10 Things NOT To Do When Buying Used Golf Carts

Getting an utilized golf cart as well as feeling a little bit overloaded? Below’s the best novice’s overview with handy pointers from our very own first-hand experience.

Buying a made use of golf cart can feel overwhelming, befuddling, or simply downright scary. A lot of us have gone through the process of acquiring a cars and truck, pick-up, or SUV. However when it involves getting a golf cart, it’s tough to understand where to begin or what to look for.

If you have actually never ever possessed a golf cart, there are a variety of factors to consider certain to this type of lorry that you’ll want to acquaint yourself with before even thinking of searching for the right cart for you.

A number of inquiries are bound to turn up along the way: Gas vs. electrical? 1 or 2 seats? ClubCar, EZGO, Yamaha, or an additional brand name?

To be able to answer these inquiries, you’ll require to offer some great thought concerning your way of living, budget, as well as what your main desired use will certainly be. These points will aid make a decision which sort of golf cart you ultimately end up with, and, much more significantly, whether you’ll be happy with your purchase.

Many newbie purchasers are shocked by the cost of golf carts about a lot more conventional cars. Golf carts are not economical! All the more factor to do your due persistance to assist enhance the possibilities that the cart you obtain will end up being an excellent financial investment for your cash and also way of living.

In this overview, we highlight the most vital considerations to aid guide as well as notify your decision making, encourage you as a customer, and also eventually help you locate the best car for you and also your individual scenario.

This overview is based on our very own experience buying and also possessing a golf cart, along with numerous hrs of research and also discussions with experts and also professionals.

While the focus of this overview is what NOT to do when acquiring a used golf cart, you’ll discover plenty of pointers for points you must be doing at each action in the procedure.

10 Points NOT To Do When Getting a Used Golf Cart

1. Failing to remember to Examine the Licensing Requirements in Your Area

Prior to thinking about buying an utilized golf cart (or any kind of golf cart, for that issue), make sure you familiarize on your own with the golf cart licensing requirements in your state, as well as regional legislations and community ordnances pertaining to making use of golf carts on public or private roads.

In numerous places, your golf cart will require to be changed to be permitted to drive on public roadways. Some locations require the addition of a road lawful set, while other areas only enable gas-powered carts to use public roads.

If you intend on using the golf cart at a golf course, check the course’s rules and guidelines first. Not all fairway enable golf carts.

Make sure you understand the guidelines in and out before even thinking about looking for a golf cart. There’s nothing even worse than throwing down several thousand bucks on a car just to discover that you can’t drive it where you had meant.

2. Stopping Working to Get Enough Information on the Golf Cart

Like getting an utilized automobile, when buying a used golf cart you are going to need to know some basic details about your automobile that the vendor may be less than anxious to show to you.

It could not look like a big deal at the time of purchase, yet failing to get this essential details might come back to bite you in the rear seat later on.

In an ideal world, it would be excellent to recognize the upkeep and mishap history of the golf cart, as well as its origin (country, state, etc). If you can score a logbook as well as invoices, wonderful! You’re ahead of the video game.

Often, however, this simply isn’t a reasonable assumption to have.

At the very least, you will certainly require to know the following:

Make (e.g. EZGO, ClubCar, etc).
Version (e.g. TXT, Precedent, and so on).
Serial # (commonly situated on a plate inside the handwear cover compartment or beside the charging port).
Year (e.g. 2013).
Rounds (i.e. # cycles, usually 2005+ documents these on the controller).

If you’re buying an utilized golf cart from a personal celebration, there’s an opportunity the vendor will not understand some of this information, especially if they’re not the original owner.

If you’re purchasing from a dealer and also they fail to give every one of this information, leave. If they’re withholding the basics, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the car.

At the very least, if you are able to get your hands on the identification number (and/or maker’s number in many cases), that will certainly help you determine make, design, and year. This website has an exceptional overview for figuring all that out.

Ultimately, if the golf cart is being sold as “refurbished” or “re-manufactured,” make certain that it was done by a certified supplier or shop, ask what particularly was done, and also demand any available supporting paperwork (billing, etc), especially if the asking price appears much greater than a similar used cart.

3. Overlooking the Batteries.

If you are buying a made use of golf cart that’s electric powered, you will certainly additionally need to recognize some standard details concerning the batteries. Ideally, you’ll also intend to examination and also check the batteries too.

Golf cart batteries don’t last permanently, and also can quickly set you back in between $1,000-$ 2,000 for a brand-new collection. Faulty or old batteries can also harm various other essential components of the cart, such as the motor, or the onboard battery charger (this happened to us).

Keep in mind that these pointers are specific to lead-acid batteries, which are the most typical kinds of batteries you’re most likely to experience. In the off possibility you discover a golf cart with newer lithium ion batteries or some other type, you’ll need to study suggestions particular to those batteries.

At the very least, you’re going to would like to know:.

Battery Brand Name– Ideally, you’re mosting likely to wish to see Trojan or other top U.S. brands (In Mexico, LTH batteries are also respectable); you would certainly also such as to see a set of the very same brand (e.g. 6 x Trojan 8v batteries for a 48v cart).
Manufacture Day (e.g. 4/2017) (this must be marked somewhere on the battery).
Supplier Service warranty (more recent batteries may still be under guarantee).
Billing Practices (frequency/duration)– in the case of conventional lead acid batteries, you are hoping to listen to “every evening” or “any time the golf cart is parked.”.

Ideally, you ‘d additionally want to do 3 tests when the batteries are fully billed and cooled down:.

