Talk of The Villages Florida - Golf Carts Over Priced

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Beauty (Post 2007412)

Inflation is here..big time

Cause and effect. A golf cart is not a need but a desire. Simple options, don't buy one, buy a used one.

With all the new ones being sold, somewhere there must be a junk yard selling golf carts.
Not far from my previous home, there was a boat yard and they always had boats offered for free. If, you want it get it out of our way. No I never did it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael G. (Post 2007301)

For how their constructed and rough ride, you think home use Golf carts are over priced
for what you get for your $$$$$ ??:gc:

I’ve been saying that for years! You could just about buy a small car with air, radio etc yet we’ve bought 3 in 12 years and that’s how they get away with it. I feel a little less intelligent each time. There needs to be a support group and a boycott to get free of this terrible decision making!🤔🧐😱🤪

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswirs (Post 2007410)

Which is why I have taken steps to my the theft of our cart more difficult.
And, I advise others to do the same.

If a thief wants your golf cart, you can't stop him. All those little cute anti theft devices are useless against professionals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMintzer (Post 2007334)

Um... No...

To coin a phrase means to "invent a new saying or idiomatic expression that is new or unique."

to coin a phrase

DEFINITION
said ironically when introducing a banal remark or cliché.
"I had to find out the hard way—to coin a phrase"
said when introducing a new expression or a variation on a familiar one

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dantes (Post 2007454)

Buy out of the area save thousands

And pay back thousands trying to get it serviced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael G. (Post 2007576)

And pay back thousands trying to get it serviced.

I thought that might be true and called The Villages Golf Cars in Brownwood. I told them I had a golf car that needed service but was not bought there. They said "bring it in!":coolsmiley:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael G. (Post 2007301)

For how their constructed and rough ride, you think home use Golf carts are over priced
for what you get for your $$$$$ ??:gc:

I went to a couple of places where they were suppose to be cheaper & they were no less, you had to pick your options out of a book. I ended up getting mine at Colony Cottage & got a better deal money wise & got more options for free here. There’s 70,000
golf carts in TV, so they aren’t that expensive. You could buy a used one but then you don’t know what you’re getting!

Quote:

Originally Posted by armywrestle (Post 2007477)

Looking for suggestions for have radio/sound system installed on cart.

Thanks in advance.

eBay is full of overhead radio consoles for golf carts priced from about $80 for a empty console to about $169 to $450 for those with radios and speakers installed. Here's a link.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...nsole&_sacat=0

I wanted a CD player in mine and those with a CD are about $450 on eBay, so I bought a blank empty overhead console for about $80 on eBay, you'll see them at that link. I went to Walmart in Leesburg and bought a JVC radio AM/FM/CD for $79 and a pair of Pioneer speakers there for $42. Put the items in the console and attached it to the ceiling of my cart with 4 bolts I drilled through the roof. Bought a roof antenna on eBay for $17 and drilled a hole about a foot behind the radio and connected the antenna to the radio. Then ran two wires from the radio to my battery. I took the wires down one of the support posts behind my seat straight to the battery using tie-wraps. One wire was a negative and one to the positive. Took about two hours to install, I was taking my time. Here's a photo at the link.

https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...11&oe=616EB7E2

The reason I have black duct tape above the radio is because there is about a 1/2" gap due to the curvature of the roof and I got a slight rattle when I turned the radio loud. I filled the gap with spray foam and to hide the ugliness of the foam, I put black duct tape over the foam.

I installed this about year ago and works perfect. Some say don't install a CD player it will skip, mine doesn't skip at all. You'll find radios with XM capability, I have XM in my car but I didn't want to spend $6 a month with XM for a second radio. I only drive my cart when I play golf.

The easiest way to get music to your cart is if you have a smart phone with unlimited data, just get a bluetooth speaker. I have a neighbor who runs Spotify or XM through a bluetooth, and he has a big boom box type bluetooth speaker mounted on the dash against the windshield and I can hear it at my house about 100' away.

I agree that there has to be a large profit margin for what one gets in a golf cart. That being said, if you try to buy a new golf cart these days you will quickly find out they are very short on inventory and you will most likely be waiting months before your purchase is actually available. Basic supply and demand economics results in higher prices when supply is limited and demand is strong. For us, it’s hard to not want really nice golf carts in the Villages, we use them almost exclusively, our car can sit for weeks at a time without moving. Sometimes I take the car out for a ride for no other reason than to circulate some fresh gas through the fuel delivery system and prevent the tires from getting flat spots. I really want to upgrade our perfectly fine 2014 Yamaha EFI to a new quiet-tech, so our aging backs can benefit from the fully independent rear suspension, but I am too cheap to justify a $10,000 upgrade for only one feature I desire that’s not in our 2014. Drive on : )

Quote:

Originally Posted by John_W (Post 2007366)

I bought a new Yamaha Drive from TV at LSL in 2011, I still have the cart and have never had any trouble, never needed repair. At the time I priced a new Yamaha gas with no extras at a dealer in Kentucky (Cunningham Carts) for $5,900, the only upgrade was it had headlights and tail lights. They would deliver I believe for $300. Then I would have to add Sunbrella curtains, a cooler, upgraded seats, 10" tires and nicer wheels, floor mats, sand bottle, pinstriping, rearview mirrors and I wanted a black roof.

