Pricing for Hot Spot Tempo/Caldera Palatino

[passmaster16]

I'm in the market for a midrange tub.  I went to the local dealer to take a look at the 2011 Hot Spot Tempo.  This spa is the same as the Caldera Palatino.  I liked the size of the tub and it appears to be of decent build quality.  I know that it doesn't feature the high end jets or extras like 24 hr circ pump, but it's a midrange tub so this is ok with me.  Anyway the dealer quoted me $6500 not including steps, ozone option, or cover lifter -- essentially no options.  The smaller Hot Spot Relay was 1k less.  MSRP on the Tempo is 7k I.  I believe there is some room for negotiation.  Anybody have experience in purchasing this particular model?  What are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

[Woody]

Im from San Diego and I purchased the Palatino at our local dealer here last month. They quoted me $6500. I got it for $5300 out the door with steps, cover lifter, frog chemicals, and NO tax! It's all about negotiating my friend.

[passmaster16]

Im from San Diego and I purchased the Palatino at our local dealer here last month. They quoted me $6500. I got it for $5300 out the door with steps, cover lifter, frog chemicals, and NO tax! It's all about negotiating my friend.

Wow it sounds like you really got a good deal.  That's like 25% off MSRP plus the extras you had thrown in.  I know there is markup on tubs but I wasn't sure how much markup there'd be on a midrange tub.  The price you got tells me that there is still a pretty substantial markup, maybe 30-40% because I can't see any reason for them to lose money on a deal.  I'm sure that being on the west coast helps too.  I'm on the east coast, and my dealer said that they would have to order it and it would take 4 weeks for it to be manufactured and shipped here.  I would assume that would add some additional cost.  I wasn't sure how willing they would be to negotiate because they don't have this model in their inventory, and they're pretty much the only Hot Spring dealer in my immediate area.  If you don't mind me asking, what did you start your original offer at?  Did you just tell them a certain price for the package you wanted?  Did you have other dealers competing against them?  I can't see why they'd go so low unless they feared losing the deal to somebody else. 

[passmaster16]

Just got a quote from the local Caldera dealer for $6500 for a Palatino.  $300 extra for ozone.  Another former Hot Spring dealer also quoted me $6000 for a floor model Tempo.  They wanted $400 extra for ozone.  So it seems that most of the dealers are being pretty consistent on their prices.  Obviously so far I've just been calling around to get their starting number.  I guess at some point I'll have to go in to try to negotiate with them.  I have cash in hand so that may be helpful.  I wonder if the prices get any better for memorial day or july 4?

[Spatech_tuo]

Just got a quote from the local Caldera dealer for $6500 for a Palatino.  $300 extra for ozone.  Another former Hot Spring dealer also quoted me $6000 for a floor model Tempo.  They wanted $400 extra for ozone.  So it seems that most of the dealers are being pretty consistent on their prices.  Obviously so far I've just been calling around to get their starting number.  I guess at some point I'll have to go in to try to negotiate with them.  I have cash in hand so that may be helpful.  I wonder if the prices get any better for memorial day or july 4?

In the end each dealer will have a bottom line number in their head and it shouldn't matter if its 4th of July, Christmas or ... when you are trying to negotiate further. Some may deal, some may stay fairly firm though you can usually get some movement of some kind, always give it a shot. One thing that works for some late in the negotiating game is to accept some store credit rather than a price reduction if they seem like they won’t go lower. To the customer there isn't much difference between them lowering the price $200 and them giving you $200 store credit (you'll need things later anyway) but the store typically will prefer to give some store credit rather than lowering the price for obvious reasons. For some paying in cash/check will help, others may not care much but always try the cash/check route if that works for you.

[Woody]

I went to Caldera.  I tried to negotiate with them but they were firm with their asking price of $6500.  I said I would buy the tub for $5200 with steps, cover lifter, start up chemicals and no tax.  He just laughed at me so I gave him my phone number and told him to call me when he changes his mind.  He called me the next day and offered me the tub for $5300 out the door with everything I asked. 

[passmaster16]

Well they don't want to deal at all on the 2011 Tempo/Palatino.  Best price they're offering is $6300 for a brand new one.

They have a 2010 floor model Palatino with a cover lifter installed that they're willing to give me for $5700 plus $100 in store credit.  I'm not crazy about floor models -- just something about using a tub that other people were using for a while.  He said that this one was used on the floor as a demo for a few months but has since been drained.  They were willing to sell it to me for $5500 if they completely removed the cover lifter. 

So what do you think?  Is $5700 a fair price for a 2010 demo Palatino?  Were there any difference between 2010 and 2011 models?

Thanks!

[passmaster16]

Went to the Caldera dealer yesterday.  This is the one who originally quoted 6500 on the Palatino.  He said the best he could do is 5900 on a new 2011 Palatino including cover and delivery.  It seems from my research that aside from what Woody posted, most people have been in the 6000-6500 range on this model.  In that regard 5900 would be a pretty good deal.  If I go 5900 I might see if he could at least throw the steps in.  Thoughts?

[Spatech_tuo]

Went to the Caldera dealer yesterday.  This is the one who originally quoted 6500 on the Palatino.  He said the best he could do is 5900 on a new 2011 Palatino including cover and delivery.  It seems from my research that aside from what Woody posted, most people have been in the 6000-6500 range on this model.  In that regard 5900 would be a pretty good deal.  If I go 5900 I might see if he could at least throw the steps in.  Thoughts?

Sometimes someone falls into a situation where they get a much better than typical deal for whatever reason (dealer desperate/closing or floor model or ... some type of special circumstance). You can't beat yourself over the head if you don't see the same below norm price. Compare it to the general population of what the spa sells for and shoot for the lower end of that.

Absolutely see if he'll throw in the steps, it never hurts to ask. Or another way to try to sweeten the pot at the last minute when they refuse to budge further on price is to ask for store credit. A dealer will typically prefer to give you $150 in store credit as opposed to giving you $150 discount on the spa price for obvious reasons but to the customer its just about the same thing as you’ll need follow up items/chems anyway. They may tend to prefer store credit to the free steps idea. Give either/both a try, it always feels better later to know you tried as opposed to wondering if you could have done better if you’d given it a shot.

[passmaster16]

Sometimes someone falls into a situation where they get a much better than typical deal for whatever reason (dealer desperate/closing or floor model or ... some type of special circumstance). You can't beat yourself over the head if you don't see the same below norm price. Compare it to the general population of what the spa sells for and shoot for the lower end of that.

Absolutely see if he'll throw in the steps, it never hurts to ask. Or another way to try to sweeten the pot at the last minute when they refuse to budge further on price is to ask for store credit. A dealer will typically prefer to give you $150 in store credit as opposed to giving you $150 discount on the spa price for obvious reasons but to the customer its just about the same thing as you’ll need follow up items/chems anyway. They may tend to prefer store credit to the free steps idea. Give either/both a try, it always feels better later to know you tried as opposed to wondering if you could have done better if you’d given it a shot.

Thanks for the insight.  I ended up pulling the trigger on the 2011 Palatino for $5900.  I tried to get him to throw in the Caldera polymer step, but he couldn't.  He did throw in a generic step so I got the spa with the step, cover, and startup chems (SPA Frog which I probably won't use) for $5900 plus tax.  I put it on my credit card so was able to get another 1% cash back on the purchase.  I felt that I got a fair deal.  This board helped a lot in researching prices.  I think the key is to know that pricing can vary from region to region and dealer to dealer.  The big benefit of researching here was at least I knew I was getting a fair deal and not overpaying.  Thanks to all who responded to the thread.

[manwgoldengun]

I hope you decided to use the Spa Frog!!