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Help me with a possible golf cart purchase

It's not uncommon to see a lot of Yamaha models from the 90s still chugging along.
 
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LettenyanoX said:
I recently got an EZGO RXV for similar reasons - neighborhood cruising and golf course use. It's been fantastic! A smooth ride, good power, and the electric option is a plus. I didn't go for lithium, but it's worth considering for longer battery life. I also disabled GPS using this guide golfgladiator.com for more adventure. I hope this helps!
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We got to test drive an RXV yesterday and really liked it. Really smooth and plenty of pep to get up to speed. It had the lithium battery and that's probably the way we will go. I'm a little shocked though at how expensive new carts are these day. Wow! They are pricey!
 
Tee1Up said:
The only thing to worry about going lithium is the problem with them catching on fire.
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How common is that? I haven't seen much like that, but haven't really been searching for that kind of problem either.
 
will said:
How common is that? I haven't seen much like that, but haven't really been searching for that kind of problem either.
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It’s common just google it and you will see lots of examples. Firefighters have been going door to door to warn people not to charge their carts indoors.
 
Keeping an eye on this thread - we're considering an investment property in the Villages in Ocala, FL. A 4-seater gas cart would be ideal if anyone has recommendations.
 
pattyboy21 said:
Keeping an eye on this thread - we're considering an investment property in the Villages in Ocala, FL. A 4-seater gas cart would be ideal if anyone has recommendations.
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In that area, its nearly all Yamaha.
Quietest Gas Cart out there.
 
JB said:
In that area, its nearly all Yamaha.
Quietest Gas Cart out there.
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I have seen a lot of houses for sale that include a golf cart; Yamaha is definitely a popular choice there!
 
I have an EZGO RXV lithium. A couple of things, I really like the auto brake on the RXV, I despise carts without it at this point. I also really like the availability of parts for the RXV both OEM and aftermarket. I like to tinker a little bit and parts availability has been nice.

Mine is street legal and I went with a Navitas controller and upgraded solenoid and get to > 40mph on the street pretty easy. It makes driving on the 25 and 35 mph roads locally more comfortable.
 
mts25 said:
I have an EZGO RXV lithium. A couple of things, I really like the auto brake on the RXV, I despise carts without it at this point.
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It might not be there for long.
EZGO has had TONS of problems with it and it continues to be a spur in their side.
 
JB said:
It might not be there for long.
EZGO has had TONS of problems with it and it continues to be a spur in their side.
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Interesting. I had not heard that. Mine has worked flawlessly but maybe I've just gotten lucky. When I have to use the course carts (without that feature) I've really grown to appreciate it.

Since the RXV's don't have brakes per se.........use the battery for stopping, I wonder what the issues have been? Do you know? There aren't many failure points.
 
mts25 said:
Interesting. I had not heard that. Mine has worked flawlessly but maybe I've just gotten lucky. When I have to use the course carts (without that feature) I've really grown to appreciate it.

Since the RXV's don't have brakes per se.........use the battery for stopping, I wonder what the issues have been? Do you know? There aren't many failure points.
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I would say google it.
There are TONS of videos, articles, forum threads at different places, facebook posts, etc with just complete failure.
 
Did a quick search and it looks like in many cases it's just a short in the run plug which the brake power runs through:



Cheap to replace and easy to bypass. Will have to search a little more. Thanks for the heads up!
 
Tee1Up said:
It’s common just google it and you will see lots of examples. Firefighters have been going door to door to warn people not to charge their carts indoors.
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I know of probably at least 20-30 people at our club who have lithium and have not heard of any of these issues. Also, our clubs fleet is lithium and no issues there. There was a small electrical fire in the cart barn below the clubhouse but that was because of the almost 40 year old electrical wiring.
 
Raiderboost said:
I know of probably at least 20-30 people at our club who have lithium and have not heard of any of these issues. Also, our clubs fleet is lithium and no issues there. There was a small electrical fire in the cart barn below the clubhouse but that was because of the almost 40 year old electrical wiring.
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One course had 2 separate fleets of lithium carts burn up last year due to the batteries. A regular battery powered can catch fire as well.
Would I get one, most likely but I probably wouldn’t park it in my garage.
 
Tee1Up said:
One course had 2 separate fleets of lithium carts burn up last year due to the batteries. A regular battery powered can catch fire as well.
Would I get one, most likely but I probably wouldn’t park it in my garage.
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Yeah that’s not good.
 
Just to add my $0.02.

