Tips For Buying a Used Golf Cart
Buying a used golf cart can be a very confusing undertaking. There are many variations and types of carts available these days, from the very basic to wildly modified. Buyers have many options, but caution should be used to ensure you don’t inherit someone’s albatross. Knowing what to look for, could save big expenses later. The first decision to be made is whether you want a gasoline or battery powered cart. Each has its strong and weak points. Gasoline powered carts can be more powerful, making them well suited for utility service or hauling loads. They do consume the precious fossil fuel though, and can be noisy with an undesirable exhaust odor. Battery operated carts are stealthy quiet and odorless, but have a limited range between charge cycles. When the batteries are drained, you’re done until they can be recharged, which can take 8 hours or more. After you decide which fits your needs the best, and you’ve found the candidate, determine if it is really what you are looking for. Know what you are buying before you write that check.
Tire Wear – Take a general assessment of the tires and their condition. Are they all the same brand and do they have similar and even wear? Uneven wear can be indicative of serious alignment problems, a bent frame or worn out steering components. Tires of mixed brands is an indication that the cart may have seen excessive use or be a rebuild of junk parts. This may not necessarily be the case, but keep it in mind as you continue looking over the candidate cart.
Steering – Never buy a cart without taking some time to drive it. Take it over some rough terrain as well as a solid concrete driveway. Sloppy steering should be an immediate concern for you. Worn “rack and pinion” steering boxes are expensive to replace. If the rack and pinion is worn, you can also reasonably expect the steering “rod ends” and spindle bushings also need attention. None of these components are necessarily cheap to replace. The steering wheel, pulling to the left or right can be caused by uneven pressure in the tires or unmatched sizes. If the cart pulls, check the tire pressure first to see if the problem corrects. If it does not help, the spindle (on the same side that it pulls to) may have a bad wheel bearing causing dragging. You can jack up that corner of the cart and see if the wheel rotates freely.
Battery age – Most golf cart battery manufacturers stamp the date of manufacture on the top of one of the battery posts. You can easily see a “08″ or “09″ etc, even with the battery cable connected. Be aware that batteries that are more than three years old will require replacement sooner than later. Expect to pay $600 or more for a new set of batteries, no matter what the configuration or voltages are. Never assume that the batteries are of the same vintage as the model year of the cart either. Also, batteries of mixed years in the same cart could be a clue that the cart has seen some serious use in a fleet environment.
Brakes – Be sure the brakes are firm and stop the cart quickly without grinding or squealing. Brake shoe replacement is not usually a big deal unless service has been neglected to the point where the brake drum is gouged or otherwise damaged. Excessive rust and corrosion around the brake backing plates behind the rear wheels can be an indication of possible neglected maintenance.
Integrity of the frame – Steel frames are very susceptible to rust and corrosion, especially under the battery compartment. I have seen carts that otherwise look great, actually break in half due to battery acid seeping on, and eating the frame. Some manufactures, like Club Car, are now using fully welded aluminum frames which do not rust, but are still susceptible to corrosion in the form of aluminum oxide (instead of iron oxide). Corroded aluminum has a heavy layer of white fuzzy powder, which is equivalent to rust. Stay away from any cart that you suspect has a frame problem. The cart could end up being totally useless to you later.
Smooth ride – A well maintained cart should roll along smoothly and quietly. A wobbling or lumpy motion when driving on a smooth solid surface indicates a problem. A bent wheel, or worse, a bent axle will cause the cart to bob up and down with a frequency proportional to the speed. An “out of round” tire can also cause a similar symptom but is usually not the case. Worn front end components will exaggerate the symptoms dramatically.
Wiring – Wiring should be neatly routed and protected from chaffing with factory clamps and terminations. Be wary of modified wiring if it does not look professionally done. Cobbled up wiring can cause you big headaches if you are not savvy with electrical systems. A shorted wire on an electric cart can be devastating. The tremendously high current capability of the batteries can turn a shoddy wiring system into a giant cigarette lighter. Look for splices and taped up connections that do not seem to belong, and then pass on the purchase.
Odd Noises from drive train – Turn off any radios and the like when you take your test ride. Listen for any odd noises that may be present. Grinding, excessive whining or clicking sounds can help you identify problems with the cart. The sounds a vehicle makes can tell you quite a bit if you take the time to listen.
Gasoline engines – Be sure to look at the engine. Although you may not be an engine mechanic, you can still evaluate a few things easily. Gross saturation of the engine with oil and grease probably indicates a leaking crankcase or gearbox, or worse, a cracked crankcase or gearbox. Check for large amounts of sooty residue in the exhaust pipe, which is indicative of an oil burner (worn out piston rings). Be sure to let the engine warm up before you take a test ride. An engine will only reveal if it smokes a lot, after it is sufficiently hot. Take your time and check it out. Popping sounds in the exhaust or backfires can be caused by poorly adjusted carburetors, but more commonly by burned intake or exhaust valves in the engine. An engine rebuild can cost you dearly if you need one down the road. Be sure to give it the appropriate attention.
A well maintained cart can literally offer decades of reliable service. Taking time to select the right cart to fit your needs now will pay dividends later. After you purchase your cart, visit some of the vendors that offer great aftermarket products to personalize your vehicle. If you want to speed up your cart a little, visit Digital Overdrive Systems on the web for some more great tips.
