Will electric carts now be in demand?
 

With the high price of a gallon of gas will electric carts now be more attractive to a new buyer? My guess is yes they will.

I don't think so. You can fill them up for under $20. My husband would never buy an electric cart. He did pay $4.15 a gallon this morning to fill up the car at Walmart on 466A.

no way , they are junk just like electric cars..

Probably not as the cost of gas or electric (and battery replacement) is probably not the reason one buys either.

Gas Vs Electric
 

Doubt fuel cost is a factor but there is a +6 mo wait for electric carts today.

Wouldn’t change my mind, will always have gas carts. When the time comes to replace my pickup truck, I will now be considering a new gas powered vehicle that gets much better mileage, but it will still have to have 4WD and substantial ground clearance.

Joined in 2016 and First post! The 6 year trend continues. Welcome! ;)

If "your 3 women friends" battery "quit" might they have forgotten to charge them? :) My electric cart (3 years old) gets 65-70 miles per charge (a little less when I use the A/C or heat) . I plug it in maybe once every 5-6 daysl When meter says "low" that's the time. Kinda like running out of gas. Sometimes ya just forget.

Electric vs. gas! Here we go again. :1rotfl:

The Villages Golf Cars has electric golf carts available and you can drive it home today. No gas golf carts available (maybe an odd one here and there) and to build a new gas golf cart is a 3 month wait (give or take).

If gas carts were guzzlers maybe electric would be an option. But they're not. Electric vs. gas pros and cons remain the same.

Batteries do not last more than a few years in this Florida heat. If you use it regularly within about 2 years you will start to loose distance per charge. For low use electric could be ok but not for me.

I brought my cart and it will out last me. I had electric cart and it was on cardiac arrest, so I got rid of it before it died and brought gas cart. Even if gallon gas hits 20 dollars gallon I will still be driving it. So how many think higher crude oil prices will not effect kilowatt rates?

I've been reading about electric carts going upwards of 35 to 40 MPH on the MMP's with minor tweaks. They are bringing heat on the gas carts which mostly do 25.

I have electric cart, my wife has a gas cart. 90% of the time I use my cart, but if we go far, we use hers.

I'll trade a battery golf cart for a gas cart any day.

Some battery carts can go a long way on a charge. The new ones. Believe me when I say that the old carts over two years old, don't go very far on a charge, even with new batteries. And the average battery lasts about five years IF you take care of it. Mine are seven years old because I use a battery maintainer. BUT, mine probably won't go over ten miles as weak as they are right now.
A neighbor was having some work done on his cart and I talked to the repair man. He said to replace my batteries would cost about $1100. I have six 8volt batteries. When I purchased the batteries, I paid about $130 each, WITH a trade in of the old ones. So, the price of batteries has not gone up that much in comparison. Lithium battery packs seem to be the trend today, but they are costly and dangerous if not handle properly. Lithium is an unstable element and will catch fire if over heated. But, lithium batteries seem to live longer than the deep cell lead batteries that are common in golf carts right now.
Considering how much a battery replacement costs, I can see how you can get many years of gasoline fuel for the price of a set of batteries. And for those that insist that pollution is a factor, I don't care. The air quality is better today than when I was a child, so I am not concerned with saving the world.
That's my opinion. I purchased the battery golf cart at an estate sale for a very good price, but I would take a gas powered golf cart in a NY minute(don't ask me what that means). On the other hand, I am VERY interested in the trend toward electric motor assisted bicycles. Still, I would rather install a gas motor on my bicycle, but Florida law is kind of weird when it comes to gas powered bikes, versus electric bikes.
Another consideration is the idea of being able to walk for a half gallon of gas for your gas powered cart, versus having to tow an electric cart because you can't carry electric power enough to get your cart home.

The price of gas had nothing to do with deciding whether to go gas vs battery......and it still doesn't.

Demand for electric carts is already increasing, especially since the advent of lithium powered carts. I’m seeing more and more EZGO carts as I travel through The Villages. Yamaha had the market for a long time because they make the best gas cart but EZGO makes the best lithium cart. Yamaha and Club Car lithium do not have the range that the EZGO has. Lithium is the future of the golf cart industry. They answer all of the objections to both gas and electric. And I don’t agree that electric cars are going to be the future. Two very different applications.

