Zap vs. Golf Cart

Howdy. First post, so I hope it’s in the right place.

I’ve recently been contemplating a golf cart for running around town. I know there are provisions for registering them for street use where I live, but there isn’t a big cart market in my area. Therefore, not a lot of used carts.

I’m finding some old carts fairly cheap, but they’d need to have all the street legal stuff (lights, brakes, windshield, etc, etc) added, plus probably some work on the parts that make it go.

The stuff thats running good, and has the street legal stuff is way more than I want to spend.

I happened to come across a Zap truck. I read all the stuff about how the company has pretty much screwed everybody they can, with empty promises, poor product quality, etc, etc. The guy says the electrical system is shot, but I haven’t looked at it, or talked to him in depth about it yet. It’s cheap though…like 3 figure price tag cheap.

My thinking is this…

Even if the whole electrical system needs to be replaced, I’d probably have to deal with much of that on any cart I got. The benefit to the Zap is that it already has the lights, the brakes, etc, and it’s already certified, and titled, and has a plate on it. I’d be cutting out a lot of hassles.

I guess what I really want to know is, does that logic make sense? I’m getting into something I know absolutely nothing about, so it’s very possible I’m missing something very obvious.

Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks

I never seen a ZAP It is costly to convert a normal golf cart to be legal on public streets

the state have differents rules

Gems are legal in nearly all states.

try look in some sites for HEV’s etcs
i found my gem over E-bay

what state you live ?

hi and welcome… I think REHalle has summed up your question pretty well;; a ‘golf cart’ to be street legal might take more that hanging a flash lite in the front and calling it legal… there is the matter of it attaining a minimum speed and probably a few other things… the Zap started as a good idea I think, and just went broke… parts are hard to find and they seem to break things that almost have to be built in a machine shop… some states called them a motorcycle and required helmets on the driver… in some cases I think that might be a good idea for the GEM car or all cars… thats another subject for another time…

I chose the GEM because they are still in production… have parts and are legal on streets in most areas… parts guys that I have delt with are friendly and can get the item I need in a timely fashion… you probably won’t find one in the 3 figure range but you will most of the time be able to drive off in it…

depending on where you are there may be deals around you…

Bob