Ecommerce Threats & Solutions
eCommerce has forever revolutionized the way business is done. Retail has now a long way from the days of physical transactions that were time consuming and prone to errors.
However, eCommerce has unavoidably invited its share of trouble makers. As much as eCommerce simplifies transactions, it is occasionally plagued by serious concerns that jeopardize its security as a medium of exchanging money and information.
Major threats to present day eCommerce include
Breach of Security:
Money Thefts
eCommerce services are about transactions, and transactions are very largely driven by money. This attracts hackers, crackers and everyone with the knowledge of exploiting loopholes in a system. Once a kink in the armor is discovered, they feed the system(and users) with numerous bits of dubious information to extract confidential data(phishing). This is particularly dangerous as the data extracted may be that of credit card numbers, security passwords, transaction details etc.
Also, Payment gateways are vulnerable to interception by unethical users. Cleverly crafted strategies can sift a part or the entire amount being transferred from the user to the online vendor.
Identity thefts
Hackers often gain access to sensitive information like user accounts, user details, addresses, confidential personal information etc. It is a significant threat in view of the privileges one can avail with a false identity.
For instance, one can effortlessly login to an online shopping mart under a stolen identity and make purchases worth thousands of dollars. He/she can then have the order delivered to an address other than the one listed on the records. One can easily see how those orders could be received by the impostor without arousing suspicion. While the fraudsters gains, the original account holder continues to pay the price until the offender is nabbed.
Threats to the system
Viruses, worms, Trojans are very deceptive methods of stealing information. Unless a sound virus-protection strategy is used by the eCommere Solutions firm, these malicious agents can compromise the credibility of all eCommerce web solution services. Often planted by individuals for reasons known best to them alone, viruses breed within the systems and multiply at astonishing speeds. Unchecked, they can potentially cripple the entire system.
Solutions
There is but one solution to all issues that at times dent the security of eCommerce services. Strict vigil on malicious intruders.
Easier said than done? So is every preventive measure. However, with online transactions, progress in security has been overwhelming.
Authentication
Most notable are the advances in identification and elimination of non-genuine users. Ecommerce service designers now use multi-level identification protocols like security questions, encrypted passwords(Encryption), biometrics and others to confirm the identity of their customers. These steps have found wide favor all around due to their effectiveness in weeding out unwelcome access.
Intrusion Check
The issue of tackling viruses and their like has also seen rapid development with anti-virus vendors releasing strong anti-viruses. These are developed by expert programmers who are a notch above the hackers and crackers themselves.
Firewalls are another common way of implementing security measures. These programs restrict access to and from the system to pre-checked users/access points.
Educating Users
eCommerce is run primarily by users. Thus, eCommerce service providers have also turned to educating users about safe practices that make the entire operation trouble free. Recent issues like phishing have been tackled to a good extent by informing genuine users of the perils of publishing their confidential information to unauthorized information seekers.
The Many Advantages And Benefits Of Online Shopping
Since the development of the Internet many things that were pretty hard to obtain or to do, like information on a large variety of topics or communication with distant friends have become so simple that anyone can have access to them just by using a computer.
Among the many advantages that the Internet gives us, one of the main ones is online shopping, an activity that many have become addicted to. Shopping is a necessity for all of us, some of us really enjoy it, and others try to keep it as simple and short as possible. Well, online shopping is the best solution for both those who consider it a chore that they try to avoid and for those who do it on a daily basis.
The main advantage of online shopping is that it allows people to browse through many items and categories without leaving their house, to compare the prices of as many shops as they want, and also to order as many items as they can afford without having to worry about how they will transport them, because the online shopping websites also deliver the things to the buyer’s home. Furthermore, the Internet is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so you don’t have to hurry or worry about finding a parking spot.
If you plan on shopping from the Internet then first use a search engine to find online shops. If you want fast deliveries and low shipping fees then try to search for the shops that are in your country. You can use a shopping directory that contains categorized links to stores from a specific region or from all over the world, together with reviews from other customers. If you live in a big country you’ll be surprised to find out that there are thousands of online shops available where you live, and these shops sell everything that can be sold, from baby products to dog houses and motor oil.
Most of the online shopping websites have the same pattern, first you choose the category under which your item is listed, and then you can select the item that you’re looking for, and add it to your shopping cart. If you want to buy other items, you click the “add to cart” button near them, and when you’re finished you check out. After that you can see a list with everything that you’ve ordered, and the total amount that has to be paid. You can also remove items from your shopping cart if you desire to do so. Payment is usually done by credit card. The buyer enters the data on the credit card and the shop charges the price and then delivers the items to the buyer’s house in a few days. The transaction is perfectly safe and the credit card data you send is encrypted so it can’t be stolen.
Remember to always compare the prices, check for discounts, search for the lowest shipping taxes and make sure that what you’ve found can’t be found cheaper anywhere else.
After you’ve done some online shopping you’ll see how easy it is and you’ll quickly get used to it. Soon you will know what the best shopping websites are and you will be able to buy the things you need very easy and fast, saving a lot of time and trouble. Online shopping is the most practical, economical and fun method of shopping, that is perfect for everyone.