Street legal golf car purchase

[KeithM]

Looking for help..
I am in the market to purchase a street legal cart. I live in Nj and my town does allow them. I need help on what brands to consider, new/used and what to look for in a quality cart. If anyone is from Jersey are there any dealers you recommend.

[librarian]

I can't speak for exactly what is required in NJ, but if it generally follows the lsv guidelines established by the feds, it goes something like this:

1. Not supposed to go over 25mph
2. Needs headlights, brakelights, tailights, turn signals, horn, rear view mirror and windshield, license plate brackets and rear license plate light. Some states require seat belts, but Ohio does not. I don't konw about New Jersey.
3. You will need insurance of some kind. My carts are covered by my home owner policy. My insurance agent is aware that my carts are street legal and is ok with that.
4. With those guidelines, you can make most golf carts street legal. I have an 88 EZ Go Marathon that I did about 4 years ago and I had no problems getting it registered for the street. I just finished up my 04 Yamaha g22a and will be taking it for inspection on Monday morning. The officer where I get inspected told me there have been no changes in law since my last inspection. I am also now working on my best friend's g22a. He is very hadicapped so I am doing the work for him.

You could do either electric or gas unless your state has restrictions on that. Ohio does not have any restrictions.

As far as brands of carts are concerned, I don't think it makes much difference. I will say that my g22a drives better and has more power than my old Marathon. I think it is better engineered than the EZ Go.

If you are purchasing a cart that is already street legal, I advise that the cart has already been inspected, titled and can be plated right away. That will ensure that you are getting a cart that is truly compliant with your state laws. Anything less than that and you might as well do the work yourself and save some money. It is not hard to do, it just takes some time and money. You can build your own wiring harness or buy one pretty much ready made. Several vendors sell "street ready" kits that have pretty much everything you need. I made my own wiring harness for the Marathon, but I bought a street ready kit for my g22a. I enhanced my wiring harness with speaker wires, stereo etc. and I also added a third tailight/brakeliight/license plate light on the roof for safety sake.

Don Williams, a.k.a. Librarian

[kellybell]

Here is the rules for Gwinnett county, in Georgia, IN CAPS:

1. Not supposed to go over 25mph. SAME HERE
2. Needs headlights, brakelights, tailights, turn signals, horn, rear view mirror and windshield, license plate brackets and rear license plate light. Some states require seat belts, but Ohio does not. I don't konw about New Jersey. SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT HERE, THE LAW MERLEY STAES "TAIL LIGHTS" SO NO BLIBNKERS OR BRAKE LIGHTS. WE DO REQUIRE SEAT BELTS HERE.
3. You will need insurance of some kind. My carts are covered by my home owner policy. My insurance agent is aware that my carts are street legal and is ok with that. NOT NEEDE HER AT THIS TIME.

4. With those guidelines, you can make most golf carts street legal. I have an 88 EZ Go Marathon that I did about 4 years ago and I had no problems getting it registered for the street. I just finished up my 04 Yamaha g22a and will be taking it for inspection on Monday morning. The officer where I get inspected told me there have been no changes in law since my last inspection. I am also now working on my best friend's g22a. He is very hadicapped so I am doing the work for him.

SOME ADDITIONS FOR STREET LEGALITY HERE: DAYLIGHT HOURS ONLY, NOBODY LESS THAT 6 YEARS OLD, MUST DISPLAY A SLOW MOVING VEHICLE BADGE, MUST DISPLAY AN AMBER BEACON VISIBLE FOR 100 FEET. MUST POSSES A VALID GEORGIS DRIVERS LICENSE. ALSO NEED MIRRORS AND A BUZZER THAT SOUNDS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN REVERSE. I THINK THATS ALL.............

[CajunDavid]

You need to check with the state of NJ. LSV laws differ from state to state. In some states you must purchase a factory built LSV and cannot change a golf cart into one. Check before you buy and it'll save you tons of aggrevation. Good luck!

[kellybell]

x 2 on that!

[CajunDavid]

According to the NJ DMV website. A modified golf cart is not legal. Neither is a gas or diesel powered vehicle. So your LSV must have been manufactured as such with a 17 digit VIN. It's much the same here in Wisconsin. Be sure to check before you spend your money as I had plenty of dealers tell me they could upgrade a golf cart and my state would license it. They were wrong. Unfortunately an actual LSV generally is a bit more expensive than a golf cart. LSV's are made by E-Z-GO, Club Car, Star (chinese), Tomberlin and several others. From my research E-Z-Go's and Club Cars are the most trouble free (and expensive). I have an E-Z-GO 2FIVE that has been remarkable!

[kellybell]

I visited my DMV personally. They had lots of questions about my cart and finally gave me the list of things the cart had to have (lights, horn, buzzer, ect). I keep this list with me in the cart in case i am pulled over ...."Look officer, I went to the DMV and they said all I needed was this!"....... I also emailed people in my county government and they emailed me back stating what I neded to do to my cart. I keep these emails with me in the cart as well. Hope this helps.........

[librarian]

Originally Posted by CajunDavid

According to the NJ DMV website. A modified golf cart is not legal. Neither is a gas or diesel powered vehicle. So your LSV must have been manufactured as such with a 17 digit VIN. It's much the same here in Wisconsin. Be sure to check before you spend your money as I had plenty of dealers tell me they could upgrade a golf cart and my state would license it. They were wrong. Unfortunately an actual LSV generally is a bit more expensive than a golf cart. LSV's are made by E-Z-GO, Club Car, Star (chinese), Tomberlin and several others. From my research E-Z-Go's and Club Cars are the most trouble free (and expensive). I have an E-Z-GO 2FIVE that has been remarkable!

In light of this information, I think you should not buy anything that is not already plated or at least titled and ready to plate. BTW, I did get my g22a plated here in Ohio on Monday. My insurance agent had faxed me a statement from the insurance co. saying that my cart is covered by my homeowner's policy. The insurance statement was acceptable to the inspecting officer. The inspection took about 3 minutes. I did have to go to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to get a VIN inspection because I had bought the cart out of state at an auction in Indiana. That took about 2 minutes and cost me 3.50. At the Title office, they needed a form from the auction company showing that I had paid sales tax already. They were kind enough to call the auction company who promptly faxed over the proper form. The title fee was 22.00 and the plates were 30.00. From inspection point to plates took about an hour and a half counting the time it took to drive from one town to another.

[WesternRyan]

hey guys, a LUCKY newbie here. i bought my cart last week, an older western 36v with all lights already, and took her down to the dmv today here in CA. I basically wanted to get her registerd for the street and just play dumb about what i wouod need to do that. as of right now i still need a windshield , don't know why, law should be windshield or eye protection to me, and a break light. So i went to counter and told the lady i would like to title and register my golf cart for street. She said ok, i havnt done one of these in a while. I had all the paperwork filled out already and waited for her to tell me to get it inspected. She tells me the total is $89 and asks if i have the cart here and said yes. She gave me a paper and told me to take it to the vehical inspection line and I did. The inspector then asked me where the vin # is and i showed him the only stamped # in the frame that i could find witch is the model # i think and he said that will work. He asked me if i was going to drive it on the street and i told him no and he said ok. He then gave me a paper that i then gave to the lady at the counter and then she gave me some papers back and told me to go to window so and so to get my plates =). I figure i lucked out on getting her plated today with zero hasle. now, my question is do you think i would get pulled over for not having dot tires on and without a windshield if im wearing glasses? I plan on doing the break light and plate light. thanx

[Andy4639]

That all depends on how slow you are riding and how busy the cop is you pass!