Not by me. I like the stink of a gas cart.

Dont electric ones start fires from time to time?

Lithium battery fire quite likely sunk a cargo ship with 4000 cars. Would not feel safe with a lithium battery cart or car in my garage. This technology will probably be safer as improvements are implemented but for now I am staying with gas.

The smell is nice, but not nearly as nice as when I fire up the diesel Kubota tractor.

And to think there went the Lamborghini I bought my wife, truly a one of a kind.

I'm enjoying my lithium golf cart immensely since gas has gone up.

The old lead batteries need to be maintained with water on a regular basis. I wonder if they were diligent with the maintenance. I don't go very far in our electric Yamaha but it has the original batteries from 2016 and they are still going strong.

Our electric Yamaha is plugged in anytime it is in the garage. We were told to keep it plugged in when we first bought the cart in 2016. I hope I've been doing the charging correctly.

Ridiculous over what amounts to less tha $5 of potential change.

Gas for a golf cart is minimal when you consider the range. Had an electric cart once, but won't ever buy another. I'll pay the gas prices and not worry about range and so on. Personal preference of course. Some swear by electric.

Always an on going debate/ conversation I prefer gas my friend prefers battery lithium is superior to lead acid . Both types will fill your needs as with everything you need to maintain them for reliability. But to me 15/20 thousand dollar golf carts are insane ,but it’s not a sin to make a profit.

Gas my choice

We had an electric cart for 14 years and never ran out of charge. We now have a new lithium EZGo Elite with doors and love it.

Not in my lifetime will I surrender and become a tree hugger. I use mine too much now (in place of our SUV) to be worrying about stopping and recharging it.

We had a couple outside our shop last week with theirs plugged in to try and make it home… 🙄

Happiest day for owning a battery/electric cart was the day I sold it.

Our 3 gas carts get fantastic fuel economy which out way the very expensive cost of electric batteries, especially the lithium. Resale value on electric carts is dismal.

The gas tanks on the golf cart are only 5-6 gal (45 mpg), so if gas goes up by a $1.00, $5-$6 a tank isn't really hitting the pocket too hard. Plus, the reliablity of the gas power carts over the electric carts doesn't change base of fuel prices. Markets are people's reactions can be funny, but it shouldn't really change much.

I recoment going with a Yamaha with EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection), which is available in models 2014 and newer (you should see a decal on the the cart that says EFI). The EFI is higher fuel effiency and cleaning burning fuel.

The newer lithium are supposed to give 5000 cycles/starts and 17hrs of run time (20-40 miles). You are suppose to run the to 0 before you charge them and you don't want to over charge them, because those things reduce the run time and the overall lifespan of the battery. I you don't use your cart for much or take trips longer than 20-40 miles where you will not be able to charge it if it dies, you should be good. These batteries take 2-4 hrs to charge so you have to keep that in mind based on the battery level and condition and what you're drive habits are like.

Most comments about the downsides of electric carts seem to be from people who know nothing about them. I have had an electric cart for 7 years and no problems, if you maintain them properly, which means plugging them in and putting water in the batteries when needed. Electric engines are way simpler than gas engines and can run forever. Most items on an electric cart that need work have nothing to do with the engine. No stink, no pollution on their operation. I have also had a Tesla and it is a terrific car. Sold it for a profit but would certainly go back for another in the future. That being said, the disposal of batteries is a big issue, which most people do not like to address. Everything has it’s downside.

Before gas prices started to rise, there already was demand for electric carts, especially Lithium powered models. Suspect that demand will get higher.

Brings up the OLD ?, Battery or electric. Answer is different strokes for different folks, variety is the spice of life, etc.

I’m partial to gas carts but it’s your choice. You won’t drive your cart as much as the car. So which would rather fill up, the car or a cart that gets 200+ miles or your car that will use at least a half tank of gas to go 200 miles. Whatever suits you buy it or ask the dealer about maintenance & how far you can drive on a charge or tank of gas. Electric carts are quite but the new gas carts are quite where you don’t have to yell at a passenger. Both are great!

Gas cart mileage is closer to 20 mpg. Most people are surprised that it's not a lot more.

I drive me cart much more than my car. I only used the car when I have to carry a large load or have to venture out of The Villages. I'll try to avoid going outside The Villages now until gas prices come back down.