What is the range of your Evolution D5? Thanks!

The CPI is up just over 17% since the start of 2021 thru the end of 2023...

In the 3 years 2017-2019 (leaving out your excuse of 2020), inflation was right around 2%...

And I like how you limit inflation to "core inflation", which leave out food and energy prices... You know, things most people need to live...

Facts matter...

Those $9000 (actually $9999) carts at Walmart (I think you mean Home Depot) are garbage. They can't get out of their own way and have a very limited range...

Nope I got my 13995 cart for 4500 and I thought was OUTRAGEOUS for riding lawn mower without mower.

I bought a used loaded QuieTech, as well... a 2017. Less than 1/2 the price of a new one...

In a few years, I'll by a used 2020-ish cart and keep the one I have as a 2nd cart...

Right, LOL, walk or run. Seriously, guess the old "anything the law will allow" applies", put any price on something, and then wait for "offers", same seems to go with houses, stick a price on it and.... when someone offers your bottom line, well !

Just guessing but... maybe those villagers who just got their 401distributions ( and never bother reading price tags) have NOT yet reached the age of the Mandatory Required Distribution ? Putting $$ away tax deferred is a real advantage but when it's time to "pay the piper", opens the eyes to the many negative aspects of having a substantial addition to income and all the repercussions of that !

A lot of people move here and are so infatuated with TV, that they think any business owned by the developers must be good. The fact is, any developer owned business is going to be more expensive. TV insurance, Citizens bank (higher interest rate on mtg), the golf cart stores..... you will pay more. I thinkthat those who are still on the Koolaid high get a warm, fuzzy feeling to pay more for the same product because it says "The Villages" on it.

My wife's bucket list includes lots of travel. She arranges trips to anywhere USA. Last year, when in TN, we happened to come across a small offroad vehicle shop. They sold some new Yamaha quiet techs. We bought one for a little less than $13,000. Nephew was willing to haul it to Florida in exchange for a room and all he can eat of my wife's cooking. Golf carts do not cost as much in other states. The Villages and surrounding areas are gouging because they know they can. Pretty much the same scenario with most products in the Villages.

I'm waiting for sandwich gouging like in NYC. I nearly fell over when the touted "best burgers in the city" bill for two was $73 without tip. And, don't even get me started on Vegas! If anyone wants to open a $28 burger place, I'm willing to invest. Fries of course, must be $12 a plate. Sodas? $5 (a can, no refills) What is this world coming to?

Around 70-75 miles. I live in Phillips Villas - just off Hwy 42 near the VA - as far north and east as you can get in The Villages. I have driven to Southern Oaks (the farthest south championship golf course), played golf, and still had 25% battery left.

Lazy Shopper
 

If you buy a cart from The Villages, you are just a plain lazy shopper looking to burn cash. There are plenty of places to buy new and used where you literally save thousands of dollars and many deliver right to your doorstep!

True.

How many of those can service your cart?
How long does it take to get it serviced?
How many give you a free loaner?

There's always a down side to everything.

My wife bought her cart from Carts and Clubs, Ocala. They come out for annual service---if something is wrong, they tow it away (for a fee) and return it some number of days later, no loaner.

I bought mine from Villages Carts, Brownwood. I drive it 1.5 miles for service, get a loaner, and pick it up after they call that it is ready, whether or not it's the same day or not.

Bottom line, you always pay for convenience.

The after purchase care is worth a lot. I have bought several carts from Village Carts and they are always there to help.

2 Cart
 

If you live in a 2 cart home, all that doesn’t really matter. The Cart Guy is usually out within a day or two.

It matters if you have tee times with different groups on different courses at the same time.

Not for Us
 

Not really for us. We usually buddy up and ride two to a cart. If I don’t want to drive, one of my friends is more than willing. Cart repair service is annual and cost a whole lot less than the thousands extra to buy a cart in the villages. We almost always golf foursomes this time of year.

How much service do these things really require? Maybe change the 8 oz of oil every year or so, thats about it. What else is needed?

Exactly
 

Exactly and the cart repair can be done right at your home. You drive nowhere.

So typical on TOTV

One poster owns 2 carts from the two vendors in question and deals with the purchase price and after market service on a regular basis. Then others jump in and offer an "opinion", based on what???? Speculation? Hearsay? Fantasy?????

Unless someone who owns the two carts from the two different vendors wants to chime in, the rest of those opinions mean NOTHING.

The maintenance schedule is in your owner's manual. If you don't have a hard copy then you can find it on-line. For Yamaha gas carts, the most popular in The Villages, it actually takes a quart of oil (10 mins to change, most of that time is waiting for it to fully drain). If you are driving around with 8 ozs of oil, you won't be driving around for very long ;-) Regarding frequency of oil changes, it depends on how much you use your cart (see your owner's manual).

