Thinking about jumping in...

[biff09]

Hi all,
There's a ParCar near me on Craigslist which I'm thinking about buying. I was hoping you all might be able to help me out with things to look for or other tips.

The ParCar I'm looking at is a 2007 two-seater with a bed in the back. Needs a new motor and batteries will need replacing soon.

Reason for selling is the car was towed without proper precautions and burned up the motor.

Owner wants 1800.

Thanks for any thoughts on this potential fixer upper.

[biff09]

VIN is 5FCLS36A771001231 if that helps.

[scottyb]

Don't do it Biff - keep looking for a cart from one of the major 3 makers.
Ezgo, Club Car, & Yamaha

[Tech Support]

ScottyB shame upon you. You know, I just drove our electric cars from San Diego to Florida, at 25mph over a two month time frame. Texas was a long long state!

That VIN was sold 1/9/2007 and never had any warranty claims against it. But, with needing motor and batteries, and you don't know the condition of the controller, 1800 may be a bit high.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by Tech Support

ScottyB shame upon you. You know, I just drove our electric cars from San Diego to Florida, at 25mph over a two month time frame. Texas was a long long state!

That VIN was sold 1/9/2007 and never had any warranty claims against it. But, with needing motor and batteries, and you don't know the condition of the controller, 1800 may be a bit high.

I know - but aside from one tech here nobody knows much about these carts and help and parts just aren't as readily available but yeah as long as you have techsupport's phone number go for it....

[biff09]

Scotty B, your concerns are noted. I'm not too concerned about name, but I do want to be able to get ahold of parts when I need them.

Tech Support! Thanks so much for picking up on my thread. I have many more questions for you, so I'll forge ahead here and hopefully you can help me out.

First, my application:
I'd be using this on my homestead on dirt/gravel paths mainly. I don't anticipate registering it and driving in on roads. The reason I was drawn to this particular deal is that it seemed like it could be a good deal (if I put some sweat in), and it has an enclosed cab with a heater which is good for Michigan winters.

Second, some questions:
1. Can I, as an end user, get ahold of the parts I need and whatever shop manuals I need to do the work on it myself?
2. For how many years will I be able to get parts. Does Columbia EOL (End of Life) models and discontinue parts production?
3. From pics I've found on the internet, it looks like the battery bank is 8 x 6 volt batteries in series right?
4. Can you give me a wild guess how much you think it would cost to get this thing running again? At this time all I'm budgeting is a motor and batteries, but wondering if the controller could have been damaged during towing.
5. Do you know what the weight of this thing would be with batteries? Trying to figure out what kind of trailer I need to haul.

Lastly, thank you for spending time on the forums here! Any other things I should be looking for when I go to inspect this thing?

[Tech Support]

1A. Roads are no issue, they do well on paved, gravel and or dirt. One of our salesman has one he used for hauling firewood from the woods out to the road.
1/2. Parts we used from 05 or 07 have changed, but we do keep the new items retrofittable. We keep parts available for popular models like our eagle and summit units until the annual sales volume drops to about zero for over a year. Manuals in 2007 weren't kept in the system. I started here in 2008 and started from scratch. The 2010 manual is a pdf, one for parts, one for service. Not much changed between 2007 and 2010 except for body parts perhaps. Each manual though is around 10mb.
3. Yes, Eight 6 volt batteries in series.
4. Motor can be around $1000. Batteries whatever you can find locally for expense. Controller could have been but often times aren't.
5. Around 1800-1900 pounds.

[Tech Support]

PM sent for manual link.