Does The Villages Golf Cars sell Electric Golf Cars from Yamaha?
 

I am wondering if The Villages Golf Cars sells the Yamaha Drive 2 PowerTech AC series of electric golf cars?

Since I never see them talk about electric carts from Yamaha, I assume they don't sell them. They look pretty solid.

Thanks

Be advised that the batteries in electric golf carts don't last as long in the Florida heat as their counterparts in the northern states. That eight year life expectancy doesn't make it down here. Just ask anyone about how long their batteries last in their cars down here. After three years they've had it!

TOTALLY agree. We've been in TV for 10 years. Decided to go electric for our cart. First one was Yamaha with 8 6V batteries. Range of 35 miles, and needed to replace batts after 3 years. Then got a Tomberlin electric. Same issue. Not good. And batts are now VERY expensive.

Now after 6 months we have a lithium electric cart. OMG - 80 mile range and easy charging. Smooth, reliable - and NO BATTERIES to replace. Very pleased.

Lithium will need replaced at some point. Did they tell you the expected life expectancy?

I have a Plowman modified Yamaha gas cart up north. I would sure love a Yamaha 4-forward (concierge model) lithium cart!

Problem is that Yamaha is a bit like Toyota. They are very reliable but not very innovative. They constantly play catch up. All the new bells and whistles are in German cars, not Japanese cars.

Same with Yamaha jet skis. Very reliable but Sea-Doo has all the cool features.

Same with boat motors. Ya know the saying, "If you wanna get there fast, get a Mercury. If you wanna get there every time, get a Yamana."

Yamahas are very reliable, very sturdy, very "bulletproof" but innovative they are not. Several years behind other makes on bells and whistles. This, sadly, includes lithium carts.

Yamaha AV receivers had huge input capacitance so when cranked up, the lights in the room would flicker with the beat of the kettle drums.

TVGC don't carry the Yamaha AC carts because 105ah battery is not large enough and you are stuck at 19.5 MPH unless you put larger diameter wheels on it which requires a lift kit. I suspect not enough takers so TVGC won't sell them. The 8x6V lead-acid is good for about 60 miles but lead-acid is so 200 years ago.

The battery in a car has to contend with 180F+ engine next to it...not so much in a electric golf cart application.

How is that a problem? Yamaha makes the best personal transportation golf cart on the market. With all the $$$ their competitors throw at innovation, they are still chasing Yamaha. Yamaha showed great innovation several years ago by making a very quiet and reliable gas cart with an independent rear suspension. If it ain’t broke, why try to fix it? Same with Toyota/Honda/Nissan/Subaru. Unlike over engineered German autos, which are less reliable and cost a small fortune to fix, rice burners are extremely reliable. If I could purchase a brand new 1995 Toyota Camry or Tacoma, with a 5 speed manual transmission and no computer chips or sensors, I would snap it up in a heartbeat.
Here is hoping government regulations stay out of the golf cart business and don’t start forcing manufacturers to build unreliable pieces of crap. There are already enough of those golf carts out there from China.

Perhaps I was not clear. I have a gang of Yamaha stuff (gas cart, gas outboard motor, gas Jetski). The "Problem" I was referring to is they are great manufacturers but they are not at the vanguard of feature innovation. The "Problem" is that I want a Yamaha lithium 4-front facing concierge but they are not running point on installing lithium batts in their carts.

I have no problem with Yamaha's quality.

I bought an EV golf cart a few months ago and we love it. We can drive all the way down south and still have enough power to get back home. We got an 8 year warranty and I’m happy with that.

OP, it does not appear your original questions was answered, and I cannot answer it. I would simply call The villages golf carts tell them what you want and ask if they sell and SERVICE them. There are several Yamaha dealers to the North and South of TV (Ocala, Webster) that would be my next point of contact and I believe they offer at home service. The prices have been reported to be lower, but you do not get a loaner.

The OP’s question was answered in post #6.

Yet?

“All the new bells and whistles are in German cars, not Japanese cars.“

Yep that why they loose 60% of value in 5 years. :Screen_of_Death: I’d take Toyota or Honda over anything European got to offer.

I asked The Villages Golf Cart about why no Yamaha Lithium carts? They said that Yamaha knows they own the gas cart market and feel that a Yamaha Lithium cart would only compete / cut into their gas cart sales. Sounded like a plausible answer to me.

Just call them and ask.

Huh? Yamaha makes electric carts with lithium-ion batteries. For use in The Villages, I believe they should put a larger battery in them. For golf courses, the battery size is fine since they will at most be used for 2 rounds of golf before charging.

I also asked about the Yamaha Electric and the answer I got was that what they have cannot compete with either EZ Go or Star. Both have far superior batteries and electronics.

Something that hasn't been stated here is that the 8 Year Warranty on the EZ GO is a full replacement warranty for the 8 years. There is no limit on number of charges, mileage, or anything else! The batteries are Samsung and the electronics are also Samsung. I purchased one and just got it this week, but so far, couldn't be happier!

DO NOT BUY FROM THE VILLAGES GOLF CART SSLES - go outside the bubble and save thousands - - you have been informed!!

Best Bet
 

Yamaha Gas is best......... not electric.......too early for them........

