I’ve only bought a few hundred carts over the past 6 years and I’ve only read a few hundred articles. I’ve talked with a lot of people and heard their stories, good and bad. This is some of that info that I have learnt.

Buying

Carts cost from 30,000 baht to 750,000 baht, however most are in the range of 50,000 – 150,000 used and 200,000 – 500,000 new with warranty.

New vs Used or Second Hand

If you are looking for a new cart, they can be picked up immediately depending on stock availability or you can wait between 1 to 4 months if it has to be ordered. New carts can be customized with all sorts of accessories and colors. Usually if you are buying a new cart you will be purchasing an electric or hybrid model.

Most of the used carts available in Nichada are older Yamaha gas models. These gas carts sometimes get advertise as “new” but don’t let this fool you as this usually means they have been newly repainted and made to look new. Other than the dodgy sales pitch, this doesn’t make the old carts bad, but expect a few Baht in maintenance over the first 12 months or so. There are a couple of maintenance options that come to you if you check out repairs and maintenance in the directory.

Warranties

New carts come with a warranty. It could be 6 months to 3 years depending on the manufacturer and /or seller and can be reassuring as you have no worries. Used carts can come with a 3-6 months warranty but it’s not as common.

Electric vs Gas (Petrol) and the new Hybrid option

Gas golf carts (Petrol)

The good news….most are powerful and fast and are typically cheaper than electric to purchase. These can drive through a flood and stop working then in a couple of hours it might be ready to drive again. When you run out of fuel, you just put more in the tank. Many people can fix the small problems and get you moving again.

The bad news….they are much louder and have a smelly exhaust. They are also hotter than electric, you are sitting on an engine. Some are not powerful and they all require constant maintenance, usually every 3 months for a new spark plug, air and fuel filter and oil change. Of course you don’t have to do this, you can wait until it breaks down but it will eventually break down. Some people don’t like the hassle of filling up the tank weekly or monthly and if you use anything other than Benzine it will hinder your carts performance.

Electric Golf Carts

The good news….they are very quiet, cool and non polluting. Some can last up to 3 weeks or 110km on a charge and typically your electricity bill will see little change from the cart charging. They can be very fast. The 48v are very fast and pass 99% of all normal gas powered carts. Good batteries that are maintained can last up to 5 years and the carts take almost no maintenance.

The bad news…they are more expensive to purchase and battery water must be checked monthly. Some must be plugged in daily depending on the cart but usually the older the battery the more it requires charging. Forgetting to charge will leave you stranded. Some electric carts are “whimpy” and SLOW. Bad batteries last 1 – 2 years, they take constant checking and some battery charges only last 1 – 2 hours. The components are quite expensive to replace also. Corrosion is an issue. DO NOT get the charger, controller, connections, etc wet. Driving in the rain is FINE….it’s the floods that kill the electronics!!

Hybrids

Basically electric carts with a gas generator to keep you going when the battery runs out. You still have to plug it in and you have to fill the gas/petrol tank.

Solar

Solar panel on the roof of electric carts will give you 20% – 50% more time/distance for each charge. You will still have to plug it in.

2, 4, 6 or 8 seats

This dictates the size of the cart and the seats facing forward. Some are bench seats and some are bucket seats. The body of a 2 seater is shorter in length than the body of a 4 seater. The body of a 4 seater is shorter in length than the body of a 6 seater and so forth.

You can turn any of these carts into a +2 by adding a seat on the rear, facing backwards. The body of the cart is exactly the same however the rear step makes the cart longer, the +2 is almost always facing backwards. So the 2+2 cart is shorter than a 4 seater cart. They both carry 4 people but in the 4 seater, the people are facing forward and in the 2+2, 2 are facing forward and 2 are facing backwards.

Lifted and Regular

Yes it floods in Nichada and Thailand in general. The lifted carts are great for these times. Sometimes it only floods in Nichada once a year, other years it seems like it floods once a week during the rainy season.

Normal height works fine most of the time but after a rain, there will be carts on the side of the road, broken down. One time we counted 22! A lifted cart does not help much with the speed bumps UNLESS you modify the suspension. The shocks and struts “beefed” up will give you a more comfortable ride. Each manufacturer is different and suspension will make a big difference.

David has been operating Golf Cart Thailand for 6 years and is a wealth of knowledge on the local area and everything golf carts.