Hot Springs Vista Vs. CalSpa Atlantic CA51

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I tried that but it only closed my window!

Would it be too much to ask,to add a couple more "X's" next to the 1's already in place?

[Yorag]

spaman-- wrote:

Bootom line is you were offered satisfaction and if you rufuse it thats your problem! The componantsthey use ar "TOP OF THE LINE" you have no clue what goes into a Cal Spa again your problem began with a bad dealer and that is sad , but the factory tried to help you even after the warranty has ran out , and I believe they even took care of your spa if I remember right! So wine all you want the factory took care of their responsibility!

Who the heck died and made you the resident Cal Spa defender??
First of all, you don't know my experience and you don't know me and furthermore you don't have my spa.
Anytime I am treated like a second class citizen by anybody, including uneducated, incompetent CSR's sitting under the roof of a company specifically named Cal Spas, I deserve every right to complain or "wine" as you so eloquently said.
Sure they agreed to pay for half of the repairs for an admitted defective shell, but only after I threatened to sue them and posted the issue on ripoffreport.com. That's great customer service alright, most legitimate businesses refer to that type of service as damage control. Their customer relations are simply deplorable.

"Top of the Line" components?? Right.... come look at my unit. I have replaced heater elements, control boards, fixed bad glue joints, replaced broken jets, repaired blisters, replaced ozone units..all in the course of 9 years. The components used in my spa have been described by every tech. as the bottom of the line in every respect. They don't sell these spas cheap as a service to the community.
And for your information, I do "have a clue" what goes into a Cal Spa, I own one....

Keep your biased, uneducated, uninformed comments to yourself...oh wait, nevermind, I forgot who signs your paycheck.

[spaman--]

The following I believe is your last statement from ripoff report . PLAESE correct me if I am wrong!



Further to this post and as a final update, the following information is offered.

As mentioned in my post dated 11-05-04, I discovered that the warranty provided to me by the dealer (Spa Outlet, Inc.) of my Cal Spa grossly misrepresented the terms to me at the time of purchase. Although the salesman told us at the time of the sale that our spa had a 10 year shell warranty and marked this information on the sales receipt rather ambiguously, the spa actually only had a 5 year warranty. There was no way to physically verify this at the time of the sale. It only became apparent when the shell blistered and was subsequently inspected by the spa technician.

Since the store I purchased the spa from was no longer in business, my primary contact became Cal Spas.

Subsequent to the repairs, which have now been completed, Cal Spas has generously agreed to pay for half of the repairs ($459.87). Although Cal Spas technically did not have to honor the erroneous terms of the warranty provided by the former irreputable dealer, they have offered a favorable resolution in my opinion.

Gary - Morgan Hill, California
U.S.A.

[Chas]

HotSpring is the most popular spa in the world. That is hard to prove because HotSpring is the only one who puts out hard numbers: Well over 650,000 tubs sold in the last 27 years. But asking people like plastic venders, cover makers, trucking companies, and other people who work with many of the spa makers, it is easy to see that Watkins manufacturing sells more spas than any other tub maker on the planet. They sell more than most companies combined, not counting people like Sundance/Jacuzzi.

If there was another maker who could even come close to that, let alone beat it, they would have it on every ad, web site and brochure they can.

Spaman said, "let me start by stating that I work for one of the largest spa (if not the largest spa dealers in the world) we sell exclusively Cal Spas."

I think he meant that he works for a large dealer. That's hard to pin down, because 'large' can mean so many things. I know one dealer in England who has 13 stores (may be 14 or 15 by now - I haven't been to see him in a couple of years) and sells all over GB. He would be what I call a 'large dealer.' He sells over a hundred spas per year from most of his stores, some do much better than that.

I know HotSpring dealers who regularly sell three, four or even five hundred spas per year out of one store. We honored one dealer this past year for selling 900 tubs out of one store. Gave him an award at the dealer's meeting in San Diego, and this was the second year he had sales in that neighborhood.

So no, I don't think Cal can compare to HotSpring in size or numbers sold. I also don't think they can compare in reputation for good after-sale service.

Bells and whistles? Sure. Cal is known for flashy products. But as a shopper, you have to decide which of those features equal a benefit to you.

