Folks who come for a month or two of vacation find TV as a novelty. Kind of like living in Disneyland or at a ski resort town in winter. You have a different mind set after realizing you actually live here and you aren't going home in a few days. You can do the cart thing tomorrow and just chill for awhile and re-relax, if you want.

One of the best true golf cart stories of all time. A few years ago my neighbor and good friend turned his battery cart in and bought a new gas Yamaha beauty. Went to dinner with them and Diane says “Ron why don’t you tell Jim what happened today?” He had his new cart a few weeks. Ron sheepishly said “I ran out of gas today.” And she said, bending over laughing “and I had to go tow him in with my old battery cart”. Ron played lots of golf and let his new gas cart run out of gas. Very funny true story.

Love it! Thanks for sharing. 😁😃🫣🙄

What part of Disneyland likeness is TV....It’s a Small World or Pirates of the Caribbean!

I doubt that he did, that's a "Boston" thing.:BigApplause:

Tomorrow Land Speedway.

Yup....we appreciate that kinda non conforming culture....the way you appreciate faux Ferrari golf carts!

In the spirit of this thread . . .
 

(I hope this isn't redundant with another post, but the thread is too long for me to read completely.)
According to the Guinness Book of World Records;

In 2017, some Indians drove a golf cart an average 129 miles per day for 8 days.

In 2022, in Britain, a man drove a golf cart 150 miles in 24 hours.

In 2014, in Darlington SC, someone got up to 119 mph in a "golf cart."

In 2005, in TV, 3321 "participants" formed the longest golf cart parade.

Nah, that's a "Boston" thing too.:duck:

Go Celtics!

Is that with a "hard" C or a "soft" C?

Don't have a golf cart yet and trying to figure out the majority of the way a golf cart gets used in the Villages.
It seems the vast majority of the people that responded are using their carts for short trips between 5 and 30 miles so many more could be perfectly fine with an electric cart. That being said, as others have stated let your own preference be your guide.

The only time I unplug my cart is when I'm driving it. Otherwise, it remains plugged in all the time. I do have a charger that turns off when the batteries are completely charged so I don't have to worry about having to unplug the charger. My cart has lead batteries (the old fashioned kind).

Hey, I'm in the same boat with a number of people in that I haven't purchased a cart yet. But I've had the electric vs gas experience with my two vehicles. My point was that -- and someone else stated this -- unless you're doing the maintenance yourself on your cart, you need at least oil changes every say 1,200 miles, $60 a pop, plus the per mile running cost of fuel at around $0.09 a mile. All else being equal save for the specifics that go into maintaining the higher number of moving parts on an internal combustion vehicle. (Thanks Mortech for the costing specifics)

Let's presume you're correct with the cost factoring on the Lead Acid vs. Lithium/LiFePO4 batteries. You get about 500 cycles from a Lead Acid, if you drive them way down on charge the range decreases greatly. Lithium will get you around 3,500-5,000 cycles of charge with about 2% annual degradation. It's a much higher up front cost for Lithium, but you'll pay it once and it'll likely go beyond 10 years based on full cycles. That could improve if you drive it less.

For me, I'm somewhat undecided. To be more comfortable, I'd love to see ranges increase a bit more before I say 'screw gas, give me an EV' because I've been through the experience and limitations of an EV car in daily life for the past 6 months. If I drive that between Sarasota and TV, I really need to plan charging for that trip. Not that a golf car is the same, but the lack of public charging structure is a stressor.

Our cart does not have a gauge for miles ! Whatever it takes for day to day errands, shopping, golf (usually at least 9 holes, average 4 days a week, 18 once a week), eating out, activities at rec centers. etc. Have weeks when car is never used at all, but do go to the beaches a couple times a month, both coasts, and to Disney or Orlando once in awhile ( 6-8 times a year avg.) or to various festivals and events.

We were instructed by The Villages Golf Cars to keep the cart plugged in when it is in the garage. Not sure if this is recommended by Yamaha but we have done it this way ever since we purchased the cart in 2016. Our original set of lead batteries was just replaced 8 months ago.

Lead-acid batteries need to be kept fully charged to avoid sulfation...Lithium Ion does not have that problem. The Yamaha charger will kick off a new charge cycle every 2 weeks for top-up when you leave it plugged in.

I went 40 miles round trip to golf last winter with my STAR EV and it was 38° when I left the house. I routinely make that same trip to golf in the fall spring and summer. I have yet to notice any difference in the battery drain.

