Hello Electric Car Forum.
I’ve been researching electric vehicles and NEV’s for the better part of this year.
Living in a golf community I’ve pretty much decided to go with a NEV at first and eventually take the plunge into the world of something along the lines of Tesla.
I’m also interested in learning more about PVT Solar Thermal Hybrid panels and Battery Storage options to the Tesla Power Wall.
Looking forward to hearing from you all and perusing this site.
Dino
I would also appreciate any guidance to threads here that might have pro’s/con’s on the various brands… i.e. Ford Think vs GEM, etc…
GEM is popular still in production and supported by a large group of owners and dealers. the Ford Think is rapidly becoming a n Orphan. A limited amount of parts are available and dealer support is almost nil.
Rodney
Rodney, thanks for the prompt reply.
I’m a thrifty buyer (SWMBO calls me cheap). I will most certainly not be buying a new NEV.
That being said, the few folks around here that have other than just an EZ GO or a Club Car are in a couple of different camps, as far as NEV’s go.
There are a couple of Ford Thinks running around town and a couple of GEM’s.
The Ford folks swear that theirs is a more reliable vehicle and therefore aren’t in need of much support.
Of course the GEM folks are in the "Ours is still in production, although technically it is under new ownership and the current GEM’s are completely different than the older pre-polaris ones.
Which leads me to my question. Which of the two seems to be more worry free? The Ford or the Chrysler?
All things being equal, and if they both experience the same common maintenance issues, I can easily take the plunge on either.
Thanks again.
Dino
I realize this is a bit of a Zombie Thread, but it is what it is. 
Since first joining here I have experienced “Life” getting in the way of things.
Got our youngest 2 through college and have been enjoying empty nesting with Blondie on our Harley.
Today things circled back to things more relevant here on this forum. I took delivery of a 2001 2 seater e 825.
It’s a very original gem ( long in the tooth ) buggy that needs a lot of TLC.
I am sure I’ll be spending plenty of time searching past threads and asking tons of questions.
cheers
Dino
LOL; I couldn’t agree More: I hate telling someone that they “bought the wrong gem”
But, (you took delivery) of something that has very little worth and requires lots of time and $
To make reliable and practical. Just to name a few of the things that Suck, hard steering, bumpy ride , horrible brakes Un reliable controller and DC2DC converter, stock chargers are Un reliable. I could go on an on but you hopefully get the point
If your serious about having a nice gem, yes upgrade to a newer 2008+ car. You will thank us all.
What would be the most affordable battery solution?
My intentions at this point are to get it cleaned up and running good enough to put on fb market place and sell it, then move up to a later model.
thanks
Dino
Average buyers care about the age of the battery more than the battery itself.
The o’Reilly 31DCM flooded lead acid battery is 110Ah, made by deka, good battery. Goes for like $110/ea.IIRC Less if you can find a group that they will give a discount to (veterans, LEO, Public safety, AAA?, etc). Rodney swears by them.
Thanks JR.
What would the minimum Ah rating be that is acceptable?
Around 110-115Ah or so. Which is what that battery has. It’s a group 31 deep cycle. Smaller than that and range will suffer. 95ah would be as low as I personally would dare
Originally the old carts came with 135 ah Trojan batteries.
Thanks for the prompt reply.
Dino
Welcome Dino.
What you need to figure out what your car will be to you.
Many times it can start off as one concept, then once you realize how much fun they can be you will start using it more than your other cars.
Location is important
(I’m working on this thought)
Be aware that the concepts listed below are progressivly related. The farther you get down the list, the more the top of the list doesn’t apply.
We live in Pinehurst NC. A sleepy little golf community of 17,000 people or so. We have 19 golf courses within the city limits and another 19 in the surrounding 15 or so miles.
The citywide speed limit is 25 mph, with the exception of a couple of major thoroughfares that are 35 mph. Golf carts are allowed on all but the 35mph streets.
The country club is 2 miles from our house, as is the village center.
All of that to say this, it will mostly be for the weekend trip to the golf course or to head into the village and tip back a pint.
We do have a few hills, but nothing extreme.
We each have our own vehicle plus our Harley for date night or getaway weekends.
This little buggy wasn’t free, but it was only a few hundred bucks. The body’s straight with no broken pieces, the seat is in quite good shape, with only a couple of small punctures. It has been sitting outside for a while, so it is dusty / dirty and will be receiving a deep cleaning from me this weekend.
My thoughts were to get it up and running, as economically as possible, and then decide whether or not I want to put larger wheels and tires on it, bigger motor, better controller, lithium batteries, etc…
But as I commented previously, I just want to get it running, cleaned up and then decide what we’ll do next.
Thanks all
Dino
Check your VIN on nhtsa.gov and confirm DC/DC converter and parking brake recalls have been installed. If not, Polaris will do for free.
Thanks,
will they just send em to me or come out to my place? No close polaris dealer around here.
Awesome fill-in Dino!
I laid out the points more to get your ideas flowing and thinking about the future plan more than I was being inquisitive.
Your post is an excellent picture of how this car will be used and gives us a great background to offer suggestions but it seems you have a fairly good grasp on what is going on.
I just realized that your comments were the voice of experience, after re-watching your youtube video on the Grabber Blue 02 Murdered Out buggy !
I definitely wanna get our little buggy polished up and lookin sweet, but man or man does that buggy of yours turn heads. Well done bud.
Thanks AR.
I appreciate yours, and everyone else’s feedback and advice. Except for the PM that suggested I light it on fire and collect the insurance money. (I keeed, I keeed 
)
I’m in LA and local dealer did replacement at my home. Don’t think they would give you parts, but call them and see.