There are many GEM owners on the forum - did you buy your GEM online, at a dealership or second hand?
Second hand through eBay.
Hi ARandall
Did the eBay deal go smoothly and did you get exactly what was promised? We hear so many stories of dodgy dealers on eBay.
Regards,
Mark
Ebay and Craigs list. There are 3 catagories. Late model high dollar that are generally in good shape. Run outs with dead batteries and owners that want them off the property and Reconditioned units like Grant and I sell.
In many cases most owners aren’t handy and have to have any work done by the dealer . Hourly rates for GEM’s are the same as for Chevys. After awhile the owner doesn’t want to pay the price and puts it on the market complete with whatever problems. Really no different than used cars, BUYER BEWARE.
[quote=EvForum;26488]Hi ARandall
Did the eBay deal go smoothly and did you get exactly what was promised? We hear so many stories of dodgy dealers on eBay.
Regards,
Mark[/quote]
Sight unseen on Ebay. Smooth transaction thru Ebay and U-ship.
Found guy that was delivering a brand new enclosed trailer near location. He just put the car inside.
My 4th U-shippment. Bought a $25k boat in Palm Dessert Ca. (I’m in MN.). Now that’s scary!
Did not get the Gem I was promised. Over all, I could have done worse!
Seller said it had fast upgraded motor AND controller. Modifications by well know cart company in Arizona. It had neither. His excuse, “I never stated the hp”.
“Professional” lift kit, seat, and rack works ok but pretty poor workmanship.
Batteries seem pretty fair so far. Trojan/wet.
Do GEMs hold their value well? I would guess so as there seems to be a fairly fluid second hand market.
Bought mine from CL from an “wanted ad” I posted. Had a few responses but most wanted too much money for what they had. I did find a guy that responded with 5 available. They were runouts… they ran them on the property till the batteries were dead and then went another direction. I bought them knowing I was going to end up modifying and upgrade the car anyway.
[quote=EvForum;26488]Hi ARandall
Did the eBay deal go smoothly and did you get exactly what was promised? We hear so many stories of dodgy dealers on eBay.
Regards,
Mark[/quote]
No!
==Long answer==
Well known Dealer in AZ rebuilt a 2001 cart I then purchased from him via eBay. He upgraded the motor with unit from R4F and reprogrammed controller at my request before shipping the cart cross country along with a new beefier charger. The cart arrived with Interstate marine deep cycle batteries which dealer assured me “were good for many years of trouble free usage”. They were not.
Got about 1 1/2 years from them and they were shot. Replaced them with Trojans 30XSH at $1200/set based on STRONG reco from R4F and havent regretted it. Also had to send controller to R4F since whoever did the programming after the R4F motor upgrade at the dealership didn’t do it correctly and it never ran the way it should. Not honestly even sure it was reprogrammed for that matter though I was assured it was. Fortunately R4F did reprogramming at no charge since I’d installed their motor. Replacement charger from Quick Charge (QC) Corp installed by AZ Dealer also failed shortly after getting cart back on the road but at least was covered by QC warranty.
My wife was ready to divorce me over the GEM MISADVENTURE and I was close to giving up on the thing and just getting rid of it.
To be fair the rebuild itself was clean and sound, setting aside the batteries, controller and charger issues of course. But I would not purchase from this dealership again nor recommend him to anyone else. I’ll also never get anywhere near my sunk cost when I do sell it. I’ve since installed a BattSix and front disc brakes. Now doing all the work myself. IF IT IS TO BE ITS UP TO ME.
Given the experience I’ve had with the local GEM dealership as well (they know less than nothing about GEMs) I believe that owning a GEM is pretty much a do-it-yourself endeavor and not for the mechanically disinclined. Best advice to prospective owners is to buy a used GEM locally and as cheaply as possible and plan on a hands on learning experience. If unwilling to do that don’t buy a GEM. This NG has been an invaluable resource to me on this journey.
Incidentally I even thought about buying and refurbing GEMs myself given all I’ve learned but decided there wasnt enough demand in NE Ohio to make it worthwhile. GEMs in this part of the country are very rare given the weather. Also most of them I see locally on CL are priced too high to leave any money on the table. You’d need a supply of used GEMs locally to make sense IMO and that means warm weather states.
