When you're past 65 it doesn't take much to kill you, a shot to the head when you were 20, that you laughed off can now be fatal--connective tissue & muscle strength is gonzo

Do you mean cart?

Coffeebean, open up the link for The Villages Golf CARS. I've noticed it both ways, Cars & Carts! Who knows? :clap2:

Golf Maven has an interesting article on the differences. Can't get it to link up. Sorry!

Gas VS Electric Carts
 

I agree that it is a push on cost and reliability. My objection to gas carts is when I am behind them (especially in tunnels) and have to put up with their stink and noise.

I have never noticed or been bothered by the smell of gas golf carts. Being around people smoking cigarettes or cigars is another story altogether.

No worries. Thank you.

Hah. Except at night and up north, or when the PV cell short out.

then you are not in a tunnel with the new Quiet Tech Yamaha cart. The old Carburetor carts can have that smell.

Did they tell you how much your battery pack is going to cost you when it is time to replace it? It is well over $5000.00 !! Now you could say then I will just get rid of the cart but who is going to buy it?

Just a word of caution on these carts. Before you purchase one make sure if you need parts that they are available. Over the last 15 plus years here in TV we have seen cart brands come and go. Owners trying to get service/repairs done and having mega buyers remorse. If you stick with the 3 major brands you will have a much better service experience.

Charging station
 

Lots of malls have cell phone charging stations. Lots of places have electricity car charging stations. Yes, it would be nice if the 3 town square golf cart shops had a quick charge station..even if there was a fee.

We have rented in the Villages several times and always make sure to have a gas cart. We put that many miles and more on the carts every day. We come down to explore, play golf and meet new people. You cant do that staying in the house in a community like this one.

Hey so are you saying that the running costs are about the same? I'd like no noise or fumes and if the cost is about the same....I'm thinking electric.

Seriously, if i'm going to go from home south of the turnpike to spanish springs....well I can't do that in a golf car anyway.....for now.

In the example I gave from California, the charging stations were powered by the solar panels that also shaded the parking spaces. There is a lot of sunshine here in Florida. FPL, one of the larger electric companies here in Florida has programs encouraging solar power.

I've Never Understood the Insistence on Gas Carts
 

I moved here in 2011, bought in early 2012, bought a used 2008 Club Car electric w/4 12 volt batteries for 4K, modified it to use 8 6-volt batteries for better distance, and have replaced those batteries twice, once very recently. So I've got about 7K into my cart. Many of my neighbors have already replaced the new gas carts they bought for 12K in 2012 with another 12K gas cart...and they still insist that gas carts are cheaper to run!

I have been stranded by a bad battery once. I've been stranded twice on golf courses by gas carts that ran out of gas while we were playing golf.

My garage doesn't stink, and I don't stink up golf cart tunnels.

More importantly, my cart just goes when I hit the gas pedal, it doesn't hesitate like a gas cart. And it doesn't sound or smell like a gas cart...

One advantage I have is a central location, Lopez and Belle Glade are the same distance from my house. If I lived on one edge of the Villages or the other, I might consider a gas cart, otherwise there is no comparison in my opinion. I would gladly pay more for the benefits of an electric cart. I have yet to see or ride in any gas cart that I would trade mine for straight-up. I've never understood the insistence of the overwhelming majority that a gas cart is sooo superior...they're not!

I can't explain that, only that my Yamaha gas cart purchased new at LSL in August 2011 fully loaded (Ultimate Seats, SS Wheels, big mirrors, black roof, etc) for $10,300 is still going strong. Only have yearly maintenance by Willie and replaced one battery three years ago. Get 40 mpg. I just upgraded to the new big more insulated cooler, added ball club washer a couple of years ago and a sand bottle to the passenger side and replaced the floor mat with the new solid rubber mat. This cart will last forever with proper care.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...4e&oe=5ED320EE

What does "that many miles" mean? 40 per day, 50 per day, 60 per day???

does anybody know how much electricity in $$ or KWh it costs to charge the batteries in an electric cart? and then how many miles do you get? seems we need to know this to know if running costs are more or less.

I recorded the electricity used to charge my cart in 2013/2014 each week for 52 weeks and 4,710 miles. This was a ParCar with 1 year old batteries when I started recording, they were 8 x 6v Trojans. I still have the spreadsheet for this.

At that time electricity cost was 11.615 cents per kWh and my cost to charge was 2.269 cents per mile.

The amortized battery cost over almost 5 years (the life of those batteries and about 22,000 miles) was about 3.6 cents per mile. My usage went to about 5,200 per year and the cart was used every day and charged every day.

The total cost for charging and battery purchase was just less that 6 cents per mile.

So, on average over the year, it took .1964 kWh of electricity per mile to charge - I haven’t looked up the current cost for electricity but it’s probably not a lot more.

Dam, I am a gas cart guy, but I sure do relate to someone like me that puts everything in a spreadsheet and tracks statistics. I have spreadsheets that record every round of golf I have played in the last 25 years, every lap I have swam in the last ten years, every scuba dive I have done in my life, and every other thing important to me. Keep up the good work : )

Even? Why wouldn’t there be fee?

You should take class in how To maintain and drive gas golf cart if you buy gas cart. Who goes out on golf course with empty tank on gas cart? You’re garage does smell, the smell of batteries charging. And yes I’ve had both.

This is great, thanks, exactly what I was hoping for and more :)

Am I reading this right? It's curiously similar to run gas? $2.50 gal/40mpg=6.25 cents per mile plus a little bit for maintenance?

The EFI Yamaha carts get 50 MPG or approximately 5 cents per mile, at least mine does. I spend about 1 cent per mile for maintenance. These operating costs are small when compared to the depreciation if you buy a new cart. For example, the depreciation on my cart after almost 6 years is about 30 cents per mile.

Yes, you are reading this correctly. When I originally did this I think the cost of gas was much higher than now, so at that time the running costs of an electric was lower than a gas cart. Probably now about they are about the same.

Even if the electric was more expensive to run, the quality of ride - fast off the line, quiet running, smoother ride and no fumes was worth it for me. Range was never an issue for me, I probably had at least 50 miles and the most I remember using was 27 miles. Usually around 12 - 18 miles per day.

Maintenance was inexpensive, I had a guy come once per year to service it, he lubed the suspension, rotated the tires, checked the brake adjustment although having regenerative braking meant there was almost no wear. Then there was no engine to service so overall maintenance is much easier and there is much less to do on an electric cart.

I didn’t have a battery watering system so would unscrew the battery caps on the first day of every month and top up with distilled water - maybe 15 minutes. I sprayed a protective layer on the terminals so never had corrosion or a problem there.