Need help buying a hot tub

[JeffR]

I'm having a hard time separating the "BS" from good information in the hot tub business.  I have been to 4 dealers and each one says all the others are crap and theirs is the only one with a well made shell, pumps, purification system and warranty.  They are all nice guys with great stories and sound convincing and very sincere.

First of all which is the best purification system: chlorine salt system, ozone, UV.  Each dealer makes a great argument why theirs does a better job than all of the others, killing bacteria, cleaner, clearer water, better for the environment.

They all say that they make a great shells.  I expect them to tell me that theirs is the best but eventually they begin bad mouthing the other spas and tell me that the others won't hold up.  They all say that they have the best     service and warranty and that you might have trouble getting other spas serviced.

How do you judge how good the pumps or how much power they provide.  There doesn't seem to be a good way of rating pumps.

Please help.  I don't think there is any other product on the market in which it is harder to find unbiased good information.  So far I have looked at Hotsprings, Catalina, Sundance and Calspas.

[sorebikr]

Somewhere on here is a FAQ with answers to many of life's tough questions.  But to answer a few:

1.  Don't sweat pump size.  There are too many other factors at play to make HP something to be concerned with.  Not to mention different makers measure HP differently.  Something about HP at start up vs HP while running or something like that.

1B.  I assume your questions about HP/pumps comes down to performance.  And there's only one way to gauge that, wet-test.  Gotta find the dealers who are willing to fill and heat up the tub you want to buy (or a close enough model) and sit in it.  Feels silly.  At least it did to me.  But really, its no different than test driving a car.  And my first tub cost far more than my first car did. 

2.  Shells - I would take a look at the warranty for these.  I'm guessing its like 5, or 7 or 10 years.  Anything with a warranty that long is due to the fact this isn't a piece that tends to break or chip.  I wouldn't sweat it.  But do figure out the kind of seating you want (lounge vs open concept etc)

3.  Purification system?  Sorry, you're on your own here.  Someone else will chime in.  I use chlorine.  I'm happy.  Its simple.  Others likely have good experiences as well.

Question:  How far away are each of the dealers?  If you have four near you, that's quite a luxury.  Keep in mind, distance to the dealer will come into play if you ever need service. 

Full disclosure:  I bought a sundance  a year ago.  Love it.  Haven't spoken to the dealer since it was delivered as I'm more of a DIY guy and come here if I ever need advice.  But that's just one man's experience.


Oh, and no.  I don't believe there is any "go-to" resource out there such as Consumer Reports that will tell you which tub to buy.

[goose973]

We just went through all of that stuff, and we're now the proud owners of a new Sundance Certa. What helped us narrow it down was the dealers' proximity and honesty. The tubs really came out fairly equal for different reasons. All had good and bad points. When it was all over, it came down to price. We had two dealers equal distances apart with equally good reputations and equally good products in our eyes. We ended up going with the one that was $1200 less. However, I would have paid that $1200 extra if I thought that I wasn't getting as good of a product or service. Price shouldn't be THE most important thing. Other than that, forget the jet count, pump HP and all that stuff. Just go sit in them with water in them and see what you like. That's what matters most.

[d00nut]

and skip the Catalina.  Just judging from all of their websites...