They are not just for golf!

I started selling golf carts in 2011 in Maine.  I am the only in-house salesman for our location so it was a steep learning curve.  I had never even sat in a golf cart, let alone driven one and I had no idea what to expect from a sales perspective.  The first thing I found out is that for my side of the business (used golf cart sales), barely any of the inventory that I sold was for use on a golf course!

Up here in Maine there are 3 types of people who seem to buy the majority of used golf carts.  In this, my first blog, I will concentrate on the first group; people who live out on the islands up and down the coast.  Many of the island communities are primarily seasonal vacation type communities.  Home owners and summer renters come up on the weekends or for a few weeks at a time to relax and unwind.

It used to be that rather than pay to bring their cars across on the ferry each time they come and go (which can get pricey very quickly), people would buy junk cars to leave out on the islands and park their nice cars on the mainland.  The problem with this was that these cars were already old and in disrepair.  When a car breaks down on an island and needs to go to a service station it can be a big ordeal!  First you have to find a tow truck that is willing to go out on an island.  Then you have to pay to have it ferried over.  Next you have to tow the car to the pier and pay to have the tow truck and the broken down car ferried back to the mainland, then towed to the garage.  That can take several hours and cost anywhere from $500-$1000.00 just to get the car to the repair station!  Then the actual cost of the repair can make the whole deal extremely expensive and unappealing.  Many people would just let the broken down cars sit in their yards and rust away into the island.

Imagine your beautiful island paradise covered in broken down cars.  Gas tanks spring leaks, oil pans rupture, and coolant leaks into the ground.  This lowered property values, discouraged renters, and became an ecological hazard.  In Portland, Maine (which includes many island communities out of it's ferry terminal) they decided to make it legal to use golf carts on the public roads on many of the islands.  Club Car golf carts are much better suited to the islands than most automobiles.  They are essentially aircraft grade aluminum frames with plastic and fiberglass bodies.  Not much to rust!  Even if one breaks down, they are only 700lbs and can be easily pushed or towed to the pier and many repairs can be done on site!

I personally sold about 40 golf carts last summer that were put out on the various islands along the Maine coast.  Some as far away as the Cranberry Islands, but most right out of Portland Harbor.  Most were sold with added accessories like head & tail lights plus a rear seat that can be folded out into a utility tray (much like a sleeper sofa) so that you could transport 4-5 people or 2 people and up to a few hundred pounds of equipment, luggage, and or groceries.

The average price for a used golf cart is between $2500 and $3500 with the rear fold down seat, canopy, windshield and lights already installed.  All of our used golf carts come with a 60 day limited warranty.  If you are interested in getting a new or used golf cart, or know someone who is, please feel free to contact us at http://PatriotGolfCars.com for more information!  We are located in Saco, Maine in the middle of the Rt 1 Automile (837 Portland Rd, Saco, ME 04072).

*Side Note:  Many island communities do have requirements for golf carts to be used on their roads and some require them to be registered with the city (usually for a $15.00 fee per year).  The most common requirement is that the carts have lights.