Are Re-manufactured Carts Really... Re-manufactured?
 

We are bristling at the idea of paying $18,000 for a golf cart. We're aware of a large dealer who sells only 'Re-manufactured' carts for about 2/3 that price.

How does a customer know if the cart is really Re-manufactured and not just a shined up used cart. What exactly is done to Re-manufactured a cart, and who does it- factory or dealer

Any feedback on if you are happy with yours is welcome.

Thanks!!!

All things remanufactured have one thing in common. They are NOT new. So--depending on how thorough the "remanufacture" was, you could just be buying someone else's problems with a little cosmetic cover-up.

Depends on what one is looking for, I guess. We bought a 2013 Yamaha from The Villages Discount Golf Cars for $6,000 two years ago. Regular six-month maintenance and it hasn't skipped a beat despite daily usage. Suits us just fine.

The carts they sell are refurbished carts originally purchased for golf courses. They are not the PTVs -personal transportation vehicles - that Yamaha sells. Having said that, many here have purchased one and are happy with them.

Consider buying the base cart from a dealer nearby and doing the upgrades yourself. I did this and saved a few thousand bucks after installing top of the line seats and all the upgrades you normally see in a TV cart.

Refurbished could mean a fleet of carts that yamaha leased to a large PGA tournament or a fleet that a golf club/country club leased.

Many clubs, post covid, hung onto their carts for an extra year or two. Because of 1) uncertainty or 2) supply chain.

They may be 2/3 the price, but i guarantee, the margins are the same.

A lot depends on the year of the cart. We bought a used cart that was a year old and had less than 20 hours on it. It came from a tournament for the PGA as the story goes. The cart is great and we have had no issues. If anything was damaged they had fixed/replaced it and it came with a 2 year warranty. At the time for us it was going to be over $16k at The Village Golf Cart store or $13k at the Village Discount Golf Cart Store. Also at the time ours had a better enclosure and better directional as the the Village Golf Cart store only had the manual ones.

The difference also is that purchasing from the Discount Golf Cart store is that your warranty is not a Factory Yamaha Warranty as they are not an authorized Yamaha Dealer. Also, any reconditioning parts used are never OEM Yamaha parts as they are not allowed to use them.

Why would a business that specializes in golf cart repairs/rebuilds not be allowed to purchase OEM Yamaha parts?

Remanufactured typically means that the major components are replaced. I.e. bushings, bearings, belts and anything else that wears. Anything cosmetic that is scuffed or damaged, like seats, trim, body panels etc. is also replaced. This can include the engine too if it was burning oil or was out of spec in any way.

A remanufactured cart will look and behave showroom new.

If they are selling refurbished or rebuilt or anything else, it's just cleaned up and anything that was broken has been repaired.

Most carts last a very long time with just a small amount of care. If you buy any Club car or Yamaha with fuel injection(2014ish) or newer you aren't likely to have much of an issue with it.

Electric used carts really need refreshed batteries. Gas carts that aren't spewing blue cloud of smoke, will be fine. Most dealers have some sort of a warranty but chances are you won't need it.

Good luck.

At the local 4 store chain here, the refurb I bought did seem to have a few new things replaced it. New things they added were installed with little care. Their workmanship was awful. Issues like stripped screws, wrong size screws, mis-aligned or crooked mounting, rattles and squeaks on everything they touched. Multiple issues have required repeated trips to service, for the same problem or new ones. The "new" windshield has an excess of swirls and scratches - apparently caused by me driving it home and then back the next day. Be ready to hear lots of "that's not covered" and "we cannot find anything wrong" and "it's within specs".
Beware, there is no indication about previous hours used, or how many miles it was driven before you got it.
You are buying something that should be just like new. That includes how it is delivered, and the service that should keep it like new for a year. Maybe other dealers are better. Actually, in my opinion, it would be really difficult to be worse.

That's ridiculous. First off, by definition, "reconditioned parts" are not OEM parts.

Secondly, anyone can buy OEM parts, over the counter at any franchised dealer.

To me the key word in village discount golf is discount. They discounted me after the sale. No notice of a warranty recall. They couldn’t replace a snap that fell off, and recently they couldn’t help me with a tail light that went bad beyond recommending other businesses that might me able to get the part.

But you do get a discount on a cart that you really don’t know it’s actual history. I think I will go to an out of town dealer when it’s time to replace my cart. I will know it’s new and still get some discount

Will an out of town dealer deliver to TV? And just how far out of town can we expect a delivery?

My understanding is the only thing they can’t do is sell current year models as The Village cart store is the only place to get a brand new one but everything else is a go.

They are just putting lipstick on a pig.

The lipstick is only what you can see.......paint, seats, lights, etc.

It is NOT, re-manufactured engine, clutch, etc.

DO NOT be impressed with the hours on the cart..........that can be reset.

We bought from Village Discount Golf Carts for the same reason. The only problem we have had is an out of round tire/wheel when it was newly delivered. We called them, their service guy came out, determined there was a problem, had the cart picked up, they put 4 new tires and wheels on and returned it the next day. It’s been good ever since. We feel like we got a good deal and saved several thousand dollars on it.

Ill sell ya a practically new street rod lux for 17k, has EVERYTHING.

I agree - I got a reman cart from there - it has been great.

I would stay away from Village Discount Golf Cart and spend the extra couple of thousand and know what you are getting. Try to buy parts when your body and engine are different years old. I found out the hard way that my battery was the original with the older body and never replaced when I purchased the reconditioned cart. Also I have had no luck with the service department. I have it repaired before I even get a call back from them if I get one at all. I will not buy my next cart from them..

I bought a reman, 10 years ago, researched its VIN it had been in service at golf course in Wisconsin , not year round use , New body New enclosure New tires wheels New seat, serviced. Belts .brakes, clutches, will usually last for years, buy a fairly late model [ 2 to 4 year old] and you no problem . Save thousands

Bought a reconditioned 2005 from the Villages in 2009, serviced every year and still going.

I bought my Yamaha cart from Wholesale Golf Carts on 441 just north of Discount Golf Carts. They were great to deal with and very responsive with service. Also as a customer they will rent me an additional cart for $10/day including delivery with adequate notice. Great for when I have company.

Discount
 

I have a discount and yes they were SLOW carts for like a tournament and get upgraded to run at on our streets at those speeds so the main thing is a higher gear. So mine is a slow starter compared to Yamaha street cart but then as fast as any other.

Out of town dealers do deliver to the villages. As to how far away you can get delivery, a phone call to the dealer you’re interested in will answer that. And there are plenty of cart service companies that will service your cart in your driveway.

Give me a call and I will give you a quick golf car education. Jim 513-615-1749

Sure...anyone can buy Yamaha parts, but they will pay retail for them. Only an Authorized Yamaha dealer can perform warranty service on a Yamaha cart. So, while the discount dealer may offer a warranty, it is not a factory warranty, and any parts required will come out of their pocket. Easy to understand why they will not use OEM parts, when they can obtain aftermarket parts cheaper.

Think of it like this: will Billy Bob's auto repair be able to do warranty work on your new Ford vehicle? Sure...he might be able to do the work, but why would he? It would be a net loss for him.

Out of town golf cart stores do deliver to the Villages. I bought a new one at Carts and Clubs in Ocala and they delivered it. I had a problem with tires and they came right back and fixed the problem. They also will service the cart right in your driveway. Saved a few thousand dollars by buying cart from them.

Also, purchasing a non-PTV cart you will never know hours run. Only PTV's come with a factory hour meter. New Yamaha fuel/hour reset, no, but many older golf carts gas and electric hour reset, yes, and most of those under the seat are generic. :gc:

Villages golf cart store won't service
 

The Villages golf cart store will no longer service my 2002 Yamaha that we bought from them new in 2002, said they can't get parts.
So be aware of this. Doesn't seem right since they told us they would service the cart as long as we owned it.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Caveat Emptor.