We bought a used 2008 E Z Go RXV 4 seater with lead acid batteries that were only a few months old at the time. We have had it a year now and the only issues we have had are the auto-brake issue popping up occasionally, but we have always been able to get it to go (thanks for the Amazon link above). We also did put a CO2 detector in the garage since it charges in there and it has gone off two different times. Our garage is not vented well, so we will need to add some venting to help with that.

Our cart has DC motors enabling it to go ~22 MPH and because of the DC motors, it's really fast off the line (way better than the Pinehurst fleet) but it is a bit noisy (it has a hum to it).

The one thing I hate about our cart is how bumpy it is. I don't know if it's specific to the generation of the cart or because it's a 4-seater, but it can really toss you around. I will be watching for newer used carts for sale to test out (my wife wants to stick with a 4-seater for when we have guests) to see if they are better. I did have a fellow member tell me it is because of the MacPherson suspension, but I cannot verify that.
 
JB said:
We have gone through this twice in the last few years, so let me see if I can help.

EZGO RXV, very good cart, inexpensive parts prices and tons of custom options. Depending on the cart, make sure you explore the storage situation as the one we looked at was lacking a bit. Otherwise we really liked it.

Club Car Onward. The second cart we ended up with. Love it. Love everything about it so far. We upgraded ours with performance package, and some others and think it looks and rides great.

Icon i40. Our previous cart. Looks good. Fast. Comes with a lot of bells and whistles. Made in China, like so many that look just like it. Parts are hard to come by if you need to have repairs done locally. Seat upgrade are DEFINITELY needed, these things are not comfortable.

If you are looking at Icon, you can look at Advanced EV, Gorilla and about 10 other brands that are the exact same cart with a different brand. All made in China and shipped here.

Frames. EZGO is a steel frame. Very well made in GA. Club Car is an Aluminum frame. Also made in GA. If you are in a high humidity area, aluminum is less prone to rust issues long term.

Bintelli Carts. I believe assembled in SC, but frame comes from China. They look very similar to a number of carts that feature a body kit. I can offer very little about them, other than they have a couple of hundred dealers nationwide, which is fairly small.

Definitely get out and test drive. Sit in the seats. Look over the websites for custom options.

Hope that helps.
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So very true on the frame material. Our Yamaha is steel, its well made, but we have noticed some rust starting. So its time to sell and get an aluminum frame cart. Just not going to deal with freaking rust at 70 years old. And regarding lithium batteries. No darn way. To many failures around the country. But our wacky CC is replacing every golf cart with Lithium powered. I think its rather nuts, when there is nothing wrong with the carts they have.
 
Just bought in a community and inherited the prior owners cart. Only using for golf and getting around the neighborhood. I know it needs batteries so I have headed down the rabbit hole you all have.
 
Can't comment on battery carts as I have gas Yamaha's for me and my wife. I do like battery carts when I use them at a course. Nice and quiet with quick acceleration. Prefer the gas carts for getting around The Villages. Essentially unlimited range and a full charge is the nearest gas station away!
 
After looking and test driving some different carts, we finally found one we liked and picked it up today. It’s a refurb EZGO RXV Elite. It has the Samsung lithium battery, LED headlights, taillights, turn signals, nice wheels, and premium seats, front and rear.

I couldn’t justify the cost of a new one, considering our usage, so a refurb seemed like the best way to go. Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to distinguish it from new just looking at it. Rides and drives great! Pretty stoked about it and I appreciate all the info and advice in here. I’ll get some pics during daylight and post them.
 
Congrats on the purchase! Our 2008 RXV is fine, but just bumpy since it is older tech on the suspension. We will someday replace it with a newer model but don't want to spend $16k on new, like you mentioned.
 
SVonhof said:
Congrats on the purchase! Our 2008 RXV is fine, but just bumpy since it is older tech on the suspension. We will someday replace it with a newer model but don't want to spend $16k on new, like you mentioned.
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Thanks! The EZGO RXV has been highly recommended from almost everyone we talked to. We priced a few new ones and they were in the $16-$18k range after tax and I just didn’t think we could get quite that much use out of it. The refurb looks and drives like new and saved us A LOT of money. I just need to get the golf bag attachment and I’ll be ready to go!
 
Oh man you could've bought a Coeer dAlene cart @will

 
We researched for months drove out of state to find Chinese brands to drive.
looking at all pros and cons we ended up with club car lithium ion and door works kit on it. This is a golf cart to just drive to and from course. We felt not the cheapest but delevevered most value for what we wanted.
 
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