maax vs Strong Spa

[tdm1973]

First of all, thanks in advance from a newbie...what a great site, and love all the information.

My wife and I are considering a new (last years model) Maax 471 or 480, both pretty good deals, or a 3 year old Strong Spa with very lite use and in wonderful condition.  I definately like the price of the used Strong Spa, but from my research I am more concerned about the HP ratings on the motors and if the rated 4hp is true or not...BTW, the is the Madrid 90, so listed as 2 pumps and 1 air pump.

I would appreciate any information, and I do understand the wet test and what fits "you" best aspect, and I have sat in the Maax and do like it, but I would love any technical experience and yes opinions on these options.

Thanks again

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

I believe Maax to have better build quality than Strong, but in the end I would only spend what your comfortable with....as far as pump hp is concerned you can always look to the top manufacturers for true ratings to give you an idea...Hot Springs Grandee/Vista...Jacuzzi J400 series...D1 Chairman....Sundance Optima, all these tubs are using (2) 2.5hp (4.0-5.2brake hp) pumps and are all in the 38-55 jet count range making the rule of thumb for most manufacturers (1) 2.5hp pump per 25-30ish jets, hope that helps a little

[tdm1973]

That certainly does help, and thank you very much.  I really think we are going to start looking harder at the Maax, as the deal seems good, and I am a warranty kind of guy as well.
Thanks again

[Tman122]

First of all, thanks in advance from a newbie...what a great site, and love all the information.

My wife and I are considering a new (last years model) Maax 471 or 480, both pretty good deals, or a 3 year old Strong Spa with very lite use and in wonderful condition.  I definately like the price of the used Strong Spa, but from my research I am more concerned about the HP ratings on the motors and if the rated 4hp is true or not...BTW, the is the Madrid 90, so listed as 2 pumps and 1 air pump.

I would appreciate any information, and I do understand the wet test and what fits "you" best aspect, and I have sat in the Maax and do like it, but I would love any technical experience and yes opinions on these options.

Thanks again

In my opinion neither is considered a top quality tub. Maxx puts on a good show but when it comes down to it I think they are lacking and barely make middle of the road. Strong is a value brand considered by me, low end. But they seem to be as good as most of the other value brands out there.

[tdm1973]

Thanks again, and you guys have definately made me broaden my search.  I did just stumble onto a potential deal on a loaded 2009 Cal Spa Avallon a857b.  Seems like a fair price I think (more research to be done).  Any opinions on the Cal Spa?

[castletonia]

I sold Cal Spas from 2005 to 2009.  In my opinion quality was hit or miss and in my experience support was horrible.  For how they treated us I could not recommend Cal Spas.

[tdm1973]

I appreciate it for sure, but I have to ask how many hits vs. misses?  He has had it for 2 years with no problems, so is the worse to come, or does the 2 years of clean health indicate that it could be a good spa.  I did go look at it today, and it is in great shape as far as the shell and the tub itself.  It will need a new cover soon, and there are two of the diverter knobs that his daughter sat on and broke (something to consider that this could happen again, but cheap $3 fix) he has the parts to replace it.  Asking is $5000

[Tman122]

I appreciate it for sure, but I have to ask how many hits vs. misses?  He has had it for 2 years with no problems, so is the worse to come, or does the 2 years of clean health indicate that it could be a good spa.  I did go look at it today, and it is in great shape as far as the shell and the tub itself.  It will need a new cover soon, and there are two of the diverter knobs that his daughter sat on and broke (something to consider that this could happen again, but cheap $3 fix) he has the parts to replace it.  Asking is $5000

He's had it for 2 years with no probles except.......it needs a new cover and 2 diverter valves broke? It seems that any excuse the sellor can come up with could explain anything away? But in 2 years the cover is shot, cheap cover. In 2 years the diverter valves knobs broke, cheap diverter knobs. What else is cheap? 5 grand is to much. 2500 maybe.

[Spatech_tuo]

The spa may "look" good but we're intereste din reliability and there are far better options out there than Cal (IMO). Be patient and wait for a better choice to appear.

[castletonia]

tdm 1973, If you take the customer service from Cal Spas it was far more misses than hits.  Sometimes parts will get backordered for what I consider unreasonable amounts of time and occasionally Cal will just cancel backorders without notifying us.  Plus trying to get warranty credits is a process in itself.  This part makes it difficult for dealers which can make it a problem for consumers.

As for the quality of the hot tubs, I see many more issues now than I did even two years ago.  I have noticed a much higher number of leaks from glue joints, pump seals washing out the bearings on the motor (don't see it happen as often or as quickly with other brands), thinner plastic on jets, covers with cheap vinyl.  I'm not saying Cal is complete junk, just that the company I work for does more service on the Cal Spas we sold in those approx. 4 years than on any other brand we have sold for a similar amount of time.

[stuart]

Thought I would weigh in on this one...castletonia as a whole Cal has been one of the most reliable brands I've ever sold. I had many, many more service calls on the other brands I sold and actually at that 2 year mark I saw many more leaks, shell cracks, pump issues and even siding issues on those other brands. (go back through my posts I you will see what brands those are, last time I mentioned them by name they threatened me with legal. I must scare them!)

I will agree with Cal's customer service however...they seem to treat dealers like they are the enemy and really don't work well with them. So far this hasn't affected our customers as we are the go between however it does get tiring for my staff.

My personal opinion is that if Cal could fix their customer service issues and regain dealer loyalty, they would be a force to recon with!!

From a customers perspective, if you find a dealer that you like and they sell Cal you really can’t go wrong with that scenario. Dollar for dollar they are one of the best values we’ve ever offered.

[ejf The Spa Guy]

There are very good points on here. Yes, if you find a dealer that is reputable then you can't go wrong, but I have to sold Cal Spa, biggest i would agree with Castletonia it's a hit and miss, my biggest issue was warranty ,,,If the dealer has figured out how to work with it then great for us it was not for us ,, we are way happier than before, As for Maax I don't think they are in the top tier. We did our home show last year and what sticks in my mind is the POP they had on the energy efficiency ratings of there spas and other brands, like D1, Hot Springs, Jacuzzi, Sundance, Arctic, , the problem I had with that the poster was inaccurate with the ratings of course they showed Maax As the lowest cost,, what stood out was the D1 and Hot Springs, they were way off on there numbers ,  Also they have the thermal chamber system without a 24/7 circ pump, in colder climates does not maeve sense.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

There are very good points on here. Yes, if you find a dealer that is reputable then you can't go wrong, but I have to sold Cal Spa, biggest i would agree with Castletonia it's a hit and miss, my biggest issue was warranty ,,,If the dealer has figured out how to work with it then great for us it was not for us ,, we are way happier than before, As for Maax I don't think they are in the top tier. We did our home show last year and what sticks in my mind is the POP they had on the energy efficiency ratings of there spas and other brands, like D1, Hot Springs, Jacuzzi, Sundance, Arctic, , the problem I had with that the poster was inaccurate with the ratings of course they showed Maax As the lowest cost,, what stood out was the D1 and Hot Springs, they were way off on there numbers ,  Also they have the thermal chamber system without a 24/7 circ pump, in colder climates does not maeve sense.

I'm kind of interested what type of numbers he had listed for Hot Spring...I'm monitoring a Vista (500gal) right now at 10cents per kw/hr so I'm curious what Maax was saying vs real life numbers

[ejf The Spa Guy]

I'll check the picture. I took a picture of it.. try to post it tonight.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

I'll check the picture. I took a picture of it.. try to post it tonight.

thank you