New member, first time buyer

[neilpeart]

Hello all. So glad I found this excellent forum. I'll try to be as brief as possible and I thank you in advance for your help/advice. My wife and I have recently decided to purchase a spa instead of another pool. She is a nurse who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and I am a 50 year old self employed tile installer. Needless to say, we are excited about the prospects of soothing our aching muscles and partying with family and friends in a relaxing hot tub.
  Our education so far has been very limited but eye-opening. The only dealer we could find in the Winston-Salem, NC area nearby where we live sells Jacuzzi exclusively and refuses to carry any other brand. We were quite impressed with the Jacuzzi models but thought the costs were a bit high based on our limited knowledge. We also checked out a few  dealers in the Greensboro who sold models ranging from cheap to high end including one who sells Sundance which appears to be on a par with Jacuzzi.
  Ok, we understand that we will have to spend some $$$ to get what we want which is a 6-8 person spa with regular seating (no lounge seats) that will last and is backed up by a good warranty and service we can rely on. Here's what we have narrowed our choices down to so far and we are interested to hear your thoughts and opinions on the following model's along with compatible brands/models that may be a bit lower in cost.
Jacuzzi J-345 floor model for $7200 including steps, cover and cover remover delivered free of charge.
Sundance Hartford for $5995 with circulation pump, steel jets, steps, cover and for $100 more a cover remover, delivered free of charge. Thanks!!

[smilin66]

Hi. I have to say that I am now on the 3rd hot tub in my lifetime. I have a Jacuzzi
and it has been nothing but one problem after another. The follow up service has been extremely poor and
Jacuzzi makes it very difficult to contact them directly. So, where does that leave you when
you have a problem and your dealer won't take care of it? Quite frankly....OUT IN THE COLD.
And once your spa is no longer under warranty and pevious issues are still not resolved it gets
to be even more fun. Look through this forum and you will see that many, many folks
have the same issues with Jaccuzi. Good luck!

Tammy

[neilpeart]

That is the first negative thing I have heard about Jacuzzi, Tammy. I'll be interested to hear what others say. Thanks for your response.

[hottubdan]

I'm amazed at those prices.  Really low!  That would explain difficult customer service if your local dealers provide service similar to Tammy's.

[wmccall]

I personally know several happy Jacuzzi customers ,and might consider that brand for my next tub. On a side note, you mention the cover lifter. To me this is a must. Nothing will make you tire quickly of using your tub than to have to wrestle with a cover each time you want to use it.

You may have visions of a lot of parties, but I'll almost guarantee 99% of the time it will just be you and your wife in it.

[RUBADUBDUB]

Both are great tubs. Different leagues. The Hartford would be comparable to the 200 series jacuzzi with a shorter warranty. Both tubs use alot of the same components so either or would suffice. The J345 would be My personal choice between the two simply because of the Jets, Warranty and the nice moulded ABS base.

Just my 2 cents.

[ejf The Spa Guy]

neil,
 both the Sundance and Jacuzzi are great spas , they are the same company and built in the same factory, Jacuzzi owns Sundance, form theis forum i do not see a lot of bad things on their product, as for smilin66 with the problems. Their are a lot of manufacturers that do not talk to the consumer. But it sounds like their is more of an issue with the dealer...what problems have you had?   but as for good brands these are good brands along with D1, Hot Springs, Marquis to add a few...but pricing seems like a good price.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

I'm amazed at those prices.  Really low!  That would explain difficult customer service if your local dealers provide service similar to Tammy's.

  Price shouldn't dictate how customer service should be handled .   

