Gas vs Electric Golf carts
 

I apologize in advance if this was in a previous thread.

I know there are other considerations for a selection but strictly from a financial aspect, has anyone conducted a cost effectiveness study over a 5 year period of time to ascertain whether it is cheaper to get a gas or electric golf cart.

In a word... no.

There are a couple older threads in this section where opinions have been expressed by TV residents. Some opinions are "supported" by some "facts" that are clearly presented. If I remember, these threads sunk to the point of "my cart is better than your cart."

As far as I remember, no one here has ever posted anything from a scientific study conducted by an unbiased professional.

This will cause a fire storm.

There was a cost analysis done by the Villages Golf Cart store that was posted here. It covered the cost of the cart, the cost of battery replacement, cost of electricity, annual maintenance, gas, seemed to cover everything and compared gas to electric. Now a caveat, almost everyone who disagreed with this analysis, posted why it had to be wrong. However I own 4 carts, two gas and two electric and I found it very accurate. Their results were about $10 a month higher cost for electric.

Everyone I have ever talked to believes their cart is cheaper to run then the other kind. Doesn't matter if they own gas or electric. They believe theirs is cheaper. To a person they say "I didn't notice any change in my electric bill" when I got the electric cart. Or I only have to fill it once a month. That's like saying I can drive 200 miles on a half tank of gas so my car must get good gas mileage.

I believe the Villages cost analysis. And ownership so far proves that to be true.

Lack on consensus on this is pretty strong evidence that there is no substantial operating cost difference between the two.

The problem with the electric cart cost is that it comes all at once - big time - $700 for batteries every 5-6 years. With gas carts you spend evenly over the years. My wife has a battery piggy bank into which she tucks away $15 each month for the big day that her cart will need its new batteries.

We spend about $15 per month for cart gas - sounds like a push as far as what type cost more.


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I have a friend who spent about $2000 to put new batteries in 2 carts. They are 3 years old.

I find the noise and smell of gas carts a problem for me, so its electric in our garage.

I remember seeing the same stats/data from the TV stores that l2 mentioned. But rather than having some arguable cost differential be the determining factor in which version of cart to buy, I'd offer that you should prioritize what things are most important to you. If you have "range anxiety".......if no odor and quiet are important........if "gas and go" is appealing.......and so on - let these things drive your decision. The 'value' that someone perceives from a relative expensive purchase doesn't always come down to dollars-and-cents.

Bill :)

I have a 2012 EZ-G0 with the 6x8 upgrade. $15 per month is a very good estimate as far as battery replacement in four years, but does not count in the homes electric bill. I have a new cottage and charge mine daily and my bill for a month was $65 so I'd have to say it's cheap to maintain and much more convenient than gas.

The best electrics are the ones with AC motors. No noise or gas fumes and if you get hit you're not sitting on top of five gallons of gas with little protection. After the election you'll see inflation again and $5.00 gas is not far off.

My post was to answer your question and it will be shot at by those gas guys that refuse to accept any other option, so ignore them and I hope I helped.

I enjoyed this thread and it has some interesting stuff.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...lectric-36278/

We just purchased a second cart. We now have one gas (mine) and one electric (Caryl. Caryl's took her car to Sumter Landing for shopping and then went directly to Colony for more shopping. She began with a fully charged vehicle and returned as she was flirting with the red zone. Yes, her batteries are two years old so they are not at the max charge power.

I would not suggest getting an electric if it is your main vehicle. As a backup it is fine.

PS: Not to sabotage this post but "Does anyone know someone who can (electronically) increase the speed on the electric. It goes 21 MPH now but when going up hill the speed drops. If we can get the speed up to 25, she should be able to reach 20 on the steep hills.

Your suggestion to not have an electric golf cart as a 'primary' is without merit. There are many websites ( Trojan ), and EZ-GO who have a battery training lesson on how to break in properly and maintain batteries. It's very simple once you understand how it's done. Getting 50+ miles in one day is no longer an issue with the new 6x8 and 8x6 configurations.

Your question about getting your cart to go 20mph on a hill can only be achieved with an ac motor. You can find a mechanic that will change your current motor to do 25 to get your net 21 on a steep hill, but it'll kill your motor within six months. If you're in an accident and your cart is drive-able, it will be test driven by the insurance adjuster and if it exceeds 21mph your insurance is voided. Anyone that tells you differently is not aware of the facts. Hope that helps you.

Interesting comments all around! Here's my 2 cents worth. We have an electric cart and love it because it IS quiet, doesn't pollute, doesn't stink, is a smooth ride and is easy to just plug in to re-charge. We have had to replace the batteries (had it for 4 years) and it is expensive to do that.

I purchased "insurance" through **** Aide (kinda like AAA for golf carts), so that gets rid of my "dead batteries anxiety". It's only $25/year and you get unlimited service calls. I've not had to use them yet (in the 3 years I've had it).

As several others have noted, it's really a personal preference. We, and many others, love our electric carts. Friends and neighbors love their gas carts. Your best bet would be to test drive both types and decide on the pros and cons of both and what you could live with. Good luck!

I see the web site ****'ed out the name of the company I mentioned above, although I don't understand why...I've seen plenty of other businesses mentioned. If you are interested to know what it is, private message me. It's local here in TV and is run by Villagers.

Our decision was made yesterday. We are renting prior to building this winter. The rental comes with an electric/battery cart. We are staying in St Charlesand played golf at Lopez yesterday.

We got as far as 400 yards from the Sunset Pointe Rec Center on the way back. I got out and walked back to St Charles and had the wife drive. She was able to nurse it back home with a couple of stops and beat me home by 20 minutes.

The battery was fully charged. I will be living in Sanibel and do not want this to happen again so we will be the proud owners of 2 gas carts when we get to be permanent TV residents. I know the newer electric carts have better range but I do not want that to happen again. Just my own opinion.