How To Buy A Golf Cart In Jacksonville Part 1

Golf Carts & Utility Vehicles - Buyer's Guide Part 1

Buying golf carts and utility vehicles can be as complicated as buying a car, but with our help you'll make the right choice.

Golf Carts and Utility Vehicles Overview

Golf carts may have originally been invented as an luxury for the game of golf, but their usage has moved far beyond the greens of the local country club. In the past, the market consisted for the most part, of large fleet sales to golf courses. Now, these versatile vehicles are used just about everywhere, from warehouses to universities and from farms to airports. Now days, golf cars are being purchased for personal use as an economic way to get around a local neighborhood.

Due to the huge surge in uses outside of the golf course, manufacturers have created a new class of vehicle for industrial and commercial use: the utility vehicle. For the most part, theyre basically the same as a golf car, with a bed or some type of rack on the back for hauling equipment and supplies. However there are some vehicles that are built from the ground up to handle heavy-duty work such as, material handling vehicles. There are also other specialized types designed for use on rough, hilly ground or to carry extra people.

Types of Utility Vehicles and Golf Carts

Since utility vehicles and golf carts can be used in a wide range of applications, the first thing you should do before buying one is to know exactly what youll be using it for. Most of the leading manufacturers make multiple lines of golf carts and utility vehicles for different purposes, but there are two main categories to choose from: standard golf carts for personal and golfing use, and commercial or industrial models.

Golf carts and personal vehicles

The basic golf cart (or golf car) holds two to four people and their clubs. This category also includes individual vehicles sold for personal use for example, getting around a neighborhood or gated community. These golf carts can be customized in just about every way using all manner of accessories and options.

Golf carts are usually not street-legal. Though there are exceptions. When outfitted with appropriate safety equipment, including turn signals, headlights, brake lights, a windshield, and seatbelts, golf carts
can meet the requirements areas. There is not a great deal of Federal legislation restricting the use of golf carts that operate at less than 25 mph, so states, counties, cities and towns are mostly free to make
their own regulations.

There are communities that actually encourage the use of golf carts as the primary mode of transportation. As an example, some retirement communities are built on a golfcourse: they encourage their residents to drive their golf carts from home straight onto the course. While other communities just prefer the quiet, and low-pollution offered by golf carts and take measures to promote their use within certain boundaries. In some of these areas, you may even qualify for a tax credit or a rebate for
using an electric vehicle.