Still shopping.......

[Mudheadsports]

Hi all,
We are still shopping for our first spa.  We started with maax, Great Lakes, hydropool, lazyboy....eliminated that one for sure.....sundance and jacuzzi.  We've wet tested the maax and thought it was a nice spa.  We just saw the sundance and jacuzzi and have scheduled a wet test on them too.  We are specifically looking sting the cameo by sundance and J-465 by jacuzzi....maax 471.  Any input on these models.....any others we should be looking at?  We are in southern michigan.....any help and comments would be appreciated!!!!!
Thanx again

[Tman122]

IMO Maxx isn't in the same league as Sundance or Jacuzzi but you be the judge. Look inside.

[Ryan VSO]

Tman , What would be the difference in quality from an elite 471 and and jacuzzi 465? what makes maax not be in the same league ?

[Hottubguy]

One of the differences is in insulation method. I really don't like the way maax does it

[Tman122]

The inside of a Maxx is laid out sloppily. The insulation is done haphazardly. The way the pumps and equipment are fastened pallet style inside the tub shows mediocre quality in my opinion.

[Ryan VSO]

So if i get it right you are saying that because you dont like the layout of  the inside equipments maax is not in the same league of jacuzzi?

[Tman122]

VSC, I am not a big fan of Jacuzzi either for other reasons. Like I don't like their proprietary equipment that I consider overpriced. I also think their tubs are overpriced but a name in this day and age garners higher pricing. I do however think that their long standing reputation of building a quality product and backing that product puts them in a different league. This of course is all just my opinion. Same with Sundance.

[Ryan VSO]

ok thats fine but what about that custumer who liked the wet test of the maax , I might be wrong but this guy wish to know  the quality difference because at the end if he is ending up paying 1500 $ for a jacuzzi just because its branded jacuzzi he might want to save that money so maybe you could compare both tub to see the difference in quality of component they are using , features that are included , warranties , wich Uv is better , so at the end he can make a clear descision . You guys are proffessionals so I think he is hoping to get this kind of info here .

[Tman122]

In Northern Minnesota there are 4 dealers. There used to be 5 and the one that didn't survive was Maxx. They made a good go of it but had to compete with the likes of Marquis, Hot Springs, Sundance and D1. With that kind of competition if your not on top of your game the consumers will let you know. They cost more to operate and had more problems than any of the other brands and lost business because of it. That my friend is real life up here in red neck ville.

All of the component manufacturers make, including but not limited to Waterway, Sta-rite, Emerson, Aquaflo Gecko, Balboa, products ranging in price and quality from up here to down there. And to say that all Gecko is the same is a misleading statement. Do you have a Waterway catalog? They have jets that cost 8 bucks and jets that cost 30 bucks and they look pretty much the same. Any manufacturer of hot tubs can go to a component manufacturer and purchase bulk product made to their specs. Some spa manufacturers may require high quality specs and some not so much.

So to the OP I think Great Lakes make a good quality value type tub maybe a little higher than value. I think they have some good ideas and design. I would never consider a Lazyboy. Don't know a lot about Hydropool but have heard some OK things. Maxx would be off MY list. And I have Sundance and Jacuzzi in my top ten. But this means nothing to anyone but me. Maybe it will help the OP maybe not.

[Ryan VSO]

So if i get it right , you are speculating that maax is not good  because they cost more to run and had more issue but you got nothing to back it up right . Im not saying your right or wrong im just saying that you consider yourself a specialist so basicly this custumer who dont know much about spa might be influenced by what you are saying and all you got to back it up is that they dont sell maax anymore in your area so they are not in the same league ... with all respect ,you should be more careful about what you say because some custumers are influence by what you say.

From where Im from they are selling maax , jacuzzi and sundance under the same roof , and you are right that waterway sell shit component at low price and also sell good and reliable components at a higher price wich allow manufacturer to use their brand name to sell cheaper made spa to the custumer who doesnt know all those informations and I personnally think that it should be illegal but thats another subject .

From what I see , Jacuzzi if offering a 2 years jet warranty while maax is offering 3 , if you check around the internet you will see that not only jacuzzi jets are exclusive but they are also known to break .

Its prooven that a perimeter insulation that actually heat air is a thousand time more effective than a system that heat the water BUT last time I went to see a maax , their insulation did not impress me much BUT yet again if we are talking about 75 $ / year difference , I would pick up the perimeter because it shut the noise and give an easy access to the equipments .

It would be interesting to know what the price for the maax one and the jacuzzi one

Jacuzzi does have a circ pump wich is very good and the maax does not

They both promote the UV sanitation system but let's be honest , the Jacuzzi Uv sanitation system is a joke , they were using this system in 2008 , I think its 5 or 8gpm  so it almost impossible to have all your water sanitized.
 
I dont know about the Maax one , maybe its better maybe its not who knows.( maybe you can help us on this one )

Hot spring does sell around 50 tubs max over here so does that mean they are not good ??

Im sure this custumer will like to keep that spa for at least 10 years so lets talk about parts replacement cost :

Cover per exemple : a jacuzzi cover is custum made meaning that you will pay 499-699 $
Maax cover will cost : 199-399 $
Jets , headrest ,pumps , spa controller

Its like a car , people are considering that it will cost less money for replacement part on a chevy than on a bmw.


Could you help us going through those questions so this custumer can have the informations he was looking for from those hot tub professionals ?

[Quickbeam]

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread, but as I am also looking for a first tub, I was curious Tman122, if you would post what your top 5 tubs would be?

[Hottubguy]

Maax costs considerably more to run and around my parts they are not known to be very reliable either. I would take a full foam tub any day over what maax does. I don't think they are a bad tub just not one of the better ones. If you are looking for a tub with perimeter insulation I would suggest sticking with arctic. In my part of Massachusetts the maax dealer is by far the guy selling the least amount of tubs

[Ryan VSO]

how much does it cost per months  and what parts are not reliable ?

[Mudheadsports]

Thanx guys for all the advise.......we are wet testing next Thursday the jacuzzi and sundance.  We sat in them empty and the jacuzzi actually was not as comfortable as the sundance.....the lounger especially was shorter...we are both 6 ft!!!!  The price difference.....right now is nominal....the sundance/jacuzzi dealer wants to move product and his price is actually $200.00 less than the Maas.  That's without negotiating....
Will check back tomorrow and again thanx for all the input!!!!!

[Jacuzzi Jim]

  Jacuzzi wise he wants to move his product because things are changing in the Jacuzzi line. PM me for details if you wish.   Don't let all the crap Vortex is spouting scare you!  Wet test, if you like it you do if you don't move on... 

 
 As far as v,tex goes

Jacuzzi was not running UV in 2008,2009 or 2010 border line 2011 early 2012.  Your lack of knowledge about other spas does not surprise me!  Cover replacement wise your numbers are no where close,  except on the 400 series they are spendy from the factory.   Jets LOL you know how many of the "current" say in the last 4/5 years I replace, maybe 10 a year if that.   Some of the original ones with the little plastic tabs that broke quite a few, but Jacuzzi came out with a fix, butjet wise that was over 5 to 10 years ago.   Get your facts straight,  again you really don't know anything about anything! 

  I would say Tman is again spot on with what he says, but if you are going to put Sundance in another level above Jacuzzi it doesn't make sense as they use virtually the same equipment less Jets and filtration and a couple of other goodies for the most part as Jacuzzi..


 Vortex, you going to ruin this thread as well with your BS and rederick?   I value an opinion but all you want to do is start an argument and you really don't have a clue on what your spouting!