I went to LSL Villages store and got all that brand new for $10,300, so you can see prices have gone up a lot in ten years. The Ultimate Seats ($1500), they're similar to the El Tigre they sell now, in fact they're made in the same factory. The black roof at that time they had to remove the roof and spray paint it on both sides ($300), now I believe they come from the factory with the plastic roofs already colored, not painted.

In the ten years I've owned the cart I've changed the folddown windshield to a tinted windshield that flips outward on the bottom ($199) a second sand bottle, an extra insulted 12 pack cooler ($100), a ball & club washer, a AM/FM/CD overhead radio console, a fan, a cigarette lighter which I use to plug in the fan and a dashcam, a solid rubber floor mat, Liquid LED lights over the headlights and tail lights and all along the side, an overhead shelf in the back I use to store towels. Just two weeks ago I added diamond plated rocker sills, diamond kick guard and diamond plate foot pedals.

At the prices they're asking within TV now, you can still check out of state, places in Alabama and Kentucky, all on the internet and ship the cart here. Also at I-4 Power Equipment in Webster about 20 miles south they're $2,000 cheaper. You don't have to buy from TV just because it's new.

PS - I almost forgot. In an effort to make the cart more quiet like the new Yamahas, I ordered a 25' roll of car engine hood insulation. It's 5/8" rubber that's very sticky on one side and silver foil on the other. I did as much of the engine compartment as I could and even put two layers on the bottom of my Ultimate Seats. It will never be as quiet as the new ones since the bottom is not enclosed. However, I'm not sure that's a good thing to have the engine completely sealed, I don't see how they can get any cooling. I heard it's pretty normal to reach 170 degrees and even higher in the newer carts. I've very happy with my 2011.

.

Glad to see you back on our Forum!

John W. is back. Yayyyyy.

I like this post from Dave.

"Cause and effect. A golf cart is not a need but a desire. Simple options, don't buy one."

If you don't spend money you still have it.

It is important to understand that when people are selling things, they are looking to make money and they will sell it at the highest price they can. Wouldn't you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shbullet (Post 2007388)

GG your reply sounds like a time that you shouldnt have replied.

As a retired teacher, this piqued my curiosity so I looked up the origin and definition of the phrase "to coin a term." While it did, indeed, originally come from the industry of making money and referred to inventing an original phrase, it is now more commonly used to refer to repeating a popular and/or overused (cliche) phrase. It only takes a couple minutes of research to discover that you are both correct. But IMHO, GG's agreement with and quoting GE didn't deserve an admonition. It surely did nothing to contribute to the thread!

One option is to buy used. Although that is getting more and more expensive, of late. Most likely due to the lack of availability of new carts...

I found a really nice cart this summer, with upgraded seats, for a reasonable price. The seller included all service records (which were up to date) and I'm good to go.

I'll drive it when I'm in TV land part time for now and eventually I'll sell it and maybe lose a few bucks... Then, I'll find a newer used cart that meets my needs...

I learned, years ago, when buying and selling guitars, "Buy used and play for free"...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captainpd (Post 2007535)

If a thief wants your golf cart, you can't stop him. All those little cute anti theft devices are useless against professionals.

That's true...if they want it they will get it.
However if two carts are sitting side by side, one with no anti-theft device and the other with a visible anti-theft device which one do you think they will take?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vermilion Villager (Post 2007589)

I thought that might be true and called The Villages Golf Cars in Brownwood. I told them I had a golf car that needed service but was not bought there. They said "bring it in!":coolsmiley:

Villages Golf Cars' willingness to service cars not purchased from them may fluctuate depending on how busy their technicians are (or perhaps depending on other varying factors). Last year I was checking out cars at the Lake Sumter location and personally witnessed (saw and overheard) a mature-looking gentleman who drove in his non-villages car for service being told that they would not service his golf car because he had not purchased it from them (the car owner was surprised and pretty upset BTW). The incident gave me pause and caused me to consider whether it would be worth the extra $$ to purchase from them to ensure reliable local service.