First Time Buyer - Freeflow - Houston, TX

[spitz10]

Hi all, been lurking around and browsing for a couple weeks now, and about the pull the trigger. I've dialed in on the Freeflow Monterey (http://freeflowspas.com/shop-spas/monterey/, and just have a few final questions:

- There is a good local dealer here who has been in business for a long time selling Hot Springs and Freeflow. I know the prices are marked up with intention to discount and negotiate (when I was in there the salesman basically said this). I'm used to negotiating for cars, where there are lots of dealers (and dealer invoice prices are known) to play off of each other, but in this case, I have neither an alternative dealer, nor good info on pricing. I'm not looking to squeeze every penny out of them, but I'd definitely avoid wasting alot (their and mine) of time if you guys have any insight as to how much room they have in it,  the best way to approach the negotiation, etc.. It's listed for $6800 I believe.

- I'm still concerned about the 110V, but mostly because of heating speed rather than being able to run jets and heater at same time (I'm definitely on the side of just wanting really hot water and don't care nearly as much about jets). I can't seem to find reliable info as to how long it would take to heat up the water (from say a standard 75 degrees or something). I mention this because I'm still open to 230 if necessary.

- Lastly, before I open up pandora's box and tell the salesman specifically what I'm interested in, are there any typical "upselling" features/things I need/don't need? I always default to denying 100% of the additional options, but want to make sure that's the right play.

Thanks for all the contributions to the forum - very helpful!

[BullFrogSpasMN]

$6,800 for a Monterey? I used to sell them for like $4,500-5k loaded up/delivered/chems/steps/etc.....If you main purpose of buying a tub is high pressure/quality jets I would have them fill it up so you can test it before putting money down on it because the jets are pretty weak in those models

[spitz10]

Right, definitely not too concerned about the jets, as quality jets are very much a secondary concern for me. Freeflow seems to get me to the price point I want (~5k) while maintaining quality, just without bells and whistles, which I don't really value.

Knowing you sold them for 4500-5000 was exactly the info I was looking for though. I figured they had about 20-25% extra room in there to negotiate. How long ago did you sell them for that?

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Right, definitely not too concerned about the jets, as quality jets are very much a secondary concern for me. Freeflow seems to get me to the price point I want (~5k) while maintaining quality, just without bells and whistles, which I don't really value.

Knowing you sold them for 4500-5000 was exactly the info I was looking for though. I figured they had about 20-25% extra room in there to negotiate. How long ago did you sell them for that?

my last Freeflow I sold was in early (Jan - March) 2015 before I switched companies....$6,800 is an inflated MSRP, every single Hot Spring dealer I knew sold those for $4,000 - $5,000 at the absolute most.