Just when I was about to decide...

[Wannatub]

We've been shopping for quite while and had narrowed the field to Caldera Selina/Hot Springs Pulse or  D-1 Nautilus. Over the weekend I stopped in to a Hot Springs dealer I hadn't been to before to check pricing.  In the course of our visit, it came up that he was about to take a trade in of a '09 Vanguard that I could get for $4,995.  That price includes cover, lifter, delivery, sub panel, all new filters and since it's only 4 years old, and the factory stands behind them for 5 years, he says he'll provide a 1 year parts and labor warranty on his own dime! 

This sounds almost like a no-brainer to me, but I thought I should ask the experts.  Am I as well off in a 4 year old Vanguard with a 1 year delaer provided warranty, as I would be in any of the trio I am considering -- at nearly half the price?   

This is obviously a one time deal and it's first come first served, so I'm anxious to hear any thoughts.

Thanks.

 

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Id say it's a fair deal!   

[Spatech_tuo]

We've been shopping for quite while and had narrowed the field to Caldera Selina/Hot Springs Pulse or  D-1 Nautilus. Over the weekend I stopped in to a Hot Springs dealer I hadn't been to before to check pricing.  In the course of our visit, it came up that he was about to take a trade in of a '09 Vanguard that I could get for $4,995.  That price includes cover, lifter, delivery, sub panel, all new filters and since it's only 4 years old, and the factory stands behind them for 5 years, he says he'll provide a 1 year parts and labor warranty on his own dime! 

This sounds almost like a no-brainer to me, but I thought I should ask the experts.  Am I as well off in a 4 year old Vanguard with a 1 year delaer provided warranty, as I would be in any of the trio I am considering -- at nearly half the price?   

This is obviously a one time deal and it's first come first served, so I'm anxious to hear any thoughts.

Thanks.

That sounds like a decent deal since its coming with a 1 year warranty but hot tub pricing is negotiable so you can always try to improve the deal in case the dealer has left room to haggle so if you're going to pull the trigger why not first make them a counter offer, all they can do is say no. Also, hot tub covers often only last about 4 or 5 years so if you're getting the original cover then understand thats really toward the end of its life cycle so I'd want a new cover or a better price to reflect the fact a new one will be needed fairly soon.

[Wannatub]

I had the same thought on the cover and the sales guy said that while he hadn't personally seen the spa yet his service guys told him that it was kept in a gazebo so there is virtually no wear and tear from the elements.  The service department will go through everything, and if they determine anything -- including the cover --is on it's last legs, they replace it.  He also said they do a complete purge of the plumbing systems as a matter of routine on every used spa they offer for sale, which I took to be a sign of a pretty conscientious dealer.   When I see the spa, assuming they haven't already replaced it, I'll test the weight of the cover to see if it seems heavier than I'd expect and factor that, and the fact that it's 4 years old into any counter offer I make.

Now my only issue is that since I wasn't really looking at anything with a moto-massage, we haven't wet tested it yet, although I don't see that as a problem other than he's a bit further away and scheduling may be a bit tricky.

Can anyone offer an opinion on weather the moto-massage is one of those love it or hate it things -- sort of like a lounge seat -- or is it more universally accepted?  I know I'll have to make my own decision on that with the test soak, but I am interested in getting the general consensus before hand if at all possible.

Thanks for your input

[Spatech_tuo]

If it was covered the entire time the cover may be fine but at least they know you are specifically looking for any issues and will be checking it out so they may be even more diligent in their inspection.  Lounges are hit and miss because they just don't fit everyone well and some people float. A moto massage is a jet type so its not really like the lounge situation but like any jet it depends on how it feels to you which is why wet testing is best.

[Hot Spring Ace]

We've been shopping for quite while and had narrowed the field to Caldera Selina/Hot Springs Pulse or  D-1 Nautilus. Over the weekend I stopped in to a Hot Springs dealer I hadn't been to before to check pricing.  In the course of our visit, it came up that he was about to take a trade in of a '09 Vanguard that I could get for $4,995.  That price includes cover, lifter, delivery, sub panel, all new filters and since it's only 4 years old, and the factory stands behind them for 5 years, he says he'll provide a 1 year parts and labor warranty on his own dime! 

This sounds almost like a no-brainer to me, but I thought I should ask the experts.  Am I as well off in a 4 year old Vanguard with a 1 year delaer provided warranty, as I would be in any of the trio I am considering -- at nearly half the price?   

This is obviously a one time deal and it's first come first served, so I'm anxious to hear any thoughts.

Thanks.

Dealer warranties for used spas are typically 60 or 90 days. The fact you're getting the full year to take it to the 5th year that the warranty would have covered makes this a good deal and shows they are confident in what they're selling you.

[10-79]

So... did you end up purchasing the Vanguard?  I just saw a Vanguard for sale on Craigslist that is also a 2009.  The private party seller is asking $6999 so the price you're getting seems like a pretty good one.

[Wannatub]

We went back yesterday and tested the Vanguard they have in their showroom and we pretty much decided to go ahead and pull the trigger (at last...)  We're at $4,900 -- got him to include a set of stairs and when my wife told him she really liked the towels in his test suite, he said we could have a couple of those too if it would help seal the deal...   We didn't go to their warehouse to see the actual spa yet because they're not "officially" offering it for sale until they've let it run it for at least a week at their facility to be sure everything is as it should be, but we're first in line once their service guys are done with it.  I get a pretty good vibe from this dealer and I have no doubt that the tub will be everything he says it is, so when we go back next weekend to see it, I'm bringing my checkbook! 