EZ Go electric long range or Club Car long range best bet, carry 6-8 year battery warranty.............a little early for Yamaha electric, bugs not worked out

whatever you do, get longest range you can................

Kodak invented the first digital camera but didn’t sell it because it would cut into their very profitable film sales. Market place has a history of companies of not bringing out products that would cut into their current business. Most of them lost their number 1 status and, in some cases, went into bankruptcy.

Have an EZGO lithium also. Over 5k miles and we are part time residents. Battery is 100 percent even if we are gone for a month. Very happy with our choice. Tested for 60 mile range. That’s a long ride. Live at Linden and play golf anywhere. Nancy Lopez and the Executive courses that are farther.

I went to The Villages Golf cart store looking for a Yamaha electric cart with the large lithium battery and they don't sell them, they push hard to sell the Starr electric cart with the lithium battery which had a very nice ride. I went to The Villages Discount Golf cart, and they built me a Yamaha Cart with the large lithium battery. We get 80 plus miles on a full charge with a 10-year warranty on the battery, very happy with the cart.

What did your phone call to the dealer say?

Have you ever considered calling The Villages Golf Cars and asking them?

The main reason I wanted an electric Yamaha is to get an independent Rear suspension.

Now I am thinking there are gas models with independent rear suspension?

True words. Electric Golf Carts have only been around for 30-40 years and it wasn't until 25 years ago, they first out sold gasoline carts. Give them some time to prove electric carts are practical.

As for the range thing. At 20 mph, you can only ride around at top speed for 4 or 5 hours, what could you possibly do with the rest of your day with a sore butt?

I was hoping smaller rims with full size tires and a rear and front independent suspension would help the the butt thing.

Butt Thing
 

It's all about the seats............ EL Tigre is the best seats made.....look up on internet..
not manufacturers so called premium or luxury seats......save your ass and check the internet....electric motors will last for 20 years, gas good for 5, before issues, too many moving parts, just look at all the used gas for sale, usually 4-5 years old, passing the problems on, gas too loud, electric can hear yourself think and talk to passenger...........you are on the right track, just not Yamaha, like I said, they have bugs to work out........:thumbup:

3 years, pretty quick Starting battery on our Yamaha has been going strong for 4 years and we have an Acura MDX and it is going good for 4 years. Both kept in garage might be difference

Yes, the Yamaha Drive 2 GAS carts have independent rear suspension.

That brings up the question of what should the legal top speed of ANY cart in The Villages be? You would think that Golf Carts all having the SAME top speed would make for greater SAFETY for all Cart users here.

I think that one BIG factor in GAS carts wearing out fast is that people jack up their speed controller and drive around at 30 MPH. I can hear those that have changed their speed controller because you can hear that they are louder. And you can smell the excess unburned gasoline. I don't understand why the Police don't hand out tickets and control this speeding? Anyone buying an older gas Golf Cart needs to be sure that the owner has NOT fiddled with the accelerator.

Cops
 

Police do hand out tickets to speeders, BUT, not on multi modal pathways, only on the streets. They do have jurisdiction there. I have seen this a couple of times........

Maybe we should form a civilian on patrol group to monitor the speeders and hand out tickets? Probably would be plenty of volunteers. :crap2:

Here is an idea, buy an older Yamaha 4 forward and build one as you want. It's only money.

No. My Yamaha gas cart is 10 years old and is without any issues. It has over 2000 hours on the engine and close to 40K miles. Yamaha warranties the engine for 5000 hours (essentially 80K miles) if you use Yamalube and follow their maintenance schedule. There is some small print but they obviously think the engine will last a long time. You can cherry pick and probably find some example of a premature engine failure but that is true for almost any consumer item, include a premature electric motor failure in an electric golf cart. BTW, I have both a gas golf cart and an electric golf cart.

Please provide some data regarding gas carts wearing out prematurely.

It might be because, due to a myriad of causation factors I won't delve into here, our streets are open-air drug and crime dens. With greater seriousness crimes being committed with more regularity, homelessness, and housing affordability issues facing us as a society, there are somethings requiring a higher priority than putting a hard-to-find-and-hire police officer with a ticket book on a privately owned multi-modal path.

As for your secondary concern, how about this: A buyer of a used cart (or a car or anything since you have stated you don't have or intend to obtain a cart) practice due diligence and have it inspected for concerns prior to purchase?

That is the fundamental difference in perspective: Some believe that the onus should be on others to make sure things are handled for them, while some believe that onus is on themselves to make sure they are getting what they want.

It's a paradigm dichotomy of where that onus should be placed -- where accountability and responsibility should be placed. For some, they want all taken care of for them. For others, they prefer to do what they need to do the make sure all is taken care of for them thereby preferring to rely on themselves than others. This can be (but won't here due to terms of service) extrapolated to the greater world and how it should be structured. We watch this occurring in many different ways by many different people every hour of every day.

Not saying which way is right or wrong. Maybe both are right and both are wrong in different ways and situations. I'm just pointing out what that bifurcation on an individual level does as to forming our perspectives on many things great and small.

When the vast majority of golf carts sold in TV are Gas, the vast majority of resales will also be gas...

And I don't know where you got this "only good for 5 years" nonsense...

There are hundreds, if not thousands of older carts still providing reliable service...

Except the DON'T wear out fast...