DEALER PROFILE: CONTEAU CUSTOM CARTS

COTEAU CUSTOM CARTS

Coteau Custom Carts in New Iberia, LA is a custom cart builder and new EVolution Electric Vehicle and a Star EV dealer. David and his crew take a lot of pride in keeping their customers happy. Coteau Carts just moved into a new and larger place.

We were able to catch up with the owner David Mallet to get an inside look into this five-year-old custom cart business.

DEALER NAME: Coteau Custom Carts DEALER LOCATION: 7010 Coteau Road, New Iberia, LA 70560 PHONE NUMBER: (337) 349-9120 OWNER: David Mallet WEBSITE: CoteauCustomCarts.com

GCMAG: Tell us about your golf cart dealership? DAVID MALLET: I take great pride in building, customizing and/or repairing golf carts to make them the perfect fit for each customer’s needs. We have been an Evolution electric vehicle dealer for the past three-years and just became a Star EV dealer as well. We are very excited about the Star EV addition to our business.

My business is unique because we truly are a family business. The moment a customer steps into my shop they become family. They will never be greeted by a stranger. I am involved in every step of the process, and I know that all their needs will be met with the utmost patience and care. What sets me apart is that I do not try to push unnecessary upgrades to make the most money possible. Instead, I use my experience and expertise to make sure each customer receives exactly what they want and need to get the most out of their golf cart.

GCMAG: You are the owner? DAVID MALLET: Yes, I am David Mallet, the owner.

GCMAG: What is your company background? How and when did your company start? DAVID MALLET: I have been building, repairing, and customizing golf carts for over ten years now. In 2017, I decided to take a chance and see if I could take this hobby of mine to the next level and Coteau Custom Carts was born. The

inspiration for my business came to me back in 2006 when I was on a camping trip with family and friends, and we realized that golf carts were an essential part of camping life. At the time, I could not afford to buy a new cart, so I found some used ones in Texas. I drove seven hours to purchase the two carts, and before I got back home, I had already sold one to some friends of ours. From there, word of mouth spread, and people became interested in where they could purchase and fix up golf carts. Thus, my golf cart hobby began and eventually grew to what it is today.

GCMAG: How many employees do you have? And can you tell us a little about them? DAVID MALLET: My business is family-owned and operated by me and my wife Monica. My son Cody helps run the business with help from Justin Dutile, while my other son Chase does all of my seat covering work and my daughter Raven handles all of my decaling and promotional items. We also have a couple of part time workers that help to modify carts with things like new custom body kits, light kits, batteries, back seat kits, sound systems, lifts, extended roofs, wheels, and custom seats.

GCMAG: I’m sure it’s rewarding to work alongside your wife and children. How do you promote or advertise your business? Online? Social Media? DAVID MALLET: We mostly promote through social media. We are on Facebook and Instagram. We also have a beautiful website that brings in a lot of customer for us. We have been featured in Sugar Mill Pond's neighborhood magazine, The Gates Magazine as well as River Ranch Magazine, all of which are neighborhoods that are golf-cart-friendly. Mostly, word of

mouth brings in the majority of business for us.

GCMAG: What is the most important business lesson you've learned? DAVID MALLET: I have learned the value of a social media presence on a business. I also have learned that positive customer reviews are one of the best ways to grow a business; therefore, I take great pride in satisfying every customer's needs.

GCMAG: What are your future plans for your company? DAVID MALLET: My future plans for the company are to continue growing as a business and to maybe open a second location soon. GCMAG: Is there anything else you'd like to add? DAVID MALLET: I am most grateful for the ability to do what I love with people I love. I am thankful for my loyal customers who have also become like family to me and support me through recommendations, positive reviews, and follow-up business.

GCMAG: David, it sounds like you are in a great place right now. We want to thank you for sharing about your dealership and we wish you tremendous success going forward!

For more information on Coteau Custom Carts in New Iberia, LA visit them online at CoteauCustomCarts.com, stop in to their showroom or give them a call at (337) 349-9120.

ASK THE MECHANIC ASK THE MECHANIC

Q: I have a Delta Q charger that has a red light flashing and not charging. What does that mean?

A: It depends on how many flashes you are seeing. Generally the error codes are as follows: 1 FLASH: The battery has too high of voltage. 2 FLASHES: The battery has too low of voltage. 3 FLASHES: The charge timed out because the battery did not reach the required voltage. 4 FLASHES: The battery could not be trickle-charged up to the minimum voltage. 5 FLASHES: The charger shutdown due to high temperature. 6 FLASHES: Internal charger fault.

Q: I am getting the BATTERY TOO LOW VOLTAGE (most common). How do I get it to charge?

A: You will need to charge each individual battery up to its peak rating with an independent 6, 8 or 12v charger. If a battery is less than 2 volts, some microprocessor controlled chargers will not charge it.

For safety's sake, you should remove the battery wires and isolate each battery from the positive and negative terminals of the next battery in series while making sure you have your cart in tow/ maintenance mode before charging any batteries.

For your information, many golf cart shops and mechanics use an older style manual charger to "jump" the pack so that your charger can see the required voltage to turn the charger back on. Make sure all your connections are corrosion free and your water levels are correct (just above the plates).

Q: My charger gets really hot and takes eight hours or more to charge and seems to be boiling the batteries.

A: You could have one of two situations here. First, the charger has the wrong algorithm set for the batteries or you have one or more bad batteries. When batteries wear out they obviously lose their ability to hold a steady charge thus causing your charger to overcharge them and possibly timeout.

It is common for your charger to get hot, especially those with no internal fan, so be sure to have your charger in a well ventilated space. You can check your charging algorithm on a Delta Q charger by unplugging it, waiting about 10 seconds, plugging it back in, and count the blinks of the yellow light during the startup sequence. That will tell you what algorithm you have. Depending on the charger, the algorithm can be changed using a "tap method" (see YouTube video for this) or most dealers will have the ability to change it as well using a USB drive or specific programmer.