Custom Golf Cars in Manning

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Looking for a custom-built golf cart? Colt’s Golf Cars on Raccoon Road may be just the place for you. Born and raised in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, Colt Stewart joined the Marine Corps in 1980 after he graduated high school. When he left active duty with the Corps 12 years later, he went to work for the Department of Corrections in Pennsylvania. Stewart stayed with the Department of Corrections until he retired in 2015. Throughout the years, Stewart and his wife, Margie, often vacationed in Florida. As they drove to Florida and back, they admired Lake Marion. A few years ago, as Stewart approached retirement, they stopped in Santee for lunch. The following year, they chose not to go all the way to Florida. The Stewarts vacationed in Santee, where they spoke with a realtor and looked at property on both sides of the lake. After finding their perfect house, they moved to Manning in 2015. “I just didn’t want to do winter anymore,” said Stewart. “I’m not shoveling snow ever again.” When they moved to Clarendon County, Stewart intended on spending his retirement hunting and fishing. However, after two months, Stewart realized he needed something more substantial to occupy his time. One day, Stewart went shopping for a golf cart at Graham’s Golf Cars in Manning and ended up coming home with a new job instead. Stewart went to work selling and fixing golf carts. After working over a year at Graham’s, Stewart decided to build a shop behind his home. He began custom building golf carts, both gas and electric, and servicing golf carts as well. In late 2017, Stewart realized it was too much work to continue to do both, so he put in his two-week notice with Graham’s and committed his time solely to Colt’s Golf Cars. Stewart purchases golf carts on their last legs from golf courses and rebuilds them from the ground up. He rebuilds the frames, installs new engines and parts, customizes body styles and paints and can add features at the request of the customer. “I start from the bottom up,” said Stewart. “They are older model carts, but they’re all like brand new when I’m done. I guarantee everything I do.” Stewart builds two custom carts per month on average, and he does quite a bit of service work as well. Local golf cart dealerships often refer service work to Stewart, and he has worked hard to maintain a good working relationship with each dealership. Colt’s Golf Cars also sells batteries at competitive prices, and he stocks many commonly needed parts for repair, special ordering the less common ones as needed. Service calls cost $25 for Stewart to pick up a customer’s cart on his trailer and return it when he’s done with the repair work, plus the cost of the repairs. The carts Stewart custom builds cost $3,000-4,000 on average, although they can go much higher depending on what an individual customer wants. In his free time, Stewart hunts and spends time on the ten acres he and his wife own. With horses, chickens, five peacocks and two large ponds he fishes in almost every night, he doesn’t run out of things to do any more. Together, Stewart and his wife raised his four children, her two children and four children they adopted. Stewart’s grandmother was a foster parent, caring for 64 children over the years. After her death, he and his wife decided to honor her memory by becoming foster parents. Over time, the Stewarts fostered 26 children, adopting the last four. Along with their five sons and five daughters, they now have nine grandchildren. Stewart loves the time with his family, but he enjoys having a way to spend his time which helps the community. His workshop has plenty of room to grow, and he hopes to eventually hire extra help. According to Stewart, his favorite part of his new business is dealing with the people. “I’ve met some nice people and some interesting people,” said Stewart. To learn more about Colt’s Golf Cars, visit his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/coltsgolfcars/ or call Stewart at 803-460-5620.