Hi Guys,
It is now very clear that this dealer is extremely self-centered and greedy.
It seems to me that if I complain to Sundance, this would give him cause to treat me badly if I need warranty or service.
With what I now know, I would never purchase a Sundance product, solely because of his attitude.
Electro
It seems to me that this dealer has *already* treated you badly and, if his attitude regarding future support is anything like his attitude regarding fixing the lifter issue, selling chemicals at reasonable prices, or even simply being available in the store, well, the odds of having him honor your service claims fully and expeditiously seem remote to me. In your shoes, I would call Sundance corporate because:
1. Logging your complaint now and including concerns over the dealer's willingness to perform future warranty service may give you more credibility and leverage to have corporate strongarm the dealer or assist in finding someone else to perform service down the road when you need it,
2. When companies get feedback from a customer in their target demographic group that he might start campaigning against the brand not because of the product but because of a personnel issue, the company will probably want to investigate. Because this dealer can potentially create more of the same issue, the odds are good that corporate will want to nip this in the bud if possible. This may result in some tangible benefits to you in an effort to restore your opinion of the brand. (One of my past companies did this regularly.)
3. You'll feel a little better.
I also wouldn't rule out getting Wells Fargo to assist you in putting financial pressure on the dealer, and a BBB complaint might add a bit of weight. Only you can determine if these things are worth your time or if they will only aggravate you and make a bad situation worse.
Fortunately, some of the dealers here are going well above the call of duty and trying to make the situation better for you. This is impressive since you are not their customer nor even someone who bought the line the dealer sells. Many kudos to these dealers; if one were near me, they'd have my business in an instant.
Good luck, and hopefully you can start enjoying the spa soon.
Starlight
BTW-I found the Maxxus manual in .pdf online PM me if you want the link.