Prices - aka ripoff?

[gourmatt]

Hi,
Newbie here shopping for my first hot tub.  My wife and I have narrowed it down to a Caldera Martinique, Caldera Tahitian and a Hot Spring Limelight Flair.  We've wet tested the Tahitian and dry-tested the others.  The Caldera dealer is offering $10,500 for the floor model Tahitian (the one we wet tested) and $7900 for the Martinique.  The Hot Spring dealer is offering $8,000 for the Flair, which is a wet-test demo model from a different show room in their network.  I have to say that we really liked the Caldera seats over the Hot Spring, and given our layout constraints the Martinique would be our top choice.  None of the pricing has been aggressively negotiated yet.

What are your opinions on whether these are good prices?  I've come across posts from a few years ago with people saying they got a Martinique for $6500 or $7000, or a Tahitian for $8000, so at first glance it seems to me that these are terrible prices, but I'm sure there are a lot of other factors that play into things.  Oh, and all of the prices include the standard cover and lifters, but none of them include optional purification such as ozone or ACE (other than the Tahitian which comes with ozone standard).  How much lower do you think I can get any of these guys down to?

One last question .... should I push to get ozone installed?  Seems to me that it can't hurt...

THANKS!

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

negotiating will depend on you and the individual dealer...I can tell you if you walk into the dealer with your checkbook in hand (aka ready to buy that day) it will help immensely as far as negotiations are concerned 

[bimmerdog]

negotiating will depend on you and the individual dealer...I can tell you if you walk into the dealer with your checkbook in hand (aka ready to buy that day) it will help immensely as far as negotiations are concerned 

He is right on having the check in hand.....I had my credit card in hand.  I had been in the store three times wet testing the different tubs.  The wife loved the Sundance Optima so it was go time.  One thing I have learned is to negotiate with the person the highest on the food chain.  It was me and the store owner.  I just said to him to give me the best he could and still stay in business and keep his employees happy and if it was right I would buy right now.   The price was lower then what I was expecting. So I handed him my Amex card and I have a new hot tub. 

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

negotiating will depend on you and the individual dealer...I can tell you if you walk into the dealer with your checkbook in hand (aka ready to buy that day) it will help immensely as far as negotiations are concerned 

He is right on having the check in hand.....I had my credit card in hand.  I had been in the store three times wet testing the different tubs.  The wife loved the Sundance Optima so it was go time.  One thing I have learned is to negotiate with the person the highest on the food chain.  It was me and the store owner.  I just said to him to give me the best he could and still stay in business and keep his employees happy and if it was right I would buy right now.   The price was lower then what I was expecting. So I handed him my Amex card and I have a new hot tub.

this reminded of another good tip: of course people love racking up points/airline miles/cashback etc. etc. but if you pay via cash/check don't be afraid to ask for the "cash discount" 99% of the time the dealer would rather you save the ~3% than give that money to the credit card companies in processing fees...doesn't sound like much but on a high end 10k spa that's $300 extra just for asking

[Jac-470]

My dealer took $400 if I paid for the spa instead of financing it through him or a credit card.

[Hot Spring Ace]

Hi,
Newbie here shopping for my first hot tub.  My wife and I have narrowed it down to a Caldera Martinique, Caldera Tahitian and a Hot Spring Limelight Flair.  We've wet tested the Tahitian and dry-tested the others.  The Caldera dealer is offering $10,500 for the floor model Tahitian (the one we wet tested) and $7900 for the Martinique.  The Hot Spring dealer is offering $8,000 for the Flair, which is a wet-test demo model from a different show room in their network.  I have to say that we really liked the Caldera seats over the Hot Spring, and given our layout constraints the Martinique would be our top choice.  None of the pricing has been aggressively negotiated yet.

What are your opinions on whether these are good prices?  I've come across posts from a few years ago with people saying they got a Martinique for $6500 or $7000, or a Tahitian for $8000, so at first glance it seems to me that these are terrible prices, but I'm sure there are a lot of other factors that play into things.  Oh, and all of the prices include the standard cover and lifters, but none of them include optional purification such as ozone or ACE (other than the Tahitian which comes with ozone standard).  How much lower do you think I can get any of these guys down to?

One last question .... should I push to get ozone installed?  Seems to me that it can't hurt...

THANKS!

The Martinique and Flair are the better deals but I also don't know what it being in Canada does to the pricing. Tell them to sharpen their pencils because you need a better offer and counter as you see fit. When you've gotten their best price then ask about them adding the ozone so you can see what it adds.