[neilpeart]

I appreciate the replies and the valuable information. All things being equal, we definitely prefer the Jacuzzi J-345 over the Sundance Hartford but there is a fairly large price difference which forces us to compromise. As long as the jets on the Hartford can give my wife a good message, I don't see it being a bad choice. We really hoped to max out at $5000, not realizing the costs of the better tubs.
  So, whats the deal with Laguna tubs?? These prices seem kind of low compared to most other tubs.
http://www.recdirectfactoryoutlets.com/spas.php

[smilin66]

To the spa guy: You ask what problems we have had? Let's see. The radio went out
they replaced it, the radio went out again. Never replaced it. Keep getting one
excuse after another and that's when we drive down there to talk to them. Two stuck handles
that had to be replaced, at our expense. a Waterfall that won't shut off, better than not turning on, I suppose.
Pillows that are falling apart, And most recent.....FL1 error.Maybe they just have a bigger customer base than they can handle, I really can't say.
I just know that for what I paid for it, it's been a very big let down! I won't ever buy another Jaccuzi.
Probably sound bitter, maybe just a bit.........

[Jacuzzi Jim]

To the spa guy: You ask what problems we have had? Let's see. The radio went out
they replaced it, the radio went out again. Never replaced it. Keep getting one
excuse after another and that's when we drive down there to talk to them. Two stuck handles
that had to be replaced, at our expense. a Waterfall that won't shut off, better than not turning on, I suppose.
Pillows that are falling apart, And most recent.....FL1 error.Maybe they just have a bigger customer base than they can handle, I really can't say.
I just know that for what I paid for it, it's been a very big let down! I won't ever buy another Jaccuzi.
Probably sound bitter, maybe just a bit.........

  Id say for your next spa look for something without a waterfall,stereo or pillows and no divertor handls as well, and you should be ok.    Any other problems you have had such as circuit brd,main pumps failing temp sensor going out?     

[hottubdan]

To the spa guy: You ask what problems we have had? Let's see. The radio went out
they replaced it, the radio went out again. Never replaced it. Keep getting one
excuse after another and that's when we drive down there to talk to them. Two stuck handles
that had to be replaced, at our expense. a Waterfall that won't shut off, better than not turning on, I suppose.
Pillows that are falling apart, And most recent.....FL1 error.Maybe they just have a bigger customer base than they can handle, I really can't say.
I just know that for what I paid for it, it's been a very big let down! I won't ever buy another Jaccuzi.
Probably sound bitter, maybe just a bit.........

Sounds more like dealer not taking care of issues more than Jacuzzi issues.

[Spatech_tuo]

To the spa guy: You ask what problems we have had? Let's see. The radio went out
they replaced it, the radio went out again. Never replaced it. Keep getting one
excuse after another and that's when we drive down there to talk to them. Two stuck handles
that had to be replaced, at our expense. a Waterfall that won't shut off, better than not turning on, I suppose.
Pillows that are falling apart, And most recent.....FL1 error.Maybe they just have a bigger customer base than they can handle, I really can't say.
I just know that for what I paid for it, it's been a very big let down! I won't ever buy another Jaccuzi.
Probably sound bitter, maybe just a bit.........

  Id say for your next spa look for something without a waterfall,stereo or pillows and no divertor handls as well, and you should be ok.    Any other problems you have had such as circuit brd,main pumps failing temp sensor going out?     

I don't think stereo problems surprise anyone. Most of us recommend avoiding that option.

[ejf The Spa Guy]

wow thats a list,  but like spatech said, some of do not pushg the stereos,, i so not like them in a spa,,,its understandable that you are not happy with your dealer, maybe if they were more responsive the probs may not have been as big of an issue...

[smilin66]

I guess we went with all the bells and whistles thinking this would be the last
tub we would probably buy, we just expected all the bells and whistles that
we paid soooooooo much extra to get would actually work. I really don't mean
to sound bitter. We enjoy sitting in the spa. It helps alot with Mr. Arthur Ritus
We have had hot tubs for many years and I cannot see us living without one.
We love music as well so figured that would be the ultimate! Music, waterfall,
massage. Oh well. Next time we will know better. And yes, there is going to have to
be a next time now. Thank you all for your input!