Bill - do your homework. I bought mine with minimal knowledge beforehand and thought I was getting a good deal
My 2002 EZ-GO with 1 year old batteries turned out to be a 1998 with 6 year old batteries (still using them BTW, 3 years later)
Cart has a serial number (right side glove box for EZ-GO) and batteries are date coded with a brand.
Gas or electric? Many campgrounds do not allow gas carts. Besides, they stink and are noisy.
Some campgrounds will not allow any non licensed cart. Some that do not allow carts make exceptions if one of the campers has a handicap placard.
Cape Hatteras campground actually gives a special no charge permit for handicap carts.
Buggies Gone Wild.com (BGW) is your friend.
http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/electric-ezgo/
Some thoughts; Northern carts tend to have less ground time then southern carts.
Frame needs to be looked at closely for rust, especially the battery rack
PDS or Series? Don't know what it means? BGW. Personally I liked the series carts better, easier to upgrade, modify if you so desire.
Custom cart shops might actually be a good deal if you find one that has been upgraded.
36 of 48? semantics. A lot depends on the the battery type and capacity. Given identical Trojan T-105 batteries a 48 will have more torque - maybe. Your 48 could be 4-12 volt batteries, 6-8 volts or 8-6 volts, same torque, longer run time with the 8-6 volt batteries.
Batteries are expensive, 100-150 each +
Battery chargers are expensive, 250-400
Electric carts use an electronic controller for speed control, burn one out and that is expensive, 450 for a cheesy factory or about 400 for a superior upgrade.
I have had some fun with "Deb's cart" did a lot of mods to it so far, but nothing like you will find on that BGW site.
You can - add batteries to a 36v cart, either make it 42 or 48 volts with no other changes besides a new battery charger. That will give a 36V cart a significant jump in torque and run time.
If you find a two seater you can easily add a rear seat. I opted for a fold down version. That way it is a people mover when up and a dog mover when down. The flat load spacy would be perfect for model RC's
Better controller
Bigger tires, lift kit custom wheels
Replace mechanical forward - reverse switch (hard to operate) to electric dash control ($$$ solenoids)
Lights, head and tail
Custom dashboards, steering wheels, stereos
Bigger-stronger motor
Battery cable upgrades
Disc brakes, 2 or 4 wheel, mechanical or hydraulic (4 wheel hydraulic disc = $750)
Voltage converter, 36 or 48 volts stepped down to 12 for accessories.
and on and on and on........................
To bad we didn't get to go to the VA rally, you could have given Deb's cart a go around.
http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elec...id-you-do-your-ezgo-today-126.html#post726774
http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elec...id-you-do-your-ezgo-today-128.html#post741160
Hey JimB - whatever happened to that Golf cart section we talked about?