[10-79]

That's exciting news!  Sounds like you were definitely in the right place at the right time and scored a really good deal.  Enjoy!

[Wannatub]

So we went back to see the spa and it looks like it's all they said it was.  The cover shows no signs of weather damage and it's not at all heavy so I'm happy about that. The cover lifter is a Covermate III -- not my first choice, but not a deal breaker...   I noticed some very minor oxidation around the heater connections, and my sales guy said the service department already noted that and they're going to replace the heater before they sign off on it -- more good news for me.   All in all I was pretty happy with what I saw.

The only thing that surprised me is that it has an ABS frame!  I guess Hot Springs experimented with them for a couple of years but ended up going back to wood frames.  Supposedly it was a cost factor that made them switch back to wood, but I wonder...   Does anyone know if I should be concerned about this?  I'm not anxious to go back into shopping mode, but I'm even less anxious to buy into a known design problem if that's what really prompted Hot Springs to drop the concept.

Can some of you industry insiders please offer your thoughts and/or insights on my potential dilemma?

Thanks!

[kayanne]

I'm not an "industry insider" but I will say that I used to own a Vanguard (ex-hub got custody of it, LOL) and I loved it.  I can't imagine anyone not loving the moto-massage, but of course I could be completely wrong.  If I had the opportunity to buy that deal, I'd jump on it!

[Hot Spring Ace]

So we went back to see the spa and it looks like it's all they said it was.  The cover shows no signs of weather damage and it's not at all heavy so I'm happy about that. The cover lifter is a Covermate III -- not my first choice, but not a deal breaker...   I noticed some very minor oxidation around the heater connections, and my sales guy said the service department already noted that and they're going to replace the heater before they sign off on it -- more good news for me.   All in all I was pretty happy with what I saw.

The only thing that surprised me is that it has an ABS frame!  I guess Hot Springs experimented with them for a couple of years but ended up going back to wood frames.  Supposedly it was a cost factor that made them switch back to wood, but I wonder...   Does anyone know if I should be concerned about this?  I'm not anxious to go back into shopping mode, but I'm even less anxious to buy into a known design problem if that's what really prompted Hot Springs to drop the concept.

Can some of you industry insiders please offer your thoughts and/or insights on my potential dilemma?

Thanks!

The move back to wood was about the cost of the ABS frame. That model has an excellent history.

[Hottubguy]

So we went back to see the spa and it looks like it's all they said it was.  The cover shows no signs of weather damage and it's not at all heavy so I'm happy about that. The cover lifter is a Covermate III -- not my first choice, but not a deal breaker...   I noticed some very minor oxidation around the heater connections, and my sales guy said the service department already noted that and they're going to replace the heater before they sign off on it -- more good news for me.   All in all I was pretty happy with what I saw.

The only thing that surprised me is that it has an ABS frame!  I guess Hot Springs experimented with them for a couple of years but ended up going back to wood frames.  Supposedly it was a cost factor that made them switch back to wood, but I wonder...   Does anyone know if I should be concerned about this?  I'm not anxious to go back into shopping mode, but I'm even less anxious to buy into a known design problem if that's what really prompted Hot Springs to drop the concept.

Can some of you industry insiders please offer your thoughts and/or insights on my potential dilemma?

Thanks!

The move back to wood was about the cost of the ABS frame. That model has an excellent history.

Did they have better luck with the wood frame and that caused them to switch back?

[Hot Spring Ace]

So we went back to see the spa and it looks like it's all they said it was.  The cover shows no signs of weather damage and it's not at all heavy so I'm happy about that. The cover lifter is a Covermate III -- not my first choice, but not a deal breaker...   I noticed some very minor oxidation around the heater connections, and my sales guy said the service department already noted that and they're going to replace the heater before they sign off on it -- more good news for me.   All in all I was pretty happy with what I saw.

The only thing that surprised me is that it has an ABS frame!  I guess Hot Springs experimented with them for a couple of years but ended up going back to wood frames.  Supposedly it was a cost factor that made them switch back to wood, but I wonder...   Does anyone know if I should be concerned about this?  I'm not anxious to go back into shopping mode, but I'm even less anxious to buy into a known design problem if that's what really prompted Hot Springs to drop the concept.

Can some of you industry insiders please offer your thoughts and/or insights on my potential dilemma?

Thanks!

The move back to wood was about the cost of the ABS frame. That model has an excellent history.

Did they have better luck with the wood frame and that caused them to switch back?

The switch back had absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the ABS frame, it had worked great and there were no issues. I understand why you are asking and you're certqinly wise to turn over every rock during your search but there just is no smoking gun in this one.

[Wannatub]

Thanks for the input!  There are a lot of things I like about the ABS frame concept and I would have been really disappointed if there were a slew of negative reports on Hot Springs's expermients with them.  One ancillary benefit to this particular design is that I think I can use the fork lift channel built into the base as a chase to run the electrical conduit and feed the service from below which will make the connections invisible from anywhere on the patio!