Regarding what else is needed for a Yamaha, here is a sample:

-lube the clutches (2 mins)
-check belts for wear and replace when needed (varies)
-replace air filters (not as frequently as you would think, 2 mins)
-replace spark plug (not as frequently as you would think, 2 mins)
-check free play in brake cable (2 mins)
-change differential fluid (10 mins)
-check front end toe (2 mins )
-etc.

These things are actually easy to do yourself.

Just had my 2018 Yamaha serviced by Todd Casey. Did it at my house. $117. Took about 30 minutes. Takes a quart of oil. They change oil, spark plug and air filter, and inspect other items like belts etc.

I would have done it myself but my floor jack is back in Indiana, so I would have a tough time getting the skid plate off and on.

$117 isn't terrible, imo.

Apparently, a number of people are pumping oil out through the dip stick hole instead of bothering to remove the skip plate and draining via the drain plug. I don't have that issue with an older Yamaha.

Evolution D5
 

I recently bought an Evolution D5 from Hidden Creek golf carts, $13900 (including tax) out the door with a 205aH battery. We get about 6 miles per 10% charge (a little over 65 miles per full charge) at 20mph with 2 people. This was a good way to dip my toe in the electric vehicle world with not a lot of investment or risk. I like the quiet and performance so far but it's very early, time well tell.

You may want to be careful about publicly admitting to operating a vehicle that is illegal in Florida, or calling out the business that sold it.

Not too fast
 

It can go that fast, you just can’t drive it that fast. Cars can do 100 plus, but you will get ticketed if you continue at that speed.

;) I agree ..... but then I'm "NOT" Normal. :rolleyes:

That is not how the Florida law is written.

If it *can* go no more than 20mph then it can be considered a golf cart and requires no registration.
If it *can* go no more than 25mph then it can be considered a low speed vehicle (LSV) and does require registration.
If it *does* go 27mph then it is neither a golf cart nor an LSV. I don't know what Florida would consider it to be but it would certainly require registration if it was allowed on the roads at all.

Perhaps the 27mph vehicle *is* registered
Perhaps the 27mph vehicle was operated *only* on private property and not on the MMPs (since it would require operation on public roads to get to the MMPs)
Perhaps the 27mph was an exaggeration
In any case, being careful is a good idea.

Or, you're new to the Villages, know that you need to get a golf cart, and don't know your way around very well yet. And you don't realize that golf cart shops outside the Villages deliver, it just doesn't occur to you that it's an option so you don't seek your new cart outside the Villages. You know you can't drive it home, if you buy it outside the Villages since you know you can't drive on the major roads outside the community with a golf cart.

We got our first golf cart at the Villages Golf Car store, because we had JUST moved in and didn't know any better. We didn't know to even ask in advance. We just assumed everyone in the area got them from that store.

It was a used one, hadn't even been cleaned up yet, didn't have a price tag on it yet. But it worked, and it was under $6000 so we drove it home. It turned out to be a terrific little buggy. Our second one we got from a neighbor - and the neighbor bought it new at The Villages Golf Car store.

We weren't lazy. Just uninformed, and we didn't know what we didn't know, and didn't know that we should've asked, or even what questions to ask.

We have learned, however, that people who assume everyone who does something a certain way is lazy - is just judgmental and possibly ignorant or has a profound lack of self confidence that they have to make up for by putting other people down.

IMO if you’re able just buy cheap floor Jack at harbor freight or Walmart. First oil costs you about 48 bucks the second one 5 to 8 bucks depending on what oil you use.

:boom:

If your LSV goes more than 25 MPH on roads less than 35 miles per you breaking the law. But just like in both cases you have to get caught. Which IMO NOBODY registered golf cart for 5 extra MPH. The do it so they can go 30 Plus and have outrageous low chance of getting caught just like carts that not registered.

Boo!

And get this Fumoto F109SX M12-1.5 Sx Series Drain Valve to make future changes easier.

Did they deliver the cart to you?

Wrong.

If the vehicle is capable of going faster than 25mph then it is NOT an LSV. FS 320.01(41)

The chances of getting caught may be low but become greater if you announce on social media that you are operating such a vehicle, particularly if you call out the business that sold it.

I recently read this is the excact reason the built the supermax in Colorado. You have been warned!

They’re all capable.
So not breaking law going over 25 MPH in LSV. ON street? Wow no wonder no one get tickets in villages.

Cart cost threads are a waste of bandwidth
 

Last time I checked I was living in TV surrounded by millionaires with fancy European and muscle cars, and a golf car is just another toy, and cost is no issue. We buy what we want because we can. When you're dead your bank account no longer matters

Thanks for pointing this out, it was a typo, fixed it in the original post.

Yes.