Buy now or wait ?
 

Greetings -

Just bought near Marsh Bend and seeking any guidance and or opinions on purchasing a golf cart. Since our area currently has no connectivity to the home land, should we wait or purchase a gold cart now or in the near future ?

We currently don't play golf and own our cars.

Thanks

If you want an opinion, I would wait until you decide to play golf. I don't own a golf cart because I think they are too expensive, too slow, and not as safe as cars. You may also consider that you will be riding on the same roads as a lot of construction vehicles for a while.

We also just purchased in Marsh Bend near Cattail.

For now, we are just using our car, but will need to decide when to purchase 1 or 2 golf cars. Still useful for getting around in the area south of the Turnpike, and certainly better than walking or driving everywhere. Seems like gas cart might be the better near term solution. Even after the bridges are complete sometime in 2020, Brownwood Paddock area is still at east 3.5 miles away, and the new Everglades Rec Center is 2.2 miles away.

Rent a golf cart for a couple weeks and see if you like it. Like you I don't play golf so I don't see a cart in my future.

I know a lot of residents that don’t play golf but have golf carts, however, we are in a village just north of Rt. 44. We play golf and have two carts and one car. Just a swag but I believe it will be a year before TV will be connected south of Rt. 44. This gives you time to carefully consider a golf cart. Good Luck.

I’d wait. We’re just north of 466A and hardly use ours. My husband insists on having one. I see them as unsafe except on a golf course.

We live just north of 44 and have two gas carts and one car. I play golf and wife does not. But we use our golf carts to go most places within a 30 minute golf cart drive. I use my golf cart to play golf even if I have to drive 45 minutes to get to the golf course. We really like riding in the golf carts and ours are legal; ie set for 20 mph.

FYI - We purchased a home a short time ago and have recently acquired a golf cart. We live between 466A and 44 and about equal distances from Brownwood and Sumter Landing.

We usually use our cart for evening drives, exploring and seeing the area. Neither of us golf (yet), but we find that you see so much more in the cart. We believe this is true because you travel slower, and probably most importantly you have the opportunity to stop and talk to others.

Learning to travel via a cart is different and one must learn the “rules of the road”. Navigation is different than via a car due to the tunnels and the “no-go” main thoroughfares. We have found this is not a deterrent, but rather a plus - we enjoy discovering all there is to see and experience here.

One thing I have not seen brought up here in this thread - gas Golf Carts get somewhere around 50 MPG, so zipping to the mailbox, a trip to the local square or to the local store for a few groceries is inexpensive.

As many others have suggested, take your time (rent if you wish - I have been told that many times that cost is deducted if you buy new) and figure out what it is that you want and like to do, then dive in.

PS - I have noticed that used cars here in The Villages deprecate faster than used golf carts. Many times I have seen that seven year old cars sell for about the same as a seven year old cart!

If I were you, I'd keep a eye out for a used one. You can get a good low mileage used for substantially less than new. Seeing you are not in immediate need , you can negotiate a good deal.

IMHO, if you live in this golf car community and do not have one, you are missing out on a large part of The Villages experience. I know several people with golf cars in Southern Oaks enjoying them every day. As a previous boater, an evening cruise in the golf car is quite relaxing and enjoyable.

Waite until you have several places close buy that you would go to on a regular basis. I would only get one cart for now.

Nothing hurt by waiting and see if you think a cart would come in handy even before the connectivity. On the other hand, if you go buy a new 2019 right now, and pay cash for it, you can save $1000 over a new 2020. We bought a house a year and a half ago south of the turnpike and bought a cart the day after we signed the offer on the house. But we bought a used cart that was like new with low hours for about half the price of a new one. Recently sold that cart for exactly what I paid for it and bought a 2020. Cart is certainly not a requirement down here but we do use it quite a bit. Golf on rare occasions but the dog demands a ride at least once a day.

Thanks
Out of curiosity, where did you purchase your used cart last year ?

I purchased through an individual that advertised it right here on TOTV. Most carts here, at least most of the newer'ish Yamahas, have hour meters on them. I bought a 4 year old cart with 140 hours on it. That's about half of the average number of hours for a single year. It was a great cart and still is for the new owner.