I get a particular phone call every spring. Somebody bought a cart off a listing, got it home, and now it will not do what the seller said it would. By then the money is gone.
Here is what I would check if I were standing in front of a used cart with cash in my pocket.
Find out what it actually is
Get the serial number before anything else. It tells you the year, the model and often the pack voltage, and it lets you check whether the seller's description matches reality. People are not always lying when they get this wrong, but they are often wrong.
I put a serial decoder on the site for Club Car, E-Z-GO and Yamaha if you want to look it up on your phone while you are standing there.
Age matters more than hours on these. A 1998 cart is a 1998 cart no matter how gently it was used.
The batteries are the whole negotiation
On an electric cart, the pack is most of the value. A new set of lead acid batteries is a significant cost and a lithium pack is more.
Look at the date codes on the batteries. They are usually stamped or stickered on the case. If they are more than four or five years old, assume you are buying a cart plus a battery replacement, and price accordingly.
Look at the tops. Heavy corrosion means neglect. Check the water level in a couple of cells. Dry plates mean damage that has already happened.
Then drive it. Not around the driveway. Drive it for fifteen or twenty minutes, up a hill if there is one. A tired pack will show voltage sag under load that it hides on a short flat test.
Check the frame, especially on a DS
Club Car DS models have a steel frame and they rot, particularly where the battery rack sits and acid has been dripping for twenty years. Get down and look. Surface rust is normal. Flaking, scaling or a screwdriver going through it is not.
Precedent frames are aluminum and do not have this problem, which is one reason they hold value better.
Listen and feel
Drive it and pay attention. A clunk over bumps is usually worn bushings or a bad shock. A whine that changes with speed can be a bearing or a motor. Grinding when you brake is exactly what it sounds like.
Turn the wheel lock to lock. Excessive play in the steering is common on older carts and is a real repair.
Look for the modifications
A lift kit installed badly is worse than no lift kit. Look at whether the steering geometry and brake lines were addressed or whether somebody just bolted blocks in.
Aftermarket lights, stereos and accessories are often wired straight into the pack with no fuse. That is a fire waiting for a reason.
What a fair price looks like
Around here, condition and battery age drive it more than anything. A clean cart with a fresh pack is worth real money. The same cart with a five year old pack is worth meaningfully less, because the buyer is inheriting that cost.
If you want a second opinion
I will look at a cart before you buy it. A short inspection costs a lot less than discovering a dead pack or a rotted frame the week after.
I also run the Flathead Golf Cart Marketplace, where the carts have at least been described honestly and I know a lot of the sellers. Worth a look before you drive to Missoula for something you have only seen in photos.
406.270.9346.