Golf Carts -- Gas vs Electric
 

Have not yet invested in a golf cart but the time has come to do so. It seems most of the carts we see on the course are gas. We planned on getting an electric for charging convenience at home, noise, fumes, etc. But are rethinking our position on electric vs gas. I get that personal preference is key but I'd value any comparative input on this decision. Anyone transitioned from one to the other? Thanks in advance. Tim


ANY EXPERIENCE WITH TOMBERLIN??

I have one of each. If I only had one cart it would be gas. Both have their pro's and con's. If buying a new cart which I will do sometime in the next year, I would buy a new gas Yamaha EFI Quiet Tech and I would buy it from Carts and Clubs in Ocala because of the better Sunbrella enclosure. I have toyed with getting a Sleekline cab, but it is an advantage only when caught in the rain which only seems to happen 3 or 4 times a year.

there are pros and cons on both electric and gas carts and you are going to hear it from very vocal supporters of each. If you do go gas I would go with a Yamaha EEFI

Ditto on all of the above! If we had to choose it would be gas because of how big The Villages is getting. Do a search on this site for gas vs electric carts. You will find many threads with a lot of different opinions on which is better. Good luck!

They only had to say 8 batteries to me to decide on gas

Oh boy Timothy, you're certain to have touched some nerves...with this very legitimate question. :D


Ya better hang on. :popcorn:

I never had a gas cart but I did have a Columbia Par Car for 5 years and it truly went a long way before I had to charge it. I had only one minimal problem with the car, an electrical switch which was replaced under warranty but otherwise it was perfect. That being said, 7 years have passed since I purchased that one and things I'm sure have changed. I am ready to buy another one now and inclined to stick with electric because of the smell and noise from the gas cars and don't think I would like going to a gas station in one but I have not totally made up my mind yet. Price wise I don't know if there is an advantage either way as I have not gotten that far in my search.

The biggest downsides to electric carts: short distance vs. gas/slower up hills/replacing batteries every so often runs into the $100's of dollars. The quietness of electric is great...the newer gas carts(yamaha for sure/not sure about Par Cars or others)are much quieter.

For all the above reasons (batteries $700 -800 every 3 or 4 years) we switched to Yamaha EFI. There is no smell/stink with EFI (VS carbearator machines).
And the all important factor of distance concerns eliminated.

Check out the EZ go Elite. It comes with lithium Ion battery packs Which are guaranteed for 10 years against everything! Smooth riding, long distance ( I test drove one and at 50 miles the battery pack wasn't even down to half! I put it on the charger for 1 hour and it was almost fully charged!), This cart goes the same speed up hill and down hill about 22 mph. No parking brake. I was all set to buy one but the extra cost for the lithium batteries ( almost $5,000) drove me away. I did buy the Yamaha Quiet tech EFI, but sure wish I could have afforded the EZ Go. No gas stations, noise (yes ALL gas carts are noisy!). I also think the EZ go is smoother riding.

Gas. The carts you see sitting immobilized on the side of the paths are electric.

If you would like to read more; here is a link to the last 134 threads on this subject;

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...rchid=14241741

I have had 3 electric carts and none of them required batteries before 5 years including the Par Car. It averages out at todays prices $10.00 month for batteries plus whatever it costs to charge them. Not much other maintenance to worry about with them. I still might try the EFI gas units but 3 o 4 years is not the case with decent batteries, it's more like 5 to 7 years.

It is like so many questions... it depends on that what you like and more important your requirements...

There is no one answer that is right. I have never owned anything but electric and never (albeit never is a long time) will.

It is right for us, does not mean it is right for you...

If you want electric, then post again and there are things you can learn for range anxiety... and it is far from rocket science.

Carts
 

[QUOTE=Timothy;1465369]Have not yet invested in a golf cart but the time has come to do so. It seems most of the carts we see on the course are gas. We planned on getting an electric for charging convenience at home, noise, fumes, etc. But are rethinking our position on electric vs gas. I get that personal preference is key but I'd value any comparative input on this decision. Anyone transitioned from one to the other?


A comment.
Well, we did a lot of shopping. I am biased because years ago in college, I converted a gas engine from a truck to run on Propane and Natural gas. I measured the emissions and wow, how clean. So with gas, consider this. You take one pound, a pint of gas, and mix it with 14 pounds of air and then combust it, and then it goes out the exhaust,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 15 pounds of stuff, some of it very poisonous. CO2 etc. ( 8 pints in a gallon). So, we bought an Electric EZ GO from AGC carts, they are in Wildwood, they used to be near the Bone-fish Grill. Quiet, clean and very dependable. My wife plays golf with a ladies group. When they ride in our cart, they are really impressed. So do the shopping and remember, there are some good reliable Cart shops that are NOT in the Villages. IF you want the noise and the odors and the gas to breathe, well, OK. Do you hold your breath in the tunnels where it takes awhile to clear the air? Sorry, yep we are biased, very.
Go Electric.
Twice a week, we charge it for about 2 hours. Be sure to get automatic battery watering, a sunbrella, 10 inch tires, minimum, Good quality seats, and be sure the dealer will come out to your house on warranty items, AGC does that. Be sure the dealer sets the governor at 20 MPH max. Also, do your shopping, take your time. You can rent one with J and J carts, not sure if they have electrics though. Please do not reply, gear heads. And, have heard that Toberlin and Merge and Par are good too.

:sigh: :wave:

[QUOTE=bbbbbb;1465521]I guess there's no reason to debate this further, everyone will buy electric. Now the prices will go up.