Thinking about buying a cart

[dees06]

So I live at my home course. Have a membership. Have a push cart and a carry bag. Still thinking about a cart since many of the guys I play with don't walk and I end up paying a cart fee to play with them half the time. Not really a big deal, but I'm thinking of buying my own cart because golf stuff.

Used carts are plentiful here in North Florida for not much. I can get a relatively new cart for around 5K. Most are lifted, fancy tires, street legal... I don't really care much about that stuff, but I don't mind it either. What I do need to know is what should I be on the look out for? Battery age, specific brands to look for/avoid, features to avoid, etc. Any input or am I overthinking it too much?

 

[JB]

For preowned I would generally stick to the big 3.
Club Car, EZ-GO and Yamaha.
All made in US. All have a massive parts network for repairs.

There are a ton of carts from China including Star, Icon and a million others and there is nothing wrong with them generally speaking. Most are geared towards road life vs course life.

 

[War Eagle]

For preowned I would generally stick to the big 3.
Club Car, EZ-GO and Yamaha.
All made in US. All have a massive parts network for repairs.

There are a ton of carts from China including Star, Icon and a million others and there is nothing wrong with them generally speaking. Most are geared towards road life vs course life.

Know much about Bintelli Carts? A new dealer down here just opened a fancy showroom, but I know nothing about them.

 

[JW Smoove]

All i know is they price point is super to be good and they are assembled (maybe made) in Charleston.

 

[JB]

Know much about Bintelli Carts? A new dealer down here just opened a fancy showroom, but I know nothing about them.

This is a weird brand if you ask me.
They say Made in America and have a shop in SC. I dont think that is really transparent. It appears more so that they are assembling here by adding the top, and the cart is similar to a Yamaha knockoff coming from China that we see a lot of in other brands.

 

[Ludin]

2018 Ezgo rxv owner here and one thing to look at when buying used is the battery age and how well it has been taken care or not. If you buy lithium the only concern is really just age. Replacement costs of batteries is where it can really get you and should be factored into the price of a cart in my opinion. For example my lithium batteries I believe are 3k to replace, but they should last at least 10 years with 0 maintenance on them.

 

[War Eagle]

This is a weird brand if you ask me.
They say Made in America and have a shop in SC. I dont think that is really transparent. It appears more so that they are assembling here by adding the top, and the cart is similar to a Yamaha knockoff coming from China that we see a lot of in other brands.

Sounds about the same as their electric bikes, a lot of knock off components on them, which makes me question their carts.

 

[dees06]

I see alot with "batteries recently replaced", so that's a good tip. I want to avoid gas if I can. I see many of the newer brands but don't know much about them. I like the Club Car Alpha and leaning toward that, but I'll probably take a peak at everything decent in my price range. Several dealers here of different brands, so I'll take a look at part support too.

 

[JB]

I see alot with "batteries recently replaced", so that's a good tip. I want to avoid gas if I can. I see many of the newer brands but don't know much about them. I like the Club Car Alpha and leaning toward that, but I'll probably take a peak at everything decent in my price range. Several dealers here of different brands, so I'll take a look at part support too.

Alpha?
Do you mean a Club Car Precedent with a body kit?

 

[dees06]

I think so. I've seen them listed as Club Car Alpha and some as Precedent with Alpha Body.

 

[JB]

I think so. I've seen them listed as Club Car Alpha and some as Precedent with Alpha Body.
View attachment 9260713

Thats a Precedent with a body kit on it.
Very important to find out what year cart it is as that cart body ran for a long time. And definitely check on the batteries

 

[Triple Lindy]

Batteries for sure. We had a 2nd home in a golf course community where golf carts were the primary means of transportation, so we used ours for more than golf. I bought a used Yamaha for under $3k, but that was pre-COVID. Battery replacement was around $1k for 8 12v lead acid batteries. I’d look for a cart with lithium batteries. They last longer, can be run all the way down and are easier to maintain.

 

[Raiderboost]

I think so. I've seen them listed as Club Car Alpha and some as Precedent with Alpha Body.
View attachment 9260713

JB nailed it about about being a body kit. That could be a 2004 Club Car Precedent or a 2018. One thing you might ask them for is service records on the cart. When I bought mine from one of the members at my course he gave me the last couple of invoices of the work that he'd had done about 2-4 years ago. If they have that then I would feel like they maintained the cart pretty well. If not then you would really need to inspect it. Mine had some issues and needed batteries and tires. I've managed to milk the last life out of the tires and am about to buy some new wheels and tires from a friend who just replaced his. I'll also replace the leaf springs and shocks when I do that as they are worn. I knew the cart was going to take some work over the next couple of years but I also bought it from him for $300. It is a 1998 Club Car DS though.

One thing you could do is if you find an older one that needs some work, if you can get it cheap enough you can do that and then do a body kit to update the looks. The good thing about this is you can customize it to looks like you want. You can do the cowls, seats, steering wheel, dash, and roof. You can also find wheel and tires sets online for about $600-$800 bucks. If that's not your things and you don't care about the looks so much then finding a newer one may be the better option.