New buyer help

[BillyBoB4869]

Hi All,

My wife and I are new to owning a hot tub and want some experienced advice on what brand we should buy as our first hot tub.

We only have 3 local retailers (not including Costco hot tubs). The brands I have available to me are Maax, Sundance and Jacuzzi.

So far, we visited all 3 retailers and sat in all 3 different brands of tubs. We seem to be leaning more towards Maax 461 or 470. The salesman had pitched this tub to us as more of a therapy specific tub. We liked the idea of ease of repair, since we have been told it will eventually have to happen. We got a bit of a sticker shock when he told us the 461 was $7400 and the 470 was pushing $9600.

My questions are, is the prices on the 461 and 470 reasonable? (my understanding is both hot tubs are base models with no options other than UV filter) Would any of you recommend going with Jacuzzi or Sundance? Which model and why?

Thank you for any help you can provide.

[Tman122]

Keep in mind I have worked on hundreds of tubs. And 99% of the leak repairs I have done have been performed in the equipment area. The fact that the Maxx salesman told you it's easy to repair really means there is very little insulation in the way IF there is a leak outside the equipment area. Which are very rare on most quality brands. So when ever you skimp on insulation to make it easy to repair you also pay more to operate the tub. And I have looked at the way they insulate their tubs. If you live in a warm climate this may not be an issue but seems insulation should be more important to you than ease of repair. Unless of course Maxx leaks more than other brands?

[BillyBoB4869]

Thanks for your input.

We went back to the Sundance dealer and are pretty close on pulling the trigger on a 780 series (Chelsee). We sat in it and like the feeling of all of the seats and jets. The jets and seating positions were slightly better than the Maax 470 we sat in. Their asking $7700 w/o the speaker option. Does any here feel this is a fair price?

[richierich]

Seems to be a very good price for the Chelsee. I was quoted $8500 otd in 2013. Does your quote include tax, delivery, steps ,cover,lift ? The Chelsee is a very nice solid tub with an open lay out. Good choice!

[BillyBoB4869]

Sweet. Thanks for your opinion.

The dealer was also including chemicals, delivery, steps (plastic ones...), and cover lift into the $7700 price. They tell me this is a 10% off sale price though.