Preparations underway for opening of Cart Mart in Aiken on East Pine Log Road

Dede Biles, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Feb. 15—A golf cart dealership is scheduled to open in the spring at 1044 East Pine Log Road, the former home of Aiken Saddlery.

"There is a Cart Mart in Augusta right now, and we are moving that location over to Aiken," said Brad Haerle, who is Cart Mart's vice president of sales and general manager of operations in the East.

Renovations are underway at the Aiken site, which Cart Mart is leasing.

"We don't have a firm date to open yet, but we hope to be in there by the end of March," Haerle said. "Our primary contractual relationship in Aiken will be with Club Car, but we'll have other brands as well."

The vehicles available for purchase, he continued, will include two-, four- and six-passenger consumer golf carts "for getting around a farm or to get around the local area. We'll have street-legal and non-street-legal carts."

In addition, "we'll have utility vehicles that are really popular on farms — both four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive, gas and electric," Haerle said.

Golf cart owners will be able to get their vehicles repaired and serviced at Aiken's Cart Mart.

"We'll also offer mobile service, so we can go to someone's home or farm and do the work there," Haerle said.

The local Cart Mart will have a rental fleet, as well.

"We hope to rent (vehicles) to some of the larger equestrian events in Aiken and some of the downtown events, those sorts of things," Haerle said.

Cart Mart's hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Ben Bellman founded Southwest Marketeer, the forerunner of Cart Mart, in the late 1950s in Texas.

In 1972, Southwest Marketeer moved to California, and the name of the business was changed to Cart Mart.

Most of Cart Mart's locations currently are in California, "but we're looking of expand to multiple areas," Haerle said.

Haerle has been in the golf cart business since 1997.

"I worked for Club Car for 18 years before getting into the dealer side of this," said Haerle, who has been a member of Cart Mart's team since 2020.

Haerle lives in North Augusta, and he and his wife used to own a farm in the Aiken area.

Haerle said he is "really excited" about Cart Mart's potential for success in Aiken because golf carts are popular modes of transportation here in neighborhoods, downtown and at horse farms and equine sports venues.

For more information, visit cartmart.com.

Aiken Saddlery now is located at 1090 East Pine Log Road.