Decisions Decisions, Purchasing a home was easier

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

my advice...buy a spa based on your: budget, family's needs, reputable manufacturer, reputable dealer, and a positive wet-test.....don't buy based on something that could potentially happen 10-15yrs down the road after you've already traded it in on a newer model

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

 You don't see many 12 year old name brands for free that work fine and don't leak. 

Prolly cause they're either selling them for $ or keeping and using them.

[Sam]

 You don't see many 12 year old name brands for free that work fine and don't leak. 

Prolly cause they're either selling them for $ or keeping and using them.

Exactly my point.  Rather than fix a leak in the foam, they are giving them away for free due to the cost and difficulty of repairing.  Watch cragslist for awhile and you will see it as well.

[Hot Spring Ace]

 You don't see many 12 year old name brands for free that work fine and don't leak. 

Prolly cause they're either selling them for $ or keeping and using them.

Exactly my point.  Rather than fix a leak in the foam, they are giving them away for free due to the cost and difficulty of repairing.  Watch cragslist for awhile and you will see it as well.

They're giving them away because they're not interested in trying to fix them more than anything. If you don't beleive that then why are most of those free spas on there without any problematic leak in foam issue. You linked to 2 spas on a page with dozens of free spas where most had no foam leak issue.

The reality is almost all those owners want someont to just take the spa away because they know they have little value and they simply don't want it any longer. 

[Spatech_tuo]

There are a lot of free spas out there in every city. Some of them are there because the owners just don't want them anymore. If you're picky and careful you can find some good ones with plenty of life left like that Jacuzzi (at least it looks like its worth further investigation). Some of them have issues and the owners either aren't interested in fixing them, are unsure of what they'd be getting into, don't want to put any money into them, want a new one because people just don't fix things like they used to in this throw away society ... it can vary but its typically a mix of age of spa, interest in using the spa, willingness to fix it, and sometimes they’re just junk that they want you to haul away for them … You can't point to 2 free spas that have leaks and use it to say people should avoid full foam. There are many free spas without leaks and most leaks are fixed pretty easily if you want to. When its a 7 year old spa people fix them, when its a 12 year old spa people sometimes just decide to move on. I say get a full foamed spa for the energy efficiency, take care of it over the years, learn how it works and become the DIYer and if it leaks in its old age give a fix a try before you give it away unless you just have no interest in having a spa any longer. I had a foam dig a couple months ago where the owner was worried about how long it would take. I got to the leak before the owner returned 10 minutes later to give me a cup of coffee. When I was done I heard the old "I wish I had tied it before I called you".

[Sam]

Just to be clear, I never said that people should avoid full foam.  Quite the contrary, I said that I sell full foam spas.  My only point is that I hear people say all the time that the foam holds the plumbing and helps prevent leaks, or that they rarely occur, or that it is no big deal.  I have seen evidence to the contrary and am expressing that opinion. 

Answer me this.  If you had a 12 year old jacuzzi brand that you spent $8k on.  Everything works fine but there is a leak in the foam.  If it were such a simple fix, why would you not fix it and or sell it rather than give it away for free?  I have seen many people over the years with this exact same situation.  Hell, there was a thread on here about a guy who got an estimate of $2,500 to fix a leak in his 5 year old Caldera.  I just sold a TP spa to a guy the other day because he was tired of dealing with leaks in his full foam spa and said that it was an expensive pain in the butt. 

I sell both types so that I can offer what the customer prefers rather than offering only one option and trying to tell them why it is the best.  I just notice that guys that sell only full foam often slightly distort the truth about it, as with guys that sell TP.  I don't have a dog in this fight.  I am simply playing devil's advocate here.  It sounds like we will never agree, and that's ok.  Both opinions have been expressed and the consumer can decide for themselves.  Luckily, no matter what they decide, I have both options available.  I don't need to convince them either way, unlike many dealers.