News from Arizona Republic:
by Betty Beard
Electric golf carts, also known as cars, are widely popular in Sun Lakes, not just to get around the five golf courses but for whirring to stores or restaurants.
Salesmen estimate that from 50 to 80 percent of Sun Lakes households have one or two golf carts. It's getting more common for husbands and wives to each have their own or for kids to buy golf carts for their parents who can no longer drive full-size cars.
The three main brands of golf carts are Club Car, E-Z-GO and Yamaha, and they come in electric or gas-powered versions. Related to golf carts are Neighborhood Electric Vehicles that are made by several manufacturers and equipped with enough safety equipment to allow them to be driven on roads where the speed limit is up to 35 mph.
New golf carts generally cost from $6,000 to $9,000 and with all the options and designs, prices can run up to $14,000 or more.
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Sun Lakes only allows the quieter electric golf carts, and their maintenance is simple. Owners mainly need to watch the batteries, keeping them recharged, making sure they have water and that corrosion doesn't build up.
In general, electric motors last 10 to 12 years, and batteries are now lasting four to five years, said Wes Whitfield, general manager of the Horner Group golf cart store in Sun Lakes.
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