I purchased my ’09 eS new from a local Chrysler dealer. He was selling quite a few GEMs and the Service Department seemed knowledgeable when I took mine in for a handbrake recall. The GEM folks in North Dakota were also very helpful when I called them. When Chrysler sold GEM to Polaris the local Polaris dealer didn’t pick up the marque but a dealer in a suburb did. Two years ago I had one battery go south and ordered a new one from them. They could hardly spell GEM. So I’m not comfortable trusting them for service. And the factory help line is also history.
I have the factory 7 horsepower motor and replaced the gear set with a 6:1 from Marlon several winters ago. With my 16” tires top speed is now 40 mph (while range has dropped accordingly). I’ve made no changes to the controller.
With 6 years on the stock AGMs, I’d really like to figure out how to plug in lithium batteries (a la kinghappy if I had more details).
I do enjoy this forum.
I bought my 2008 e2 10 year Anniversary Limited Edition model last December. I saw a ad in a FL Villages newspaper that was posted on the net. My GEM has every option offered except the heater. Including the rear storage container, a separate set up for two golf bags and a adjustable steering column. The owner had included his invoice from a GEM dealer in 2008 (16K) . I paid him 5K. It was garaged since new and in Pristine condition.
He sent me some pictures and I mailed him a 500 deposit. I drove up with a trailer 200 miles to “The Villages” (FL) two weeks later, took one look and gave him the balance in $100 bills. I did not even drive it! It was that sharp. He laughed that I had paid him without even driving it. He drove it on the trailer for me. I have never seen another GEM painted this blue metallic color and with all the options that this car has. If I could post a picture here… I would. I was offered 10K for it last week from a crazy snow bird.
The owner had just spent over 3K on new GEL batteries, 15" factory mag wheels/tires and a dealer repair of a leaky seal in the transmission unit. This required pulling the motor, machining the case and installing a new bearing ($700).
The owner was a CPA Mr. Peepers pencil pushing type guy that had a yearly check up at the GEM dealer (every year). I’m guessing that he just got tired of having the dealer bend him over a chair and load him in the rear like a double barrel shotgun! Every year finding more to work done on it. $$$.
We had to remove the from mud flaps to fit it on the trailer. With the mud flaps and the wheel spacers in was a tight fit. It was the biggest trailer the rental yard had. I could tell by the tools the owner had itn removing the Mud flaps. He was not a mechanic type guy.
He had just sold his matching GEM unit and this was his wife’s car. I have not had a lick of trouble in the last year. I am as happy as a clam with it.
I tried to buy a “Custom” built 2005 e2 from that company that advertises on eBay (Innovation in AZ) for 9K just two weeks before I found/bought my 2008. We agree on the color, options and all he had to do was fax or email me a contract and I would send him a 50% deposit. He was supposed to do that in two days. I never heard from him. He didn’t answer my emails so I finally called the turd. He came up with a bunch of lies. I believe that he found a buyer who would pay him more and he just poop canned me, without the courtesy of a email or call. In the end… I got a newer better car and much cheaper…
bought my 2005 in 2011… it’s an eS (truckette) and I found it on Craigslist from a private party in California… had it shipped to the Denver area via Uship.com… I have had a ball with my car since I bought it… we don’t have a dealer in town so I rely on a local garage to fix my car… I use a dealer in FL for parts and holding my hand along with NEVaccessories and Innovation Motorsports in AZ… I have a 9.6hp motor I bought from Marlon in CA…
my GEM car is my daily driverhave around 8000 miles on it when I got it… it had 874… my trips include coffee… doctor… haircut… car shows… store… mechanic… I am often chased by people wanting to know about the GEM car… can’t stop for coffee or at the store without at least one person coming up and wanting to know about the car… I take it to car shows although the guys with pretty cars are not impressed… I still get the people who come to see cars stop and talk… I have a hand out that I share…
I try to help people find a car to suit them… have a group on facebook… GEM Car Photos… post used GEM cars that I find on Craigslist as well as things that I feel might be interesting to the group… there are start up cab companies whose fleets consist of GEM cars as well as golf carts… in Denver there seems to be an underground movement of golf carts… I’m a couple of miles from the football stadium and understand there are about 6-8 golf carts that go to the games using neighborhood streets…
the link to my group… https://www.facebook.com/groups/1473547709584998/
Bob