Forget gold watches and rocking chairs. What today’s retirees really want is a golf cart.
Even if you never play golf, a golf cart is a fun and inexpensive way to get around in many communities. This is especially true in 55+ communities and resort towns that appeal to retirees. Golf carts are a wildly popular way of buzzing around town. In this arrticle, we’ll share tips for how to buy a golf cart that’s right for your needs.
Benefits of Golf Carts
In popular retirement communities in places like Florida and Arizona, golf carts often replace the second car for making quick trips to the pool or clubhouse, or even to nearby supermarkets, retail stores, and restaurants that are legally accessible by golf carts.
Aside from the practical benefits, Jayson Nobles, president of Nobles Golf Carts in Leesburg, Florida, said people like golf carts because of their convenience and what he called “the fun factor.”
“It’s ease of transportation,” Jayson said. “You don’t have to get in your car and buckle the seat belt. You just hop on the cart and go.”
Begun by Jayson’s dad in 1996, Nobles Golf Carts serves Sumter and Lake counties in Central Florida, including popular retirement communities such as The Villages, Leesburg, and Mount Dora.
Another benefit of golf carts for aging senior adults is that they can often continue driving a golf cart even after their skills driving a car or truck have begun to fade. If the kids take away your car keys, you’ve still got the golf cart.
“You’re traveling at a much lower speed in a golf cart and don’t have the same issues dealing with heavy traffic,” Jayson said. “It’s nice that golf carts still give them (seniors) their independence.”
For those who play golf and live in a community with a golf course, the benefits of owning your own golf cart are obvious. Golf carts are made for this purpose. Plus, you can pack a cooler and other accessories before leaving home on your own cart.
These days, golf carts can be good for your pocketbook too. Most golf carts are electric powered, so you won’t have to buy high-priced gas or diesel fuel.
Just tell your friends back home that you bought an “EV,” which is the trendy term for electric vehicles. Your friends will think you’re really hip and assume you’re tooling around in a Tesla (lol)!
How to Choose a Golf Cart
Here are three valuable tips to help you know how to buy a golf cart – or maybe upgrade to your next one.
# 1 – Electric or gas?
Nearly 80 percent of golf carts are electric. Electric carts are known for their easy maintenance, long lifespan, and quiet motors. They don’t require tune-ups or oil changes.
The main drawback of electric carts is their relatively short range between chargings. If you live in a large community where you might need to travel 40 or more miles a day, then you may need to consider a gas-powered golf cart, or an electric cart with a lithium battery, which we will discuss later in this article. If you run out of power with an electric cart, it will take several hours to recharge it, whereas with a gas cart you simply pull into a gas station when you start running low on fuel.
Gas carts have their own set of issues that make them less popular with many buyers. They require more frequent maintenance, similar to gas-powered cars and trucks. They make much more noise than electric carts and spew out unpleasant fumes. As a bike rider, I can attest you don’t want to travel right behind a gas-powered golf cart!
“For most people, electric golf carts provide the power and length of charging they need,” said Leslie Degner, who along with husband Bill operate Golf Carts Etc., a popular website that educates golf cart owners on how to use and maintain their carts.
If you own a golf cart or are considering buying one, I highly recommend subscribing to Golf Cart Etc.’s free email newsletter at https://www.golf-carts-etc.com/golf-carts-etc-newsletter.html. It’s extremely helpful, especially if you are like me and knew next to nothing about golf carts before buying my first one.
“Smaller communities mostly want electric carts. Some won’t allow gas because of the noise and the fumes,” Jayson said, agreeing that for most seniors an electric cart is the better choice.
It’s debatable whether gas or electric carts are cheaper to operate over the longer run, but most experts say electric carts are cheaper.
“A lot of people look at the cost of batteries (in an electric cart) every five years, but upkeep on gas carts is also expensive if you get them serviced correctly, plus repair costs and gas,” Jayson said. “There have been studies showing that a gas cart is more expensive in the long run if you change your oil and filter like you’re supposed to.”
# 2 – Lead acid vs. lithium batteries
Traditionally, all electric golf carts were powered by lead-acid batteries, similar to those used by cars and trucks. Lead-acid batteries require owners to keep a regular check on water levels. They also need to be regularly charged, even when not in use. This is a problem for snowbirds who keep a golf cart at their winter home. It’s not good for lead-acid batteries to sit all summer and fall without being charged.
These days, buyers of electric carts have a new option: lithium batteries, similar to the batteries that power cellphones, electric bicycles, and yes, EV cars like Tesla.
“If you want a golf cart with minimal maintenance, then you want one with a lithium battery,” Leslie said. “With a lithium battery, you don’t have to regularly check the battery terminals, clean the cables, and check water levels. You can store them for several weeks or months and they will start up again in the spring because they have a low discharge rate.”
Compared with traditional lead-acid batteries, Leslie said lithium batteries are lighter, charge faster, and offer a longer driving range. Lithium batteries are relatively new in golf carts, but experts think they will last longer, maybe up to a full decade. This compares with the typical four-to-six year range on lead-acid batteries – and that’s assuming you take very good care of them year-round.
It’s a good thing that lithium batteries last longer, because at this point in time they are much more expensive than lead-acid batteries.
“Lithium batteries have really come on strong in the past couple of years, but until the cost comes down, I don’t know too many people who want to spend $5,000 on a pack of batteries,” Jayson said.
Based on the experience of other consumer products that use lithium batteries, it is likely that prices will come down in the years ahead as lithium batteries become more popular in golf carts.
# 3 – New, used, or reconditioned?
Most golf carts puttering around in 55+ and resort communities were not brand-new carts when the retirees purchased them. Most golf carts start their life on a golf course. After two to four years of use, they are sold off to dealers like Nobles Golf Carts who recondition them and make them more suitable for neighborhood use. Dealers like Nobles then sell these reconditioned carts to the public.
“We replace everything on them except the motor and the electronics,” Jayson said. “We strip them down to the frame, acid wash the frame, replace bearings, brakes, wiring harness, batteries, and just about everything. Then we give customers a warranty.”
Leslie said when dealers recondition golf carts, they add features popular with consumers such as front and rear lights, mirrors, nicer seats, and fabric roof coverings. Other popular options include oversized or fancier wheels and tires, fans, a rear-facing second row of seats, extended roofs, and drop-down side enclosures to protect against cold and rain.
For those with money to spend, there’s no limit to how golf carts can be customized. Some owners have fun new body shells installed to make the carts look like anything from a Model A Ford to a Jeep. Entertainment systems and cameras can be installed inside. Hard-shell enclosures with car-like doors are another option.
The cheapest way to buy a golf cart is to buy a used one from an individual or dealer. These are carts that were reconditioned years ago and are now being sold by the original or a subsequent owner. Especially when bought from an individual, they are purchased “as is” with no warranty. Some dealers, like Nobles, offer used carts that they have inspected and replaced worn parts where necessary.
When buying a used cart, Leslie said two key questions to ask are how old are the batteries and how well were they maintained? For instance, the batteries may be only three years old but if the owner didn’t keep them charged and add water when needed, the batteries could be near their end of life.
Better Than a Gold Watch
Golf carts are undeniably fun. Grandkids love them too. It will make you the cool grandparent to take the grandchildren for a spin in your golf cart.
Personally speaking, I’ll take a nice golf cart over a gold watch for retirement any time. Owning your own golf cart is something to look forward to when you move to a 55+ or other golf-cart-friendly community for retirement.
Mentioned in this article:
- Nobles Golf Carts at https://www.noblesgolfcarts.biz
- Golf Carts Etc. at https://www.golf-carts-etc.com
