New Golf cart, Gas vs Electric. E-Z-Go vs Star vs Yamaha

[BorisM]

My wife and I need to purchase a golf cart so she and the kids could move around gated community when I am not with them. We looked at several golf carts and got even more confused than before we looked at them.

We know absolutely nothing about golf carts and these are our choices:

Gas golf carts? E-Z- Go or Yamaha? They seem to be about the same price and have about the same features. But not as smooth at take off as electric carts are. Wife does not like the idea of depressing the acceleration pedal all the way before the cart moves, but she said she could live with it if need be.
Electric golf carts seem to be very smooth but need to be constantly charged during the winter months while we are not in the community. This is a bit of a project, but doable. Electric seems to be E-Z-Go and Star. Star has 4 years warranty, E-Z-Go has 2. Once again E-Z-Go and Star seem to cost about the same (+-$400).

My questions are: What maintenance is involved in gas vs electric golf carts? And what brand is “better” E-Z-Go vs Star and E-Z- Go vs Yamaha? If I get electric is there any reason to get 48 v golf cart over 36 v?

Thank you.

[Sir Nuke]

Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to BGW. There is a BIG fridge on the back porch with anything you can think of in it...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have. Make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom's, dad's, wives', husband's, girlfriend's and boyfriend's here don't care....and take it easy.



oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

[joshualmarley]

BorisM

Seems you have been doing some "research!" To be fair I was in the same boat but here is my opinion. I think an electric cart would better suit your needs as leaving a gas cart can be problematic without draining fuel and such and you really don't need indefinite range. As far as brands, EZGo, Club Car, Yamaha, are the big 3 but Star has been gaining some ground mainly because most of their carts are "street legal" (although this is another entire thread). To be fair, they are all very similar in features and price, but here's what I learned.
EZGO-Cheapest overall, most accessible replacement parts, and has been in business for years, in 09 they started making an RXV model which is AC drive and in my opinion much better but if you read the forum they had a bunch of bugs so they weren't reliable until the 2011 model year. Club Car,-most expensive from the beginning, but that doesn't relate to better in most cases but they are good carts as well with easily sourced parts. Yamaha- really improved ride and handling with independent suspension (similar to a car), however, they need a code from the dealer (about 150 bucks) to go faster than 14 MPH and even then they top out at 18-19MPH.

The charge issue is easily resolved. Just pick up a DPI charger from ScottyB and sell the one that comes with your cart. You will break even on the deal and have a charger that charges and maintains the batteries.

Lastly is your question of 36 vs 48 Volts, the shortest and easiest answer is 48 is the new standard and give your more range and power overall, if you are buying a newer cart look for 48. That being said, if you want to save some dough a good used EZGO can be had that is 36 volts. This question can get long-winded quick but the capacity of a battery is actually the KWH and you can purchase different combinations of 36, 42, 48 Volt carts. To Keep it simple, a 6 battery 36 V cart, could potentially have more capacity than a 4 battery 48V cart.


Hopefully this helps, I have done immense amounts of research myself so feel free to ask anything and I will try to help.

Josh

[BorisM]

Josh, thank you for help. What is the difference between EZGO AC and DC motors? Which one do I want if I go EZGO and electric?

[BorisM]

Does anyone know if new golf cart prices negotiable just like a car or not?

[joshualmarley]

OK I hope someone more technical chimes in but... AC motors are more efficient . You don't 'need' it, but it is an innovation from EZGO. I suggest you go drive one, as they do have quite a bit more torque and speed from the factory. They also don't have a standard click lock parking brake. On your other question are prices negotiable, Yes, but realize there is not nearly as much money as a car. If you are buying a new cart I think you can save 500 bucks pretty easily off msrp but more than that is uncommon unless someone has some closeouts or something.

FYI Here are some local prices for Houston, TX.

New Yamaha Drive 2014 48V 5499 with standard light kit
2012 Yamaha Drive from a fleet golf course 2500 with windshield.
2011 EZgo RXV used fleet 4000.00 with windshield.

Josh

[Great white north]

Stay away from Star they are made in China ( lots of issues )
Get a used 08 and up TXT PDS EZGO 36 volt cart , most prices are in the $2000 to 2500 ball park with new batteries , then add to it over time
Up grade controller to 400 amp from factory 250 amp , put bigger tires on
And more batteries (2) and convert to 48 volt (use DPI charger )
Cheers!

[joshualmarley]

Actually they are made in South Carolina. And use a ton of ezgo parts.

Check out starev.com

Josh

[cgtech]

Originally Posted by joshualmarley

Actually they are made in South Carolina. And use a ton of ezgo parts.

Check out starev.com

Josh

Not really, they are "somewhat" slapped together in S.C. They are made in china, dont fool yourself. Good luck dealing with J.H. Global. I dont miss a minute of not dealing with with the Star ordeal. Yes, they have a #5 at the beginning of their VIN, "final assembly in usa" (tax credit carts). But they are far from "american made". Having to deal with their **** is enough to rip your hair out. Some have Curtis controllers and ADC motors, but the other parts are so lousy, some of the axles leak oil through the cast "iron". I cant with good conscience recommend a Star to anyone, i cant see how anyone who has dealt with their poor build quality could. The frame itself is acceptable, suspension is not good (poor knock-off of a TXT). Gas and brake pedal area is a joke. Axle is a joke. Eagle charger would have been a good setup IF star hadn't specified such a hot profile (poor battery life, even with 8x 6v batteries, cant really blame Eagle for that). Wiring seems like a 8yr old chinese built it (they did). If you ever see a star with a "kinetic" ac system, RUN away, fortunately, few were made. I would rather have a Melex cart (made in poland, has more genuine, not crappy quality "knock-off" parts in it). There were HPEV AC models built too, i would suggest taking that system out, and putting it into a decent frame cart. I know, i am "beating the drum" about this no-star-thing, but i would rather have anything else. Some dealers refuse to work on them.

[BorisM]

Originally Posted by Great white north

Stay away from Star they are made in China ( lots of issues )
Get a used 08 and up TXT PDS EZGO 36 volt cart , most prices are in the $2000 to 2500 ball park with new batteries , then add to it over time
Up grade controller to 400 amp from factory 250 amp , put bigger tires on
And more batteries (2) and convert to 48 volt (use DPI charger )
Cheers!

So the consensus is to get E-Z-Go.

Why do you recommend getting a 36v cart and upgrading it to 48v? What would I accomplish by upgrading controller to 400 amps from factory 250 amps? And my final stupid question of the day: why do I get two extra batteries?