new cart prices....... wow
 

walking past the cart shop in brownwood tonight, a star 4 seat forward ele. for only $27,800. cars dont cost that much with more features.

You made the right choice, kept on walking

Try Country Village on CR471 in Webster across from the Webster Flee Market.

Did it come with air conditioning, LOL?

cart prices
 

just bought a 2024 lexus es300 hybrid for 49000,,, it has AC and is 5 seater too ,,:a040:

There's a reason that The Villages Golf Cars don't list prices of the units on their website.

Drive buy robbery. :oops:

Please tell me what happened on that date that made the cost of a golf cart go up. As I recall we were in an economic lockdown, the world economy was frozen, thousands were dying every day from a pandemic, there had just been a riot in DC, unemployment had skyrocketed, economists were forecasting a certain recession, and the average crude oil price had jumped 250% in just nine months. That is not a typo, it went up from 21 to 53 dollars.

But for you Jan 2021 is special. In fact there was a tough time for the economy climbing out of the hole we were in on January 2021. Now we have lowered inflation, record stock prices, no recession, low unemployment. The results have far exceeded the expectations of the experts.

I think when a golf cart costs more than a new car that may represent specific corporate greed, not the general state of the economy.

I call fake news. :police: 21 to 53 is a 152% increase.

53 - 21 = 32

(32/21) x 100 = 152.38%

If it jumped 250% it would have been 250% higher than 21.

21 + (21 x 2.5) = $73.50

You are correct. I should have written that the cost of crude went up by a factor of 2.5

53 / 21 = 2.52

Not sure how directly that affects the price of what is essentially a luxury item, but is that post implying that the last 3 years have been better for America than the 4 that preceded it? Well, alrighty then:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Holiday season will be coming early this year.:icon_wink:

It started long before that with QE at The Fed continuing far too long, a mistake The Fed acknowledged. There were also two stimulus checks and unemployment benefit extensions with weekly bonuses. This is a problem not specific to the US. There was global supply chain interruptions and inflation was even higher in many, many countries. The war in Ukraine made matters worse and disrupted oil supplies. There is a shortage of labor in this country that continues to this day, and there is still wage inflation pressures. And last, but not least, I think we can safely say that many, if not most corporations took full advantage of the pandemic to raise prices, and profits and stock prices are currently at all time highs. Housing appreciation was also huge.

There are some silver linings for retirees. This is the first time in more than a decade that bank savings generated any kind of significant interest. 401k’s are doing well. Social Security has gone up about 18% in the last 3 years. The wealth of those over 55 has gone up more than 30% since 2019. Meanwhile, the number of “excess retirements” which are those above the normal trend are still high and have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. These are typically early retirees. There is no question that according to all metrics, many people are doing even better financially than before the pandemic.

I understand what happened on 1-20-21, but the above is all true.

I bought a new 2023 Quietech with a good seat and several good options for $17,000. Yes, that seems like a lot to me for a golf car, but they are not made in mass production like automobiles. I’m sure there is a higher markup as there is not as much competition and these are generally viewed as luxury want-to-haves, not necessities.

Just showed up on my FaceBook page. Brand new Kia SUV, with 100,000 mile guaranty. Under $20,000.

Not so much corporate greed, more like Villages greed. Carts are much cheaper, like everything else, outside the Villages. Location, Location, Location.

Profit margins on golf carts in The Villages is HUUUUUUGE.

Talk about Car Dealers around the Villages gouging.... GC is much worse...

Is someone forcing you to buy a golf cart?

"Lowered Inflation"...

Yes, after 3 years of record setting inflation...

Lowering inflation only means prices aren't going up as fast as they were. Not that they're coming down... Prices are still sky high...

Nailed it...:gc:

People aren't forced to buy here, and are definitely not forced to buy from Villages vendors at vastly inflated prices. Wal-mart is selling carts right here in TV with the highest I've seen, price-wise, for a four-seater is under $9,000, and that's for brand new. Gainesville for example also has numerous dealerships that sell new carts for prices several thousands of dollars under what the local merchants charge, and renting a U-haul for a couple of hundred bucks to ferry one back from Gainesville is a cheap price to pay for a legitimate deal.

We're victims ONLY if we choose to be victims. Enough people shopping afield for realistically-priced golf carts will drive down the prices around here right quick.

Hey! Gotta keep up with the Joneses. (Peer pressure is powerful here)

Yes. And?

You must be very very young if you think we have recently had "record inflation"

The core inflation rate is available back to 1958 HERE

It has been higher than the 6.2 of 2022 10 times in those years. It has been higher than the 3.6 in 2021 25 times in the prior years. And historically the 2023 rate is not high.

And look at the rates for 2023 by month

2023 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.3 4.8 4.7 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.0 3.9

Whatever forces are managing the economy are doing a fine job of creating the soft landing that no one seemed to think was possible. There has never since the Great Depression been a period in the US economy of deflation. Prices do not come down. So whining about how they haven't now suggests you'd only be happy with another Great Depression. Most would not agree with that wish.