Aesthetic Evaluation Inside (e.g. electrolyte degrees) & Out (e.g. bulging, cracks/leaks, extreme corrosion, and so on).
Voltage Examination (each battery as well as total).
Hydrometer Test (Details Gravity).

Constantly put on protective equipment when carrying out any kind of type of examination with batteries. If you do not have the devices as well as knowledge, make certain to take the cart to a professional that does.

If batteries are taken care of appropriately, they can perform well for several years. It’s additionally possible to discover batteries that are just a year or two old that perform poorly due to overlook.

Having a concept of both the age and also health and wellness of the batteries can save you a ton of cash and also migraines in the future, so it is necessary to take a few moments to cover the assessment factors above.

4. Getting an Off-Brand Golf Cart.

It may seem like a lot you’re hopping on that cart brand that nobody’s come across, up until you find yourself in need of your initial fixing or upgrade.

Typically, you can not fail with among the major brand names like EZGO, ClubCar, or Yamaha. Parts are easy ahead by as well as golf cart mechanics have lots of experience with the ins and outs of these cars, old and also new.

And also, there are countless clients around that can attest to the pros and cons specific to each model within the line up of these major brand names. Locating comparable details for lower well-known brand names can be very hard, specifically if you have an interest in DIY upkeep.

5. Not Taking It for a Real-World Test-Drive.

When getting a made use of golf cart, some prospective buyers take a golf cart for a brief spin around a car park and also call it excellent. Also even worse, they purchase a golf cart without riding it whatsoever, or view undetected.

The only way to make certain that a specific golf cart will be an excellent financial investment for you is to take it for a drive that mimics how you mean to utilize the cart.

If you plan to drive it in an area with high hills, see to it you evaluate it out on a hillside or two to see just how it responds.

Furthermore, if you prepare to utilize your cart for off-road driving, ensure you invest some time off the sidewalk, ideally on a selection of terrain that mirrors your desired use.

6. Skipping an Expert Examination.

An important part of the process of purchasing a made use of golf cart that is regularly overlooked (due to time restraints, cost, or simply pure idleness) is taking a potential car to a relied on shop or supplier to have it professionally evaluated.

While a specialist inspection could be overkill for an older cart with several known flaws (and properly priced as such), if you are a first time customer considering a vehicle with an asking cost of several thousand bucks, it’s well in your interest to have actually the cart inspected by a 3rd party when possible.

Why? Unlike conventional gas automobiles, there are a couple of elements in a golf cart that can seem perfectly great to you in a test-drive, but that can promptly wind up costing you hundreds, otherwise thousands of dollars in a very short time period.

As discussed previously, assessing the health and wellness of the batteries ought to be a top priority. If you lack the tools, abilities, and also knowledge to properly evaluate golf cart batteries, crucial deficiencies can easily be missed out on.

Another costly part that can be testing to evaluate is the battery charger, which can also set you back a great amount of money. That’s naturally along with assessing the condition of tires, suspension, electrical, etc.

When it pertains to electric carts, the good news is that the motors often tend to be pretty long lasting and durable, and are less most likely to fail for no reason, specifically if the cart performs well in a real-world test drive. Also, there’s no transmission to handle, which can be a costly repair work or replacement on gas-powered carts.

7. Choosing the Wrong Golf Cart.

When getting a used golf cart, choices can be limited depending on where you live. It’s easy to get restless and also dive at the first golf cart you find for a respectable price. However doing so might very well come back to haunt you.

Think about the use– If you’re acquiring a golf cart to obtain you from A to B on a fairly flat fairway or retirement home, you’re most likely to worth comfort and also easy maintenance over durability, clearance, and also battery array.

Consider the climate you reside in– EZGO golf carts are extremely rugged as well as dependable automobiles, but are improved a steel framework (versus ClubCar’s aluminum framework). While steel is more powerful as well as above aluminum for hard driving and also harsh conditions (i.e. all-terrain use, ranching, etc) it is most likely to rust in damp as well as seaside environments.

8. But … Don’t Obtain As Well Hung Up On Features.

While obtaining the options as well as devices you desire is important, try not to prioritize points like a back seat, road legal set, and even a lift package, as these can all be added later on at relatively inexpensive.

Instead, focus on seeing to it that the vehicle you are seeking to purchase is strong and reliable, the batteries remain in good shape, its comfortable to drive, which the make/model fits your way of living.

For example, if you’re really wanting to get an electric cart with a rear seat, as well as you are confronted with the selection in between a gas cart with a rear seat as well as an electrical cart without back seat, you’ll be much better purchasing the electric cart and also including the exact seat you desire.

9. Not Negotiating the Rate.

Keep in mind that even if the price is “Company” there’s constantly room for settlements.

Be specifically on the look out for any type of issues that emerge during your very own assessment (or professional examination, which we highly advise doing) that weren’t initially revealed by the buyer.

On the other side, be fatigued of buyers that appear too excited to offer as well as want to bend over backwards to dump their outstanding golf cart (unless the rate is insanely reduced and you recognize precisely what you’re getting).

10. Not Asking Enough Questions.

Now, this set must be pretty noticeable. Don’t hesitate to ask questions concerning anything, even if you know nothing concerning golf carts (though hopefully this guide has assisted to change that).

Much like purchasing an automobile, if the vendor gets defensive or makes you feel unpleasant, there’s probably something fishy going on with the cart.

A sincere and upfront vendor needs to be happy to respond to any and all questions you might have, as it should remain in their benefit and also they must have nothing to conceal.

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