Buying a used electric golf cart-what to look for?

[Cantwaittoarrive]

I'm looking to buy a used electric golf cart and really have no idea how to tell if the motor has any issues? Also beside for the general appearance of the batteries anyway by driving or looking at them to tell if they will hold a charge or have any issues? I guess in general what should I look for when buying a used electric cart?

[karostay]

ask why their selling it

[Ooper]

I would say the age of the batteries is the most important thing to look at. The coding stamped into the battery tops will tell you how old they are.

[Bavarian]

I would check type and number of batteries. Make sure Lithium, not Lead acid. More lower voltage batteries better.

[Mikeod]

I would check type and number of batteries. Make sure Lithium, not Lead acid. More lower voltage batteries better.
Where have you seen a golf cart with lithium batteries? Every golf cart I have seen has lead/acid batteries, even the gas carts.
I do agree that more lower voltage batteries will increase range. 8-6volts are better than 6-8volt which are better than 4-12volt.

[jnieman]

I would drive it up a hill and see how many people pass you. We did that with the Yamaha electric cart and ended up buying the gas for the speed up the hill.

[Ooper]

A "used" electric cart for sale is not going to have lithium batteries. A lithium ion battery pack is going to put you back about 3 grand and I don't think you will be seeing used carts with these installed for sale, IMHO. But the lead acid batteries only have a life expectancy of 3 to 5 years. If the batteries are near that age, then expect to spend $600 +/- for a new set before too long.

[Waynecarla]

If you can purchase the cart cheap enough put new batteries in it right off.If the batteries are three years and older just tell the owner to take off enough money to cover the price of new batteries around $700.00.I'm sure they'll work with you,if not there are many more carts to chose from.good luck. :)

[l2ridehd]

Most batteries have a code stamped on the lead post. It is a letter and a number. The letter A B C D E F etc stands for the month. A = January B = February and so on. The number 0 through 9 indicates the year. 0 means 2010, 1 + 2011, 3 = 2013 etc. So a G 2 would mean July 2012. Batteries last at best 5 years and can fail in as soon as 3 years. Figure 4 years. So if they are 2010 or older you will need a new set soon. There are 3 popular battery configurations. Most are 48 volt. Don't even consider a 36 volt. Confgurations are 4 12 volt (just OK), 6 8 volt (better) and 8 6 volt (best). Club Car, EZ Go and Yamaha are the more popular models.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

Thanks! Does anybody know how to tell if the motor had any problems?

[Ooper]

The only thing that might go wrong with a motor and still allow it to run is the bearings. If the motor itself makes a grinding noise when it turns, it is most likely a bearing.

[Bosoxfan]

I would say the age of the batteries is the most important thing to look at. The coding stamped into the battery tops will tell you how old they are.

This is not an indication of battery life. It's amp hours used.I owned an electric for 3 years & went through batteries every 13 months and the warranty had expired each time. You see I put over 1000 miles a month on my golf carts .So if you can try to find out the amount of use on the batteries .

[jimmy D]

Thanks! Does anybody know how to tell if the motor had any problems?

I would also check the bushings on both axles, and drive a car at night to see how other things work., sometimes things go bump in the night

[cgalloway6]

Lot of expert opinions in this forum but there is also an "Ask the expert a golf cart question" forum here also. Just scroll down for the real expert.

[Golfer in Sanibel]

I would drive it up a hill and see how many people pass you. We did that with the Yamaha electric cart and ended up buying the gas for the speed up the hill.

Not so fast. My Ez-Go does not slow down on hills. EZ-Go uses a DC motor as opposed to the AC motors of some other manufacturers. While following gas carts of the same speed as mine (21 1/2 mph) I slightly gain on the gas cart going up the hills and they pull away, slightly, down the hills. Just as you cannot categorize all gas carts as the same you cannot put all electric carts in the same category.

[jimbo2012]

There r primarily two thing to replace, the batteries already discussed.

And the motor, if that did need replacing it's only $250.

Best thing to do is drive it a bit, see how it feels.

[ajbrown]

For me personally.....

When I am looking for a cart I do not worry too much about the battery pack. In fact I am happiest if the cart does NOT have new batteries. My feeling is that 'many' electric cart owners do not properly maintain the pack, so even if they are new (less than a year), I have no idea what harm has already been done by general cleaning, watering or over discharging.

Some clues about maintenance may be obvious when you look in battery compartment. Is it dirty? Are the batteries clean? Do you see corrosion in the tray or rails?

Always drive the cart. Drive it fast, corner hard, brake hard, listen.....

Bring along a GPS to make sure the cart does 20 MPH (or more :D). One guy tried to sell me a cart a couple of years ago that was Villgaes ready. It goes fast he said. It went 16 MPH. His response was "well, you can get that fixed", to which I said see you later, good luck.

Things that I look at are which make a cart more attractive:

Upgraded controller?
Upgraded motor?
Sunbrella enclosure shape?
Tires and wheels 10 inch instead if 8 in?