[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by mcpeters

We rented for 2 months in Fernandina (Brownwood area) and drove 500plus miles during that time. We went out everyday, mostly early evening time as my hubby works from home.
Last year we rented a place that had an electric cart and didn’t travel far distances bc of that reason. Hope this helps!

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.

[justjim]

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.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by justjim

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. 😁😃🫣🙄

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

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.

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

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by Shipping up to Boston

Did you get the 10” spinners on it!

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

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by Shipping up to Boston

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

Tomorrow Land Speedway.

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by Aces4

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

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

[MplsPete]

(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.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by Shipping up to Boston

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

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

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by Aces4

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

Go Celtics!

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by Shipping up to Boston

Go Celtics!

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

[mbene]

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.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Bealman

People replying that it isn't a hassle are missing this person's point - Hmmm did I leave my cart plugged in?
Has nothing to do with plugging it in, it is unplugging that is a valid concern for this person. Read the whole post......

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).

[raggedy-andy]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

My brand-spankin' new 2020 gas Yamaha hasn't needed anything since I bought it in March '20. I got it cheap for $14, 000 at that place down in Webster, when they were asking $16k at The Villages. "Discount Golf Carts" wanted $14K for a used cart, two years old.

Meanwhile, if I'd wanted electric, I could have had a new Club Car electric from that dealer in Lady Lake for $10K -- or go on the waiting list for gas, for $12K.

On every cart I looked at, unless I insisted on Lithium, electric was cheaper, and you can replace the lead acid batteries a bunch of times for the price of lithium. Look at used carts -- electric is always thousands cheaper. Part of that is people just prefer a gas cart. Part is because the batteries depreciate so fast.

Frankly, I don't see much difference in the long run, although the convenience of plugging it in instead of driving to a gas station once a month would be nice. But I prefer to pay now and forget it, rather than pay $500 every four years. 10 years from now, given inflation, my Yamaha will probably we worth MORE than I paid for it. So I flipped my coin and made my choice.

But maybe your experience is different. Who cares. I'm just pointing out that it's dumb to make trip distance the deciding factor. Nobody is going to drive a golf cart 40 miles.

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.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by mbene

Every time anyone writes about golf carts it usually turns into a gas vs electric thread and then gets into a range war.
I want to know how far you REALLY travel day to day. I don't want guesstimates, I want real world numbers.
The distance from Mulberry Grove Rec Center at the very north of the Villages to Saluki Rec Center at the south is 22 miles, I doubt anyone is making that trip daily. Round trip would be 44 miles.
It would be nice if people got in their cart in the morning, noted the beginning miles, did their average daily trips, then noted the total miles traveled at the end of the day.
I'm guessing most would be surprised that they really don't go as far as they think they do.

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.