Yamaha Golf Cart Availability
 

We moved here just about 2-years ago. When we started looking for a cart the wait for a new Yamaha at the Villages Golf Cart Store was at least 4-6 months. Electric carts were somewhat plentiful. When we would walk by the store in Brownwood, there were several Star carts outside and some random pre-owned Yamaha carts. Yesterday, walking by the store there were many brand new Yamaha carts (low $18 to low $20s) and no Star carts. My, have things changed.

Just my opinion low $18’s is still to high

A lot like Ford's experiment with Edsel. Yamaha has the wrong carts for the market.

The shortage was because of COVID is what I remember from 2 years ago.

There are also several suppliers outside of TV, Webster and Ocala and i think most of these have on site services for carts they sold.

Yup! I bought a brand new 2021 Yamaha Gas Drive2 Quiettech EFI Adventurer 2+2 PTV (not a fleet cart, a factory lifted, factory 4-seater, with higher gearing and fender flares and bull bars) brand spanking new out-the-door after taxes etc. for just under $10,000 in September of 2020 - the height of Covid shortages.

You did well. The cost of golf carts is not inflation JUST GREED @ The Villages Golf Carts.

anybody ask for a price match??

A good negotiator will ask. The Villages probably will not seriously negotiate as there are too many folks around here who like the convenience and their policy of only working on their customers carts. Have a 2020 Yamaha and needed only 1 oil change(coming on 2nd) in 3 years

A nationally renowned Yamaha golf cart mechanic advised me to:

1. Oil change annually;
2. Clean air filter, annually;
3. Replace spark plug annually;
4. Grease front and rear clutches (one pump only via zerk fitting) annually;
5. Change rear end fluid every three years.

After the first time or two, it turns into a 10 minute task.

That must be something like being your neighborhood Tic Tac Toe champion. Prestigious in its own way, I'm sure.

Or being the Maytag Repairman, that no one ever needs.

All very easy to do, except accessing the zerk on the rear clutch (much easier when the back is opened up to change the rear gear oil).

I just find the unmarked "neutral" setting on the forward / reverse switch, then reach through past the battery and push the rear clutch until the zerk is accessible. Taking out the bagwell is a little bit of a pain in the butt.

If you knew what you were talking about, you'd be worth listening to. Try familiarizing yourself a little with the industry - start with BuggiesGoneWild dot com. Try to focus on Gas Yamahas.

Nationally Recognized? OK, Ill bite...Who?

30+ years in and around the Golf Course business, I know way more than I want to about Yamaha golf carts.

Which is why I didn't buy one. They're the budget solution for private golf courses, who are too cheap to buy Club Car. Public courses buy EZGo.

Definitely go with electric, super quite, no exhaust smell, no messing with gas, oil, recharge on a standard wall outlet, I have Star Cart and it's been great

??? Is that why probably 70% of the carts you see running around the Villages are Yamaha?

Not really. Remove 2 screws, and it pops right out. Takes less than two minutes.

Wow, didn’t know the price increase was that much since 2018, we paid $13,000. for a new one, & they had lots of them. I was always told electric cost more maintain & supposedly quieter. We bought a gas cart because at the time a electric cart as much as I drive in a day it would of never got me home. We sold it when we moved & it sold in 1/2 hr. but I really think we sold it to cheap. Oh yea, the Yamaha cart will be worth waiting for , good luck!

No, the reason you see so many Yamahas running around The Villages, was because the Developer made a deal with Yamaha many years ago and it was the only golf cart you could readily buy on campus. They then solidified their hold on the market, by refusing to service Yamahas that were bought off campus.

So, what, a caddy or course marshal? But not 30 years as a full-time golf cart mechanic, muchness a designer of custom clutches, etc.?

I worked at an airport for a few years, but I wouldn't say I'm an aircraft mechanic or a pilot. But I was "in and around the business."

Don Plowman of Plowman's Carts - Golf Cars - Golf Cars, Golf Carts and Utility in Flint, MI. Website isn't the most dynamic, he's a hands-on pro technician and metal fabricator. Custom makes advanced clutches, springs, and other Yamaha-specific items. He isn't worried about ROI like a manufacturer is, so instead of cheaper parts, Don makes high performance parts. Researching what top techs in the country know, and many will point you at Don as the nation's number one guy. Or you can heed the guy here who has spent 30+ years on and around golf courses, and can also probably tell you which burger is best at the snack shack.

Interesting and certainly debatable, appreciate the response.

Were you here many years ago ? You joined TOTV in 2021. The consensus on TOTV is that Yamaha's are the best gas cart. Village Discount, Carts and Clubs, and Power Equipment in Webster seem to sell their share of new and used Yamahas.

Your World Renowned Expert at Carts Gone Wild, says that ClubCar is the "Gold Standard".

Comparing the Top 3 Golf Cart Manufacturers: Club Car(R), E-Z-GO(R), and Yamaha(R)

But that's ok, not everyone needs to drive a Buick, some folks are happy with a Chevrolet.

& I never worked at an airport, but I am an FAA Licensed Instrument Rated Pilot

Boy, you're not very detail oriented are you? I would'a expected more from an instrument rated pilot. Haven't met you in my Mensa member meetings, but maybe you haven't been to any.

Anyhow, your Carts Gone Wild is a self-declared "manufacturer showroom" aka a dealership that sells Club Car and a few lower tier Chinese carts. Of course they're going to say their expensive Club Cars are the best, gotta justify moving them over the more, ahem, value-based Chinese carts they sell.

The quoted graphic on your post is a marketing piece, of course they're gonna claim they're the best - everyone does. That's how things get sold.

