Looking to buy a new hot tub

[deep]

Hello all guys,i am a newbie here and I was looking to buy a hot tub. I have seen all the ones on Ebay the deals seem to good to be true. Should I stay away from these Hot Tubs listed on ebay?
I know in TN there is a big refurrbished hot tub place I worry these could be sold as new on ebay.


Thanks,

[wmccall]

Welcome to the forum.  I personally have never seen a hot tub that was sold on Ebay, but I haven't heard anything good about them either. If you are a do it yourselfer with strong mechanicial skills living in a warm environment, maybe it could be a good investment.

[stuart]

Many of the spas on Ebay are scams and you really don't have a way of knowing which is and which isn't. I posted here a few years ago a picture of a "Pinnacle" spa that someone bought for $2800.

It looked really nice on the outside but when I got in it the frame was made out of used palette wood staple together. Most of the parts where Chinese and there was no insulation. I could have cracked the shell by pushing on it.

The guy sunk it into a rock-landscaped area and so far has paid me close to $5k to keep it going.

The best word of advice I can give is this….I’ve never bought anything on Ebay that was just like I thought it was supposed to be. I’m not going to take a chance with my families health buying something I’m not sure of that could potentially be loaded with bacteria or even worse have improper safety controls.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Buying a spa on Ebay would be crazy, I would look at your local dealers and see whats out there and what may work in your price range.   I would go the Costco route before buying on Ebay and they are not that great to start with either.  Least you can return it to Costco.  At your expense of course.

[bahiafan]

Hi!  I'm Dave from the Department of Redundancy Department and I agree with the general sentiment so far.

Ebay is excellent for some things but hot tubs aren't one of them.  The old saying "if it seems too good to be true, it is" certainly holds true.   Also, a hot tub, to me anyhow, is a real luxury and if one can't afford to do it right, one cannot afford it at all.  It's like buying a Porsche and, to save some money, you use cheap gas and no-name tires then wonder why it's not performing like it should! 

Merry Christmas and good luck shopping!

[.]

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[Vanguard]

No reputable manufacturer will allow Ebay sales.  Service after the sale is very important to the success of the manufacturer.  When a spa is sold on Ebay, the manufacturer can no longer control the service.

To add to the others, a man in Houston, TX was just indicted for fraud on Ebay.  He was selling spas on Ebay and never delivered one.  But, he did take some nice trips, had a nice house, nice car, etc.

Go see your local dealers.  Push through the hype they'll try to load on you and get the real story.  There are many good manufacturers.

Good luck and keep coming back to ask questions during your search.

[Spiderman]

Ask yourself what is more important:  Price  or  Cost

If you answer Price, then Costco, Walmart, Menards, etc., is where you will find your tub.

If you answer Cost, then find yourself a good local dealer selling a good product and buy from them.

It really is as simple as that  


We spent a few extra thousand up front on a Hot Spring Jetsetter.  I knew in the long run it would save me money.  A guy I know bought a new one from HomeDepot.com   Within two years he has replaced his water feature, heater, cover and cover lifter and numerous jet faces have mysteriously fallen off and cannot be reattached.   I don't know what he's paying to keep it running in the winter, but with little or no insulation, and living on the shores of Lake Michigan (gets pretty windy & cold), I know it's a heck of a lot more than what I'm paying.

Price or Cost?

[mattNY]

I agree with the general sentiment here, but it's not all doom and gloom.  If you truly don't want to or can't spend full price on a spa, I'd look for a quality brand (used) on Craigslist in your local area, there are some great deals to be had there.  I'd also visit your local dealers and see if they have used models that they sell at a discount.  But in general, my advice would be to stay away from the "crate" tubs and buy Hotsprings, Jacuzzi, Dimension 1, etc., however you need to do that to get in your price range.

[Spatech_tuo]

I agree with the general sentiment here, but it's not all doom and gloom.  If you truly don't want to or can't spend full price on a spa, I'd look for a quality brand (used) on Craigslist in your local area, there are some great deals to be had there.  I'd also visit your local dealers and see if they have used models that they sell at a discount.  But in general, my advice would be to stay away from the "crate" tubs and buy Hotsprings, Jacuzzi, Dimension 1, etc., however you need to do that to get in your price range.

Like anything, you can find some good and some bad spa deals on Craigslist if you're looking for used spas. You can also get used spas from dealers where they have checked it out and usually give it some type of in-store warranty. Obviously you pay more from the dealer but you get something that can be expected to work properly. It's much more of a crapshoot going with Craigslist where you need to expect you'll be working on the spa the moment you try to fire it up and find it has the inevitable problems used spas have when someone sells with the tag line "it was working fine when I last used it". Either way, be picky.

If buying new going with a dealer is the only way to go IMO.

As far as e-bay goes, they are fine for buying many things but I personally would NEVER buy a hot tub on e-bay, new or used, for all the reasons previously mentioned.

[stuart]

Most dealers are now doing more used spas and have something that they've refurbished...that would be my first point of looking.

[Zep]

deep..if you are looking for only a "new" tub...I would
stick with a dealer...if you are open to "used"..it's pretty
much like buying a car....you can get burned buying a used
car or you can get a "steal" buying a used car....so I guess
the answer to the question is "it depends". If you
have time....and you are not in a hurry....and have time to educate
yourself on tubs and travel to look at lots of used tubs on Craigslist....
you could quite possibly run across a very nice brand name tub that
someone bought in the last couple of years that someone is selling
because....they dont use it....they are getting a divorce....they are
moving cross country....tons of reasons. When you find that perfect
one....you can tell....by the way the owners act...as to whether they
take care of things...ect. On the other hand a new tub like a new car
comes with lots of help from a dealer as far as delivery/set-up/problems/ect.
Thats why I bought from a dealer, but I know a guy that bought a tub from
Home Depot and he says he paid half what I did....and he tells me "if
something goes wrong" hell I'll just buy another new one in 5 years and
still be in the same ballpark you paid and I'll have a brand spanking new
tub twice! So each buyer has different needs/wants as far as price/help/
repairs/ect...