First another hidden cost...the raise in property tax assessment for any macadam/asphalt improvement or increase in total cart path footage...
But guys, one thing is that these shouldn't be/aren't hidden costs to club operators and personnel; and the carts are a clear profit for anyone who has a halfway decent fleet that is regularly used.
Once the lease terms I described were in their fourth year, I kept calculations and each cart cleared $2000 a year over their three year lease life.... (I don't know by how much the associated service contract lessened that figure)
I think this is true both in the public and private mode, even though public course are sure enough, where you'll find more gas carts, more old carts, more beaten up carts, more owned carts...they won't spring for the fancy newer models and the lease agreements, because they feel they can't pass on that $2000 a year in that way to a public clientele. They try to make however more by spending less on the front end...secondary market carts, carts past a healthy battery life, carts not regularly serviced by mechanics...they may even own them in some cases.
cheers vk