Have to make a decision

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

When I bought my house a 2002 electric Club Car came with it. I was told by some neighbors that the previous owner had the cart pick up and completely gone through before he left.
I began having a bit of trouble with the lights. All kinds of strange things going on. So I brought it to The Villages Golf Cart man to look it over. I was told that the whole cart has to be rewired. The nose of the cart is custom and the lights were Mickey Moused to fit the nose. The lights are not even headlights, they are running lights. The lights have been wired in using speaker wire. I believe all of it because the bezels look obviously home made. I had the left headlight apart and even I can tell that it's not a professional job.
In addition, the suspension has felt very washy and the cart seems to move all over the road so I asked them to check the suspension. I was told that I needed new king pins and the wheel bearings needed to be either replaced or repacked. Again, I have no trouble believing them as there is obviously something wrong.
So now I am in a quandary. I'm either going to have to put some money in this old cart or trade it in for something new.
The wiring and front end work are going to cost somewhere between $600 and $800. The cart also needs tires so I'm looking a putting a grand into this cart which is probably worth somewhere around two grand.
I don't have a lot of money and don't know if I want to go for a new cart but one the other hand I think that I should bit the bullet and by a new one and not have any worries for several years.
On the other hand, I could put even more money into this cart and really fix it up the way I want it. I would be willing to put $2000 into it to make it really nice. A new cart is going to cost around $8,000 and hopefully I'd get $2000 for a trade in.
I'm not sure why I'm posting this except perhaps to vent a bit and maybe get some things to think about.

[jimbo2012]

Rather than do the king pins just replace the front end with a A-arm lift kit, about $250 and 2 hours labor.

When that's apart you can get to a lot of the wires.

It as plenty of life in it,, alum frame.....

[lovesports]

Don't forget remanufactured. That's what we have-remanufactured club cart and we have pounded it for 7 years.
Also look at pre-owned. Many great carts are for sale because people want fancier carts and live in villas where they only have room for one cart.

[asianthree]

trade it in call carts and clubs to see what they can do for you

[jimbo2012]

That's fine but just make sure they don't inflate the cost of a new one to cover the appearance of a higher trade in value.

You can but new carts online for about $5200 outside the bubble

[thistrucksforyou]

Life is full of decisions.....

[justjim]

Dr. Winston: I would definitely get another opinion or two on fixing up this cart. Perhaps different bids will come in at a price you are more willing to pay. There are several "independent guys" listed in the Daily Sun who work on golf carts that I'm willing to bet will do you a good job and much cheaper.

[JeffAVEWS]

Rewiring is not brain surgery, I redid one of mine for under $100.00 in wire, switches, fuses, OOgaa horn and some LED running lights.

[Bruiser1]

trade it in call carts and clubs to see what they can do for you

I think it's worth your time to check with Carts and Clubs.

They will at least work with you to get your problem resolved. They also have large showroom for trades etc.
:agree:

























t

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Rewiring is not brain surgery, I redid one of mine for under $100.00 in wire, switches, fuses, OOgaa horn and some LED running lights.

The problem is that the cart has a custom nose and there are no standard headlights that will fit. They are going to have to find some kind of lights and then fabricate a bezel that will allow the lights to be mounted on the cart. The rewiring is not hard but custom lights are.

[rubicon]

Rather than do the king pins just replace the front end with a A-arm lift kit, about $250 and 2 hours labor.

When that's apart you can get to a lot of the wires.

It as plenty of life in it,, alum frame.....

jimbo: Your posts tell me you are a guy with a wealth of good information. thank you for sharing

[jimbo2012]

Since visiting there in April and now buying a lot, I'm seriously thinking about going into the solar golf cart biz.

In line with that thinking I've been learning about these toys, building or really rebuilding one here in NY from the ground up, chassis off.

I'm adding 4" A arms 12" wheels repainting in cool orange metallic color, already cut the steering column down 4", can't stand that thing so high in my chest.

New batteries with all #2 cables to carry and charge the load, a digital voltage meter.

The solar panel is being fitted waiting for the first proto-type charge controller to be completed.

Then there is an old airport near by to test the solar and hope it does 70+ miles and never needs a charge.

