Considering used 2000 Arctic Summit Signature hot tub

[milburnr]

Yes, my first post... we've wanted to get a hot tub for a while, but the price entry point has kept us from it - too many other priorities for the money. 

We were looking again though, since we have a little bit of cash to play with (do not want to finance one right now).  Today at noon I am going to look at one.  They said it was running in May when they bought the house, but the patio has settled a lot (the drought here in Kansas has done that to a lot of homes, including ours), so they drained it and are selling it to pay for a new patio.  Sounds plausible.

They are listing it as a 2000 Arctic Spa Summit Signature Series.  The pictures show a blue speckly color.  The guy said he will make allowance for moving cost, which seems to be around $250.  So... around $1300 delivered.

We'd love to get a hot tub with waterfall, LED, stereo, misters, etc, but if this one has shell and pumps/heater in good working order, can we go wrong at $1300 delivered if we don't have $3000 or more to spend?  This is a 6 seater and he says 7x7 but from the Arctic website it seems to be 8x8.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

imho anytime you can get into a working spa for 2k or under "all-in" it is an absolute no brainer....just the "family time" you can get from that is worth it, let alone the benefits that a spa provides our bodies when used regularly.  So take the plunge and go for it would be my opinion 

[wmccall]

Welcome to the forum. First post or 1000th, your welcome here.   Have you looked at the cover?  The only reason I ask is in prior years Arctic's ads bragged about their covers and it would be interesting to see if it lasted 12 years     A good cover should not be so heavy that an average female adult couldn't lift it with ease.

[milburnr]

I went and looked at the spa, it appears to be in excellent condition.  The cover also looks in good condition - not brand-new looking, but I only saw two small (<2 inches) tears in the material.  It was about the same to lift as our neighbor's spa cover.  It does not have a lift bar, so we might need to get one of those.  Also did not have pillows, but I suspect I can get those too.  The owner seems to be very above board, in a pretty nice area, so I tend to believe what he said about it.  I'm considering asking him to refill the spa so I can see it run... perhaps offering an extra $50 over what he agreed to sell it for, for his time and water.  Is that reasonable/advisable?  Will I be able to see anything useful with that?  Is it difficult to drain a hot tub?

[Tman122]

Yes, my first post... we've wanted to get a hot tub for a while, but the price entry point has kept us from it - too many other priorities for the money. 

We were looking again though, since we have a little bit of cash to play with (do not want to finance one right now).  Today at noon I am going to look at one.  They said it was running in May when they bought the house, but the patio has settled a lot (the drought here in Kansas has done that to a lot of homes, including ours), so they drained it and are selling it to pay for a new patio.  Sounds plausible.

They are listing it as a 2000 Arctic Spa Summit Signature Series.  The pictures show a blue speckly color.  The guy said he will make allowance for moving cost, which seems to be around $250.  So... around $1300 delivered.

We'd love to get a hot tub with waterfall, LED, stereo, misters, etc, but if this one has shell and pumps/heater in good working order, can we go wrong at $1300 delivered if we don't have $3000 or more to spend?  This is a 6 seater and he says 7x7 but from the Arctic website it seems to be 8x8.

Just so you are aware that anything not full of water, hot and running is a huge gamble.

[JohnnyK45]

Spend the extra $100 or so and have a local spa repair guy go with you to look it over (they will remove the skirting and know what to look for, they've seen it all); esp. if it sat empty a bit and this thing is a good 12 years old.  I would never buy a tub without seeing it filled and checking the water and jets (huge gamble as already mentioned).  Also, I heard that a slow leak could sometime take 24-48hrs to work through before you begin to see a trickle, I'd ask him to fill it and stop by a couple days later.  Or, if the seller doesn't want to fill it, agree to write up a short sales agreement in which you get 3-4 business days to have it and verify that it works properly; if the seller has issues with all of this, then pass on it and run.

The standard line, or one similar to this..."The hot tub worked great the last time we used it..." raises a red flag to me; anything could have happened between then and now.  In your case, this guy just bought the house and drained it, not sure he would really know much about it then.

Just be careful and check it all out properly; esp. with the mention of the patio settling.  Best of luck!

J

[Water Boy]

Yes, my first post... we've wanted to get a hot tub for a while, but the price entry point has kept us from it - too many other priorities for the money. 

We were looking again though, since we have a little bit of cash to play with (do not want to finance one right now).  Today at noon I am going to look at one.  They said it was running in May when they bought the house, but the patio has settled a lot (the drought here in Kansas has done that to a lot of homes, including ours), so they drained it and are selling it to pay for a new patio.  Sounds plausible.

They are listing it as a 2000 Arctic Spa Summit Signature Series.  The pictures show a blue speckly color.  The guy said he will make allowance for moving cost, which seems to be around $250.  So... around $1300 delivered.

We'd love to get a hot tub with waterfall, LED, stereo, misters, etc, but if this one has shell and pumps/heater in good working order, can we go wrong at $1300 delivered if we don't have $3000 or more to spend?  This is a 6 seater and he says 7x7 but from the Arctic website it seems to be 8x8.

Yes you are correct the spa is 8x8. You are also correct in your thinking that you could add head pillows to the spa very easily. I did a search on Craigslist, and I found the spa you are looking at. It appears to be in very good shape in the pictures. But, I agree with everyone else in that I wouldn't buy ANY used spa without seeing it running, heating, and leak free. If you can do that, then that would be a great price on a nice used spa.

[goose973]

We considered arctic tubs in our search. I feel like they make a nice product, and $1300 is a nice price. BUT, there is no way I'd buy it without seeing it running and hot. Had a friend who jumped on a "great deal" without verifying the operation of the tub only to end up junking the whole thing within two years.

[JohnnyK45]

Following up, just curious if the seller was open to filling the tub, etc. and what you decided to do?