any golf cart owners?

[irwin]

I've been thing Utility Vehicle or ATV for a couple years but the price keep me from buying.. Oh, I found a couple for less than 2k.. but they were ancient-beat up-junk yard escapees. While driving around I saw a couple Golf carts sitting in front of a house with for sale signs on them.. no price on the sign so I called him up.. He said $1600 for a 10 year old Yamaha gas.. not knowing anything about golf carts, but thinking it sounded high I thanked him and went on line and sent several hours getting a feel for pricing (well, asking price anyway)

A couple days ago this same guy called me and said he was getting 4 carts.. 2 gas and 2 electric and if I bought one soon (so he could get some money back) he'd do me a good deal..(I'm an ex-car salesman and know not to believe anyone's deal story) but I went and looked at em' anyway.. talked him down a few hundred and now own a Club Car gas cart.. he said it was a 2004 , but I could tell by the serial number it was built in Dec of 2002.

I think I did fine, it runs great and it makes getting around the back acres much easier. I never really needed a Gator, Mule or Ranger.. If I need power I've got the L35 or the Skid steer. I just wanted something that would carry the wife and I (along with a few tools, etc.), to areas that are further away than I feel like walking to.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

One point about golf carts and the elderly: often older drivers suffer from arthritis, so ride quality is a consideration. As her knee grew worse my mother became increasingly reluctant to use the 2004 EZ-Go gas I bought to replace the clapped-out Yamaha G1. Couldn't figure out why until my elderly springer spaniel wouldn't ride on the EZ-Go either. Then I realized: its bone-crushing ride hurt them at every bump the thing hit. I looked up the parts and did the math: a two-passenger gas cart weighs a bit under 700 pounds. A four-passenger, electric model weighs close to double that. Both take the same suspension components. The thing was just sprung too harshly for my mother to ride around the property.

I replaced the standard tires with trailer tires running soft and it helped a bit, but the real solution was when I sold it and brought home a new Polaris Ranger TM. It has a great (adjustable) ride and Mom is quite willing to travel around the whole property in it. I couldn't get her to leave the front yard on the EZ-Go.

Golf carts are great, exceptionally cheap to run and very useful if equipped with a receiver hitch, but the ride can be harsh.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I got a 2004 model EZ-Go Medalist a couple years ago with full fold down windshield, and full canvas/plastic side and rear curtain plus a big roof mounted fan for keeping cool. New batteries and cloth seat cover for $2000. Wife and grandkids run the wheels off it up and down the street in our old subdivision and now on the farm. It goes everywhere as long as it is dry. It wont move in a little bit of mud. or snow as it has the slick golf course tires on it. I have been thinking of putting a 6" lift kit with some agressive tires for the mud and it would be great then. The ride is much smoother than a Gator or ATV but can still be quiet jolting on rough ground. It will get fast on a downhill run as it coasts very easy. Batteries will last 4-5 years if kept filled with distilled water. and charged when low Dont have to worry about carbs gumming up with electric power. You can go over 15 miles on a battery charge and more if you are on hard surface. We and the grandkids could ride ours all day long and never run the battery down. Battery chargers do need to have good surge protection on them as they are finicky around lightning and $400 or more to replace.
You would want a canopy top, fold down windshield, charge indicator, rearview mirror and that roof mounted fan is nice for those hot days. For me, I would not buy a gas cart for older person to use. Range is plenty good with a battery model. Mine is 36 volt and tops out at about 13 MPH but the newer 48 volts with high speed motors can get up to about 30 MPH and with jack up kits there are still easy to get into, maybe even easier than standard model since they are so low to the ground. The rear fold down seat that converts to a little hauling bed is very nice for hauling gardening supplies. I do think that the Club Car brands have aluminum frames where as the EZGO have steel frame. which may be better for off road use to prevent rust out.

 

[2fast2]

Hey Gary, I started out with an old Club Car for "errands" on my property. It was great, until my daughter got to the age that she would have her friends over and they'd drive through the fields (pedal to the metal) having a blast. But they're designed for golf courses not farm fields, and it pounded the snot out of it. Shackle bolts came apart, electrical connections broke, etc. After a few repair cycles by me, I bought the XUV. It is made for such use. (Notice I wouldn't call it abuse.)
Used responsibly, electric golf carts are great utility vehicles of a low capacity class. They aren't inexpensive when you consider the cost of batteries every 4 or 5 years ($650+ last time I checked) which is actually more expensive than what I go through in diesel for the XUV, now that I think about it. They sure are popular, though, and the opportunity exists to spend major coin on customizing them with lift kits, body kits, sound systems, etc. I've seen videos of them going through mud, but keep in mind that the standard golf cart is one-wheel drive no matter what kind of tires you use. No locking differential, no 3 or true 4 wheel drive options. And they're heavy if you get them stuck.

 

[Gary Fowler]

You can certainly spend some coin on customizing them. I see where they have fully sealed high speed and high torque motors and 4 wD kits also. Dont know that they have locking differential but likely do for the hard core electric mudder. I am thinking of doing just a bit on the wifes so she doesnt feel left out. A lift kit and larger mudder tires and maybe the backseat with fold down to make a little hauling bed. Since I just bought myself the RTV 900, that is the least I can do for her little step saver. I dont have time or inclination to do it myself so I will have to find someone to do it form me. Probable about $1K for that plus labor.

 

[CrownHawg]

Gary, several years ago I bought a 6" lift and four ITP tires and wheels for my Yamaha Gas cart. As others here have mentioned, Buggiesunlimited has anything you could ever want for your cart and are fairly good on price and ship almost immediately. It took me about 2 hours to bolt on the lift, and about an hour to change all the wheels and tires. It really gives the cart an "ATV look" but I still have to tell folks "It is STILL just a golf cart" as it will go alot of places but deep mud is not one of those places.... I think I paid around $800 for the tires/wheels and lift.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have been looking at the BuggiesUnlimited site for a couple of years since I bought the cart, but since I bought it used, I am not sure of the year and I would hate to order something and it not fit. Besides that I've gotten old, fat and lazy when it comes to getting down and under vehicles and working on my knees which arent the best shape anymore nor my back nor my neck after several surgeries. About the best I can do now is change oil and the occassional flat tire.

 

[2fast2]

The serial number will give you the year. The information is "out there" on the internet.

 

[grsthegreat]

i have a 1991 Club Car gas golf cart with a rear flat tilt bed. the wife bought it used for chores around the place. i hear the electrics have more torque and get up and go, but since were on a flat 30 acres here, the thing works great. I've had to do a few repairs to it over the years, but its mostly trouble free.The hardest thing i had to do was to locate and replace the exciter coil, which entailed removing the flywheel. i found a shop manual on the internet, made a flywheel puller and did the job in a few hours. with the serial number, you can cross reference all the parts you need. Also, my dogs fight over who gets to hop on for a ride.

 

[Gary Fowler]

That is kind of what I want to put on the wifes, but get the back seat that fold down to make a cart. I also want to put on some atv like tires, not necessarily a lot bigger but something with some grip tread at least on the back. Anyone know where you can get a mud tire that will fit without a jack up kit installed. How much taller and wider can you go without jacking them up. Mine is EZYGO Medalist.