Wow!!! Making a lot of assumptions there aren't you?
No I do not have range anxiety. I have never come close to getting to the point where I was even remotely concerned I would not have enough charge left. The longest trip I've ever taken with it is about 50 miles… And judging from the other posts that is right in line with the maximum driven in one sitting by most of the other posters. I've golfed over 85% of the golf courses in the villages from my place in Marsh Bend. Even on the longest trip I took I still had between a half and quarter charge left when I returned.
The first lithium powered golf carts are now almost 10 years old. I spoke with the sales person at golf carts of the villages and they said they have never replaced a lithium battery on any golf cart yet… How many engines and transmissions do you think have been repaired or replaced?
As far as return on investment look at all of the used gas powered golf carts sitting in the dealerships along 301 and even inside the villages. Now go try finding a used Lithium powered cart… Good luck with that! :wave:

If you can't see the value in that then there really is no helping you.

Let's hope that the valuation in electric golf carts does not mimic that of the EV automotive market. I have an EV car that I like but would only ever lease since getting rid of one after just a couple of years makes you subject to obsolescence and depreciation that makes an investment in an internal combustion engine (ICE) look like a blue chip stock. I'll let the lease finance take that risk.

Average 5 to 10 miles day usually. Some days less than 2 miles.

Aren’t you making the same assumptions?

Please tell me what I'm doing wrong. 26,000 miles on my 2015 Yamaha, 8 oil changes, 9th due soon, and a total cost of under $250. Runs perfectly, 5-gallon gas tank, range close to 300 miles and no exploitation of children in Zimbabwe lithium mines

EV Extremism (Purple Nike’s optional)

Exactly. And I wouldn't rule out latent range anxiety either :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Impressive!
16.5k on a 19' Elite
No noticiable degradation thus far.

You left out Smelly, hot seat, jerky in reverse

And noisy! And my gas cart requires a battery or it won’t go. That batter is one more potential thing that can fail. You pays your money and takes your choice!

I would not buy an electric automobile but it can be a viable option for retirees in Florida. The car/battery will outlast them. My E63 also depreciates rapidly but you will have to pry it out of my cold dead hands.

After 12 years and 60K miles in a cart you can replace the battery for maybe $3K and get another 12 years/60K miles. There are no wear items in an electric cart except the battery and tires...Maybe steering joints and front wheel bearings.

What little maintenance my Yamaha needs, I do myself. Many people can't do that, and if I couldn't, I'd buy electric.

"500 cycles" on lead/acid means compete discharge/recharge. Nobody does that. If they did, everyone would be replacing their batteries every year and a half, instead of every 3-6 years, depending on the quality they buy. Meanwhile, even a Tesla needs new lithium batteries every 10 years, for crazy amounts of money. And in the meantime you have to park a bomb in your garage for the convenience of 45min layovers every 3 hours, if you want to drive it to see your grandkids. Nobody's house ever burned down from charging the lead-acid battery in their golfcart. Can't say the same for Tesla's. Yes, it's a tiny risk, but if I was considering an electric cart, that fact would be a consideration.

I can't imagine why anyone would buy a pure EV car, but nothing about it has any bearing on golfcarts, beyond the economics and dangers of battery chemistry.

I chose a gas cart and sometimes wish I had bought electric. Either way, range has nothing to do with it.

Didn't someone say it's always the gas cart owners who are trashing the electric carts?

Hmmm...

You know Hypocrisy Hour replaced Happy Hour on this forum a long time ago!

Like my wife tells me, "Just because I love you, it doesn't blind me to your faults". Basically, nothing is perfect and everything has its good points and bad points. Bought my gas cart when we first got here 10+ years ago. Too expensive to swap it now. But, if I was looking for a new cart today, I would probably go electric with a solar charger setup, just for fun.

Jerky in reverse? I'm sure it must be operator error on my part but.......for the life of me I could not get a smooth start, going forward, in a Yamaha Quiet Tech. I've had a few loaners from The Villages Golf cars and this is several years in a row when I get my annual maintenance on my Yamaha electric cart. The loaners they use are current models so I can't say they were old buckets. What is with that herkey jerkey movement with the Quiet Techs? I'm just not used to that. My electric cart is smooth as silk in reverse and going forward from a full stop

It works both ways. That's only fair, I guess.

Maybe a small diesel/electric system. Electric motor moves the cart, while diesel engine provides the electricity. The best of both worlds, eh? 😁🫠😉

Well, at least 3-4 months ago... :p

Carburetor carts are jerky ones and smell worse due to enriched fuel air mixture. Most don’t know how to operate choke on cold starts. Even after carburetor carts warmed up still jerks in reverse and stinks more due to In efficiency of carburetor. Fuel injected carts preform much better, but still tricky when backing up feathering the gas pedal to eliminate jerking when too much throttle applied. Carburetor carts are just about done or will be in near future in GC junk yard. Some older electric carts can be bit jerky in reverse if got heavy foot. Electric carts are good for those that want them. In ten more years gas carts will be making exit and so will lot of use old fuddy duds. Bottom line buy what want and be happy.

please divide 21000 by days owned to see your average daily run. .

K

thanks