Buggies Gone Wild is a forum of golf cart specific technicians from around the country. They will all have their bias, but the Yamaha guys swear by Don Plowman, and that's good enough for me.

You enjoy what you got, and I hope it works well for you, but you seem the type of guy we used to call "know it all." Hope I'm wrong.

It might shocked you to know, one doesn't have to live in The Villages to have experience with golf carts.

Even more shockingly, the "consensus on TOTV" probably doesn't carry all that much weight, in the world at large.

What is fact, is that Electric Carts far out-sell gasoline carts, everywhere in the USA & the world (I would be shocked if they didn't outsell gasoline carts in TV over the last 2 years).

Unfortunately, Yamaha seems to have now focused on producing Lithium Carts for their core customers ... golf courses. They don't offer a Lithium option, larger than 105 Amps.

I can't speak to electric carts at all. But when it comes to gas I bought a Yamaha.

My family has been in the powersports business since 1975. They sold Suzuki but now sell Kawasaki and Polaris. I currently own a Polaris General 1000 SxS, a Husky 125 motocross bike, as well as a Kawasaki KX 250 mx bike. Over the years I've owned a Harley Fatboy, numerous streetbikes, 2 jetskis, too many mx bikes to count, 2 Kawasaki SxS's and a few other street bikes. Yeah, I blew a lot of cash on toys. Lol.

When it comes to powersports and small engines, you can't beat Japanese quality, that's not up for debate. Even my brother will admit that Kawasaki's are better built than Polaris.

In the automobile business the US manufacturers have closed the gap for sure. But in gas golf carts, no way. Yamaha is better quality, hands down.

If you were in the Power Sports business, you should know the market fairly well. Yamaha makes a nearly bullet-proof product. Much better than Kawasaki or Suzuki, but marginally behind Honda.

Golf carts began as a typically American product. "Gas Buggies" were virtually unknown in the rest of the world. The Japanese manufacturers jumped into the business and as in the automotive world, they're great "copiers". They typically beat the American manufacturers, with quality and dependability and do it at a lower price.

There in lies the secret; "lower price". Yamaha carts are priced lower than ClubCar. In a vacuum, is ClubCar a "better cart"? I guess it depends. Both manufacturer's carts are reasonably bullet-proof. Personally, I think the ClubCar has higher quality appointments and is more comfortable ... that doesn't necessarily make it better.

TV is swarming with Yamaha carts, because that's the manufacturer the Developer decided would make him more money. Smart business decision. Yamaha gave him incentives based on huge, anticipated volume. He was able to sell zillions of golf carts that were at a minimum, 95% as good as a ClubCar and sell them at 85% of ClubCar prices.

I could go back and look at earlier posts, but I think what I said was, ClubCar is the choice for most Private Country Clubs in the USA and Yamaha is the economy choice. EZGo (or Yamaha) being the choice for public golf courses.

The reason ClubCar is typically the choice for higher end private clubs, is that it performs as well as Yamaha, but has higher "prestige value" and ClubCar's support network is better.

All that said, it seems Yamaha is losing its grip on the TV market, as the original poster noted. Sales in TV are moving closer to the national norm and electric carts are gaining market share. Yamaha's only Electric/Lithium product, comes with a 105 Amp battery, which doesn't give sufficient range for most folks traveling around TV.

It seems that the Big 3 are lagging behind the interlopers like Star & Evolution, when it comes to Lithium EV's.

I don't have a clue why, but it's obvious they are. When I came to TV, I started out looking at ClubCar & Yamaha, but neither of them offered Lithium technology. I bought a Star Sirius and hardly ever saw any others around TV. Now I see gobs of them. I don't think the overall quality of Star or Evolution is anywhere close to Yamaha or ClubCar, but they're pretty much the only game in town, if you want Lithium.

My point wasn't about golf courses. It's about Japanese quality vs US in powersports. When it comes to durability I'll take a Yamaha cart all day long.
And btw, as the owner of many Kawasaki products their quality is right there with Honda and Yamaha.

But as far as lithium carts go, I have no idea on those.

Ain't that the truth!

No, you really don't understand. The TV Cart Stores have sold for a good 12 years also Club Car and EZGO, gas and electric. Potential customers after a good test drive choose by a good 10 to 1 margin the Yamaha Gas for a variety of reasons. That is why you see so many Yamaha gas owners.

Agreed. My experience with the Villages Golf Cars includes driving a Yamaha, Club Car, EZGo, and Star.

- After driving both, I felt the Yamaha was much more comfortable than the Club Car
- I bought my Yamaha outside the Villages. Most of the carts on that lot were Yamaha. Yamaha has a market because of name and quality, not because Villages Golf Cars is the only game in town or because they only sell Yamaha.
- Star had a fancier electronics package but the EZGo Lithium felt like a more solidly built cart (and had a good track record, short as it is)
- It's hard to tell how many of the EZGos in the Villages are electric but Star is certainly not the only game in town for lithium.

Heck I thought it was you :Screen_of_Death:

2K battery exchange every few years:BigApplause:

Let me preface by saying I owned two Yamaha Drive 2's for 8 years, so I understand how well they run, and also what the long term maintenance on them is.

Your comment on "battery exchange every few years" is wildly incorrect for lithium carts. Battery life is estimated to be in the 10-15 year range. Warranty is for 8 years on the battery. My battery is rated for 3500 cycles. I've got 800 miles on it and only 12 cycles.

By the time you need a new battery, you will probably want a new cart. The money saved from gas and maintenance for those years compared to a gas cart will cover the cost of a new battery if you decide to keep the cart.