I love my "Lipstick on a Pig" golf cart from Wholesale Golf Carts. We have had it over two years without a single issue. Got to pick color, canvas, seats, wheels and received all new tires, lights, batteries, belts, etc. We are seriously considering getting a second cart from them. I think this option is better than new as you save a bundle but still get a new looking cart in the exact colors you want. If you are really concerned about the dealer, The Villages Golf Car is doing the exact same thing with the "reconditioning" of the carts coming out of the lifestyle villas they are selling off. I think these carts may have been a bit more abused though as they were driven nearly every day instead of a leased cart that may have only been used seasonally.

Very few parts on Yamaha Golf carts (or any manufacturers' golf carts) are produced directly by the "brand". In many cases, you can buy "after-market" parts that are the exact same product (without the brand's name on it), for significantly less money. If you insist on products with the brand's name on it, you can buy them for significantly less than "retail price".

Golf carts are a commodity product and they're all essentially the same and haven't been significantly improved since they went from having 3 wheels, to 4 wheels. About the only improvement in the last 10-15 years, have been fuel injection & Lithium Batteries. Other than that, the cart you buy today is not much different than the cart you could have bought in 2005.

Take a look at Nobles Golf Carts in Leesburg. Bought a remanufactured cart from them in 2011 and it has been great. Got to pick almost everything out on the cart including motor and controller.

The suspension.

:gc:

If still amazes me that the price of new golf carts here are about 80% of the price of a brand new small actual CAR. A car with all the safety features windows brakes air bags etc etc etc. case in point a Nissan Sentra for Base Price: $20,635
Fuel Economy EPA combined/city/highway: 33/29/39 mpg
Warranty: 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain and 3-year/36,000-mile limited warranty.

The profit margin on golf carts has to be huge. And +++++ for retailers that sell to us here in TV. Laughing all the way to the bank.

Ohiobuckeye
 

Any kind of personal transportation are going to start being very expensive to buy or stay home! I don’t know but someone is forcing this on us. Even if someone tries to or does have a solution to get the prices down it won’t be over night, it’ll take several yrs. I think the president holds the key to that but I don’t think he’s intending to do that & I don’t understand why. Does anyone know?

If you get a re-manufactured cart, go thru the Villages golf car store. Just my opinion. Have heard some bad stories about the discount store

Check Prices With Nearby Dealers Who Deliver
 

We bought a new Yamaha from Country Power in Webster. It is a Yamaha dealer. The price was several thousands less than Village Carts and only a few dollars more than what Village Discount charges for a rebuilt cart.

Country Power delivered the cart and picked it up and returned it for its first service. Subsequent services have been performed at our house. Country says it is a rare day that they do not have a serviceman working in The Villages.

It's a nice drive to Webster. The Country Power store is an old grain warehouse and it's worth the trip to see the building. The saleswoman was very pleasant and was very patient as we pored over her catalogues and samples when choosing options and colors. Country makes their cart enclosures and the workmanship was exceptional. If interested, you can combine the trip to the Webster Market which is directly across the street from Country Power.

My regular golf partner bought his new Yamaha at the dealer in Ocala. He paid much the same price I paid at Country. His cart was delivered to The Villages and he is equally happy with the cart and the service.

We did the same. Very happy with The Villages Discount Golf Carts.

Not happy with Villages Discount Golf Cars....clutch belt went 2nd year, windshield cracked 2nd year, cart rattles, loose bolts thruout, light switch fell off, but worst thing was the ultra "friendly" salesperson could not be bothered to talk to me when I asked about these problems later on.... And none of it covered by their "famous" 5 year warranty. Would not recommend.

The best mechanics are not reconditioning Golf Carts. Keep that in mind. We have three sets of friends who all purchased reconditioned carts. They were so happy. The carts looked new. Only one of the three worked out well. One of them convinced the "dealer" to give them credit the other had to lawyer up. The average for the three carts was just shy of $12,000 each. Wowser!

We paid $9000 out the door for a 2016 Yamaha Gas Cart with a Carberator, not fuel injected and somehow we survived. I love that stupid cart. It's in pristine shape and I could probably get back what I paid for it but have no interest in doing so.

Good luck to the OP. If I were you I'd bite the Bullet and go new.