All just fun.

[l2ridehd]

You need to rebuild the front end and need new tires. I would install the lift kit and new 10 inch tires, do the rewiring yourself then get someone to do the bezels. You get better range, ride, and speed with the lift and larger tires for about the same investment as the repairs. Club Cars run forever and almost everything can be repaired easily. So make the 2K investment, but do it with some upgrades, (lift and 10 inch tires) and it will last you a long time. I have one I have been using in a rental property for several years. I am at the point it needs a rebuild soon and I am going to make the investment in those same items.

[jimbo2012]

Agree, also to increase mileage, buy narrow tires = less resistance.

Unless you need to use the cart on the golf course.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

You need to rebuild the front end and need new tires. I would install the lift kit and new 10 inch tires, do the rewiring yourself then get someone to do the bezels. You get better range, ride, and speed with the lift and larger tires for about the same investment as the repairs. Club Cars run forever and almost everything can be repaired easily. So make the 2K investment, but do it with some upgrades, (lift and 10 inch tires) and it will last you a long time. I have one I have been using in a rental property for several years. I am at the point it needs a rebuild soon and I am going to make the investment in those same items.

Is there someone that you would recommend to do the work? I'd also like to get one of those flip rear seat / truck bed things on the back I'm told that with some Club Cars, new springs are not necessary. Even if they are, I would imagine that if I'm doing a lift on the front, the back would need something as well.


Are the 12" wheels better than the 10". I've heard that when they get too big they have the reverse effect on range.

[jimbo2012]

Lift kits include front & rear

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

So can someone PM me and give me some advice on where to get this work done?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Upon a recommendation, I called Todd Casey. He came over today right on schedule and looked at the cart. He told me that the only piece of speaker wire was one wire connecting the battery gauge. The rest of the wiring looked fine. Then he opened up the tail light and found a short which he fixed in about two minutes. The brake lights and directional work fine now. He told me that the headlights are the same as they use in Par Cars. The reason they get so hot is that they are wired to two batteries which means they are running on 16 volts as opposed to twelve. He can get a reducer that will run the lights off of all six batteries while reducing the current down to twelve volts.

Then, he looked at the front end. He said that the kingpins are fine. There is some kind of u-bolt on the left side that is worn out. He can fix it for a few dollars. The wheel bearings could use a little bit of grease. He also thinks that the speedometer is not accurate and I'm probably getting a lot more miles than I think.

He's coming back on Monday to go through the entire cart and help me decide which way to go. I'm still thinking of having the lift kit done, the 10" wheels and the flip up rear seat. His lift kit is a bit more than I expected, but since I don't have to have any wiring done, I may go for the whole package anyway.

No charge for today's call.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Todd Casey showed up today on time. (Actually, he was early). He went through my entire golf cart. He installed new rear brakes, checked tire pressure which was low, tightened a bolt on a U-shaped bracket above the right king pin, checked and cleaned all the batteries, sprayed anti corrosive on the batteries, aligned the front end and waxed the plastic windshield. The cart runs great. It doesn't swerve all of the road and it goes 22 mph.

While he was here I asked him about the speedometer which has been acting up sporadically. He checked all of the wire connections and got it going. Then before he left he checked it again and it wasn't working. I asked him if he sold speedometers and he said that he had one all set to go.

$137.98 for all the work and $89.00 for the speedometer, installed.

We talked about lift kits and larger tires and he wants me to think it over and talk to people about it. He says that personally, he doesn't like them because they give you a bit less stability. But it's something that I'm still thinking about.

I do need a front tire because the right one is totally worn down due to the loose bracket. He recommended the Battery Boys for tires.

I'm trying to decide whether to go for two new front tires now or not in case I decide to go for the lift kit with the bigger wheels. I suppose I could always sell the old tires and rims (which are in great shape) on Craigslist or TOTV.

[Down Sized]

My club gas cart had problems today. Every time I take-off, I would get a whip lash. By checking TOV I called Todd Casey. Within an hour he was here. Made the repair and checked over the cart and motor. He was fair priced, fast, and courteous. Todd is now on my speed dial. Highly recommend him.:bigbow: