Profit margins on golf carts in The Villages is HUUUUUUGE.

Talk about Car Dealers around the Villages gouging.... GC is much worse...

Is someone forcing you to buy a golf cart?

"Lowered Inflation"...

Yes, after 3 years of record setting inflation...

Lowering inflation only means prices aren't going up as fast as they were. Not that they're coming down... Prices are still sky high...

Nailed it...:gc:

People aren't forced to buy here, and are definitely not forced to buy from Villages vendors at vastly inflated prices. Wal-mart is selling carts right here in TV with the highest I've seen, price-wise, for a four-seater is under $9,000, and that's for brand new. Gainesville for example also has numerous dealerships that sell new carts for prices several thousands of dollars under what the local merchants charge, and renting a U-haul for a couple of hundred bucks to ferry one back from Gainesville is a cheap price to pay for a legitimate deal.

We're victims ONLY if we choose to be victims. Enough people shopping afield for realistically-priced golf carts will drive down the prices around here right quick.

Hey! Gotta keep up with the Joneses. (Peer pressure is powerful here)

Yes. And?

You must be very very young if you think we have recently had "record inflation"

The core inflation rate is available back to 1958 HERE

It has been higher than the 6.2 of 2022 10 times in those years. It has been higher than the 3.6 in 2021 25 times in the prior years. And historically the 2023 rate is not high.

And look at the rates for 2023 by month

2023 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.3 4.8 4.7 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.0 3.9

Whatever forces are managing the economy are doing a fine job of creating the soft landing that no one seemed to think was possible. There has never since the Great Depression been a period in the US economy of deflation. Prices do not come down. So whining about how they haven't now suggests you'd only be happy with another Great Depression. Most would not agree with that wish.

Candy bars are no longer a nickel. Gas isn't 19.9 cents. This isn't all since 2021.

I am unable to find the cost of a one horse power golf cart from 1860.

LOL!

Sure pick apart the small amount of hyperbole I used... Excuse me for not saying "recent history"...

I notice you ignored the inflation rates in 2022, when it hit 9.1%...

Or that prices went up over 17% from 2021-2023...

And let's look at the inflation rates by month in 2020 (since you're bragging about the 2023 rates)...

2020 2.5 2.3 1.5 0.3 0.1 0.6 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.2. 1.2 1.4

But sure, inflation is down, so it's all better...

Country Village Power
 

Try these guys out
Country Village Power Equipment - Home

Brand and quality comes to mind, given big box stores propensity to sell cheap foreign manufacturing. Maybe not BMW vs Honda, but the general idea. Yamaha gas powered carts seem to retain value longer which is a sign of quality and durability. Did you research the differences? Curious really, not intending to be argumentative.

Here are the month by month and total for 2022 which I did not ignore.
2022 6.0 6.4 6.5 6.2 6.0 5.9 5.9 6.3 6.6 6.3 6.0 5.7 6.2

In fact, basic reading, go back and you will see this sentence segment

2020 was the covid lockdown year. The economy was in shambles, businesses were closed down, unemployment was way up, the Congress and White House were sending checks out to try to get cash moving again. The debt was increased by many trillions in that year. But you think that we should return to the economic situation that gave us that low inflation rate. I don't.

3.6 + 6.2 + 4.8 are the core inflation increases for 21 22 and 23. My math although not always perfect totals 14.6. Miss McLaughlin taught me that 14.6 is less than over 17.

Miss McLaughlin taught you addition, not compounding (though the number is still less than 17).

The thing that is so often ignored, including in this thread is the other side of this recent bought of inflation.

Yes, inflation has gone up and is still running about 3% higher than last year.

But my Social Security went up 17% as well when several years in the last decade there were 0% increases.

I’m still making 5.4% on my savings when many of those years it was a fraction of 1%. In some of those years, it was barely above zero.

The stock markets are at all time highs. This positively impacts most retirement funds.

The net worth of those 55+ is up 30% since 2019.

Real estate values at least where my house is at an all time high.

Inflation can be jarring but I know that I, and many if not most of my contemporaries are doing better. Not everyone, no circumstance is 100% but the data are what they are.

And virtually everyone who wants a job can find one, there are far more job openings than people who are unemployed.

Look around, there are more young people retiring early than ever before. Late 50’s, early 60’s, some were able to retire even before being eligible for early Social Security. By my eye, Sawgrass Grove has plenty of them on any given night and the other Town Squares have them, too. Some may be telecommuting and still working but many are retired.

It’s not all positive and this is a generalization. There are still critical shortages, especially in the medical field which can cause delays in treatment. Many here used to point to delays as the biggest weakness of the Canadian system, but we have delays now here, too. Mortgage rates are still too high for those that need them. But we hope that things continue to improve.

Should we all go back to lockdown? Maybe, when we return from the hiatus, the world will be even brighter.

I too, fail to see how we are living better. Moving on, yes!

I am starting to learn Villagers who have just received their 401K disbursement are easy targets. The prices they are willing to pay, without question, astounds me. With the new price of golf carts, I guess I am not the only one who has noticed.