contest what this poster heard from insurance agencies, I think this points to the fact that the insurance companies don't have a clue in terms of how to assess the risks involved with a street legal golf cart. $600 is close to what I pay for my SUV. Compare the liability risks of a several ton vehicle that typically goes 70 MPH along with other vehicles of comparable size going the same speed for 12,000 to 20,000 miles per year to an LSV. The LSV can go a maximum of 25 mph and would be lucky to see 5,000 miles of usage per year with the majority of these miles being on roads and trails exactly the same as used by golf carts, which are insured at a MUCH lower rate . The biggest thing from a liability perspective is that if the LSV were to be involved in an accident in an environment that differentiates it from a golf cart, i.e., on a road such as Morse, the amount of personal injury that it would do to the other vehicle's passengers would be negligible.

Hence, if insurance companies say that they need to charge premiums comparable to a car or SUV because of liability, they are blowing smoke (or are too lazy to look at the actual risks involved). While I can see an increase in the premiums over a standard golf cart, when they get to be in the range of 10 times what a golf cart is assessed, it seems to me that someone has failed to do their homework.

[Bob S]

I was wondering how the Tomberlin owners rate their experience with the cart and how good local service is. I would appreciate knowing more about this cart. Thanks.

[EdV]

Originally Posted by ajbrown

I have talked to several insurance companies in the last day or two, including two Allstate agencies. They have all told me that you cannot insure a street legal golf cart with Off Road Coverage. They tell me you must carry Personal Injury Protection.....

It turns out your sources on this are correct because I decided to follow up and called my agent to talk about it. I was informed that my agent is no longer with the agency. Hmmm, that didn’t sound good.

I was informed by the new agent that an off-road vehicle policy cannot be used to verify proof of insurance for registration purposes because it does not include the Florida required Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. I looked at my policy and sure enough, no PIP coverage. I asked if PIP can be added and he said no.

I then immediately ordered an upgrade to a minimum level auto policy which will be $190 for 6 months. That’s enough time to get my LSV registered and then sort things out. I have to agree with NJblue that the insurance industry has not gotten their act together on this and mistakes are being made.

In the meantime, based on information I found in another forum, I called two different State Farm Insurance agencies including the one in Lady Lake and they say that they can issue me an actual LSV insurance policy including the required pip coverage if I also insure my regular vehicle with State Farm too. They both stated that the cost for the LSV coverage is in the 180-250/yr range depending on how much coverage and the deductable amounts. And that’s what I’ll do once I’m down there.

But check this out yourself for sure.

[gongoozler]

Originally Posted by Bob S

I was wondering how the Tomberlin owners rate their experience with the cart and how good local service is. I would appreciate knowing more about this cart. Thanks.

Love . . .love . . .love mine (at least so far). Tomberlin has been in operation for many years making ATV, scooters, etc. so this is not a fly by night company. Their carts have brakes on all four wheels, front disc and operate on hydraulics . . . unlike most other cart out there.
I laugh at the info on insurance that some people are posting . . . I'm with USAA as a retired military officer and pay $130 per year for my LSV insurance which includes Bodily Injury ($300,000), medical payments, property damage ($15,000), uninsured motorists ($300,000 per accident), full comprehensive loss with no deductible, and collision with a $50 deductible. I'd have the same insurance even if this were just a golf cart instead of a LSV, given the way some people drive on the golf cart paths and they fact you have to cross streets.

[gongoozler]

Originally Posted by NJblue

Let's take the Star car for an example. The exact same cart is used for both golf cart usage as well as street legal. To make it a street legal vehicle they add a few safety items and crank its top-end speed up to 25 MPH. Are the safety items the things that require registration? I don't think so. It's the speed. Hence, to down-convert to a golf cart, all you would have to do is crank down the speed. What's a cop going to do, give you a ticket for having seat belts on an unregistered golf cart? I don't think so.

The Tomberlin carts that are street legal come with two key switch positions . . . just put the cart in the second (golf course) position and you cannot exceed 20 mph . . . therefore you would never get a ticket for speeding and if you never intend to drive faster than 20mph or drive in the street then that there is no reason to put plates on the cart after the first year and you have the rebate in hand.
That being said, I think the yearly cost of the plates are cheap enough to keep it registered so that one can use the higher speeds to pass while driving on street like Oak Forrest, and cross 466 w/o using the tunnels.

[EdV]

Originally Posted by gongoozler

The Tomberlin carts that are street legal come with two key switch positions . . . just put the cart in the second (golf course) position and you cannot exceed 20 mph . . . therefore you would never get a ticket for speeding and if you never intend to drive faster than 20mph or drive in the street then that there is no reason to put plates on the cart after the first year and you have the rebate in hand.
.....

Gongoozler, you won't be ticketed for speeding but you will be ticketed with the much more serious and expensive violation of "Driving an Unregistered Motor Vehicle". And the police won't care how fast you were going when they pulled you over or whether you have a high/lo speed switch, etc.

Remember this phrase:

If it looks like a golf cart, drives like a golf cart, sounds like a golf cart, but is capable of exceeding 20mph, It's NOT a golf cart and must be registered and insured if you want to drive through TV.