That dealer Spaman mentioned who faded from the scene in AZ left a bad taste in the mouths of a hundred families. Watkins went in and took care of them. I know that not just because I heard about it, but because one of them moved to my part of the world. I ended up getting the spa from the factory and installing it in the backyard here in CA at no cost to the customer, even though the dealer had not taken care of his obligation to the factory. I even got paid by the factory for my part in the deal. In other words, the customer got (more than) what he paid for and the factory 'ate it.' That fits with the general reputation HotSpring has in the industry, and is possible because of many things, one of them being the sheer size of the company.

[Chas]

One more item: If Spaman's employer is doing the job that Spaman says he is, then you could safely and confidently buy a Cal spa from him and get good dealer service. They may even know how to get around the factory's slow parts shipping and other little annoyances simply by stocking a bunch of the most common parts needed to keep things bubbling along. I have no way of knowing if this is the case or not. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, since it costs me nothing and I'm not buying from his dealership.

I'm saying this: just because Cal has the reputation of poor after-sale service, and just because the factory is known for not servicing the customers well, doesn't mean that a good dealer can't come in and make it all work well.

Just as "Your Mileage May Vary," your local dealer may not go that extra mile to cover the factories limitations.

[Spatech_tuo]

I'm saying this: just because Cal has the reputation of poor after-sale service, and just because the factory is known for not servicing the customers well, doesn't mean that a good dealer can't come in and make it all work well.

Well put. I personally wouldn't get a Cal Spas because of the manufacturer itself but I'm sure they have some very good dealers. On the other end, I would recommend a Hot Springs (or Sundance, Marquis, Caldera, D1 etc.) because they are manufactureres in very good standing (IMO) yet I'm sure they all have a few rogue dealers who may not be the best (though I'm sure those manufacturers try to weed them out).

[wmccall]

Well put.

Agreed.  As I've mentioned before, the dealer here with the great reputation happens to sell both Cal and HS as their premium lines.

[Yorag]

The following I believe is your last statement from ripoff report . PLAESE correct me if I am wrong!

Yep, I wrote that because Cal Spas insisted that if they were to pay anything towards THEIR manufacturing defect, I had to post something positive on Ripoffreport.com. Essentially they blackmailed me in writing!

If anyone would like to see the copy of the letter I received from Cal Spas stating this, I'd be happy to fax you a copy. Just send me a PM.
This company is nothing short of a bunch of crooks operating under the guise of a spa company. The fact that they will let anyone with a resale license sell their spas is just further testimony to the fact that they care only about the sale and not the customer. There is a valid reason why so many Cal Spa dealers dissapear or stop selling them entirely. Many dealers in here in California sell the spas but  defer the service to others...I wonder why??

Defend them all you want spaman, the fact remains that they are a disreputable company and will remain as such as long as they maintain the attitude that the "Customer is always wrong".

Enough said, please drive thru.......

[SerjicalStrike]

Isn't Thermospas the largest retailer of spas?  I know Hotspring sells the most total, but because Thermospa is it's own retailer, I beleive they hold the distinction of being the largest retailer/dealer of spas.  

[Chas]

Isn't Thermospas the largest retailer of spas?  I know Hotspring sells the most total, but because Thermospa is it's own retailer, I beleive they hold the distinction of being the largest retailer/dealer of spas.  

I would agree with that statement.

[SerjicalStrike]

Spaman, you asked how there is a $3000 price discrepancy.  (On another forum you compared it to the Sundance Cameo) So, here are some questions that, when answered, might help lead to that answer.

A couple of questions:

1)How much is the upcharge for aromatherapy and the LED lighting?

2)What is the 2" supercharge valve?

3)Is the lifetime warranty on the heater element itself or on the whole heater? Are there any exlusions in that heater warranty?

4)The website calls the pumps 6BHP, what is the actual rating on those pumps?

5)What size is the circulation pump? Is it included in the price?

6)Is the circulation pump run times programmable?

7)Does the spa include a waterfall? If yes, do you need one of the main pumps on to use that feature?

8)Does the spa use barbs on it's 3/4" lines, or does it just glue the flex pipe into the fittings?

9)In reading the warranty, it says that pump seals have no warranty on them. As well as covers. Do these have a separate warranty, or are they not covered at all?

10)Do the jets have bearings that could get clogged with sand?

11)What is the average cost for this tub with none of the added features?


One of the things I liked about the Cal Spa manual is that it lists the parts in the back. That is a good idea. I also like the wide variety of colors that Cal Spas offers