Candy bars are no longer a nickel. Gas isn't 19.9 cents. This isn't all since 2021.

I am unable to find the cost of a one horse power golf cart from 1860.

LOL!

Sure pick apart the small amount of hyperbole I used... Excuse me for not saying "recent history"...

I notice you ignored the inflation rates in 2022, when it hit 9.1%...

Or that prices went up over 17% from 2021-2023...

And let's look at the inflation rates by month in 2020 (since you're bragging about the 2023 rates)...

2020 2.5 2.3 1.5 0.3 0.1 0.6 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.2. 1.2 1.4

But sure, inflation is down, so it's all better...

Country Village Power
 

Try these guys out
Country Village Power Equipment - Home

Brand and quality comes to mind, given big box stores propensity to sell cheap foreign manufacturing. Maybe not BMW vs Honda, but the general idea. Yamaha gas powered carts seem to retain value longer which is a sign of quality and durability. Did you research the differences? Curious really, not intending to be argumentative.

Here are the month by month and total for 2022 which I did not ignore.
2022 6.0 6.4 6.5 6.2 6.0 5.9 5.9 6.3 6.6 6.3 6.0 5.7 6.2

In fact, basic reading, go back and you will see this sentence segment

2020 was the covid lockdown year. The economy was in shambles, businesses were closed down, unemployment was way up, the Congress and White House were sending checks out to try to get cash moving again. The debt was increased by many trillions in that year. But you think that we should return to the economic situation that gave us that low inflation rate. I don't.

3.6 + 6.2 + 4.8 are the core inflation increases for 21 22 and 23. My math although not always perfect totals 14.6. Miss McLaughlin taught me that 14.6 is less than over 17.

Miss McLaughlin taught you addition, not compounding (though the number is still less than 17).

The thing that is so often ignored, including in this thread is the other side of this recent bought of inflation.

Yes, inflation has gone up and is still running about 3% higher than last year.

But my Social Security went up 17% as well when several years in the last decade there were 0% increases.

I’m still making 5.4% on my savings when many of those years it was a fraction of 1%. In some of those years, it was barely above zero.

The stock markets are at all time highs. This positively impacts most retirement funds.

The net worth of those 55+ is up 30% since 2019.

Real estate values at least where my house is at an all time high.

Inflation can be jarring but I know that I, and many if not most of my contemporaries are doing better. Not everyone, no circumstance is 100% but the data are what they are.

And virtually everyone who wants a job can find one, there are far more job openings than people who are unemployed.

Look around, there are more young people retiring early than ever before. Late 50’s, early 60’s, some were able to retire even before being eligible for early Social Security. By my eye, Sawgrass Grove has plenty of them on any given night and the other Town Squares have them, too. Some may be telecommuting and still working but many are retired.

It’s not all positive and this is a generalization. There are still critical shortages, especially in the medical field which can cause delays in treatment. Many here used to point to delays as the biggest weakness of the Canadian system, but we have delays now here, too. Mortgage rates are still too high for those that need them. But we hope that things continue to improve.

Should we all go back to lockdown? Maybe, when we return from the hiatus, the world will be even brighter.

I too, fail to see how we are living better. Moving on, yes!

I am starting to learn Villagers who have just received their 401K disbursement are easy targets. The prices they are willing to pay, without question, astounds me. With the new price of golf carts, I guess I am not the only one who has noticed.

Soon after we bought our home in TV, once I realized that I could buy a fully loaded 5-6 year old cart for 25% of the new price, we ended up going with the used option.

I intend to buy mine from StreetRod Golf Carts. The have a model that looks like a truck which will be perfect for me since I don’t golf and it has a back that will hold several shopping bags.

February of 2023 2 seat Yamaha everything possible except moon roof was $23,500. Before discounts. So not much change in a year unless OPs window shopping was a base

Prices are head scratching? Very happy we have three really good carts that will hopefully last the rest of our lives. Not happy that both of our cars are racking up high miles, good new cars are a thing of the past as we really don’t want to drive overpriced computers on wheels.

Interesting article regarding US and other economies.

Why US economy is powering ahead of Europe'''s - BBC News

Mark up
 

2022 Yamaha Quiet Tech 4 seat 10,580 New 2 years ago in Daytona at Ace of Carts. Inventory - Ace of Carts

Go to Botero Carts in Ocala. Their forward facing 4 seater, the Evolution D5, has more features than the Star and is $12K with the standard lithium battery, and $14K with the larger battery (205ah). This pricing is more inline with what I would expect given the build and technology for golf carts. I absolutely love mine!

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...8-01-right.jpg

Ah yes, - here in The Villages we can buy an overpriced golf cart, then play overpriced "championship" golf courses where they don't provide a golf cart for you to use unless you pay extra. Such a deal.

There are alternatives.....just sayin'

And then it when back down, but the golf cart price didn’t.:wave: