Dealer Proximity and Price for Caldera Tahitian

[outrag1]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum. We have been looking for a hot tub for our home in NH.

We have researched many tubs such as Hot Springs, Sundance, and initially Master Spa (no longer looking there). Dealer location limits and models available to look at, let alone wet test makes this a difficult process. We are also restricted by size somewhat and felt that the Caldera Martinique would fit into our screened in porch. We wet tested it in MA and thought it was very nice.

Looking into the Caldera line a little further I thought the Tahitian, being similar to the Martinique but a step up in series was the way to go. The problem is the following:

Dealer 1 -  2 hours away from home will sell Tahitian new with package for $8000. I know this is a pretty decent deal. Future warranty work however will cost me $200 for transportation costs (4 hours round trip). This company has been in business about 30 years and many years ago sold Hot Springs as well, but Watkins wanted them to switch to Caldera several years back.

Dealer 2 -  15 minutes from home will sell Tahitian new with package for $9500. This is close to the price I was getting just doing phone research from a few other dealers as well. This company has been in business for approx 8 years and they also sell D1 and Nordic.

So obviously the $1500 difference between the two dealers is a big deal. I could get warranty work 8 times over to equal this difference with the 2nd dealer in NH. The problem I have is that I would much rather have someone closer to the home, that could address an emergency or come when I'm not there during the week for maintenance, etc.

Both dealers seem to be reputable, registered with the BBB, etc. Also wanted to state that both "packages" are similarly equipped. I think the NH place supplies some extra chemicals in full size bottles, but other than that, they both have spa frog, ozone (which is standard on the Utopia series), cover lifter, steps, etc.

I guess I'm asking at what price point does it make sense to go with the local dealer? If prices were equal, the closer dealer would make sense. If the closer dealer were $1000 more or $500 more, are there considerations with warranty service or other maintenance issues where the proximity would make the extra cost worth it???

Thanks - Bob

[d00nut]

Out of curiosity, did you ask the dealer further away if he will even sell to you?  A lot of those dealers respect each others territories.  Watkins has a pretty tight dealer group, and they (for the most part) stay out of each others business area.

[outrag1]

Yes the dealer further away will sell to me.  That's how the transportation cost ($200) for future work came into the discussion. 

[JB1SNOWMAN]

Hi, not sure where in NH you are but if one of the dealers you are considering happens to be Alpin Haus Pools and Spas in Amsterdam NY, steer clear of them.......trust me, I'm just trying to save you from a massive amount of grief.
They sold me a spa last year and to their credit, I got a great deal but that is where it stopped. Said spa had many issues and their customer service after the sale left EVERYTHING to be desired.........they were absolutley useless after they got my money.
On a positive note, Watkins was fantastic and stepped up to the plate and replaced the entire spa.

[outrag1]

Hi,  Thanks for the heads up.  Did you get a Tahitian?  What type of issues did you have?  I didn't think a normal purchase of a Watkins product would require so much service if purchased new....

Dealers I'm looking at are Atlantic Pool and Spa in NH and North Shore Pool and Spa in MA

[JB1SNOWMAN]

I actually bought a Salina and I truley believe it to be a great product.......love it. When I brought the spa home it only worked for a day, I educated myself a little and believed a hi limit switch to be faulty. When I called the dealer, firstly they told me they could not come for about a week( pretty crappy service seeing as how I had just spent $7500 with them) then when the service tech did finally show he was unable to fix it and mis- diagnosed the problem. long story short I had to spend 5-6 hours of my time along with the help of Watkins tech dept. fixing my new tub myself......turn out to be the hi-limit switch. Then 2 weeks later I went to install a cover lifter and found wet foam and mold in the back of the spa......Watkins really came through and has agreed to replace the spa with a new one.

Watkins= great
Alpin Haus pools and spas= horrible

[d00nut]

I wonder why it is so much less then.  IMHO, there is always a reason to a huge price difference.  Is the dealer that is further away much smaller and has so much less overhead?  Being so close, you got to imagine the freight is nearly identical.

[outrag1]

The dealer further away is fairly small based on their showroom.  In fact they only had two tubs on display, one of which was wet in their mood room.  This dealer has been around approx 30yrs and is owned by a gentleman probably late 50's, who also is on the town school committee, kids sports coach, etc...I know he has one service manager and then a few young kids working in the store.

The NH dealer appears small also, but had more like 6 tubs on display and I think they may have a back room with more stock.  This dealer is newer (approx 8 years) with a married couple late 30's owning the store.  I believe they have a staff of folks.  This store is in more of a tourist area with skiing, and mountain activities if that plays a role in their higher price.