First time spa buyer needing Help with making a purchase

[cobbmeo]

I got a price quote on an Arctic Kodiak spa, but the price seems high to me.  Quote shows "Spa with Options and Upgrades" with a total of $19,595, with a $2,062 reduction in price due to "Winter Order Incentives", so a total of $17,995. 

Upgrades include: Spaboy and Peak 2 Ozone, Ultimate Led lighting, the Aquatremor sound system, Skyfall Fogger and Therapy Air. 

The cover and a cover assist, and a set of steps are also included in that price. 

The dealer didn't have one on the floor for me to wet test, but I did wet test a Summit that had the spaboy system and the aquatrmor deluxe sound system, which we liked how the salt water system felt and I did like the sound of the stereo system.
It did have the led lighting and the skyfall fogger, which was ok I guess, along with the therapy air.  The sales person just through out a price of $18,000 for the Summit on the floor, but didn't give me an actual quote.   I was looking for a spa with a lounger, hence the Kodiak model.  I also briefly sat in a Cub with less options, but it has a lounger that I could try. 

I have been trying to do a fair amount of research on the web about spas/manufactures and I have read comments on being able to wet test spas, especially ones with loungers.  In my area, it seems many places are not really set up to do wet testing.
The Arctic dealer didn't offer to get a Kodiak in for me to wet test, and it is hard to make such a purchase with out doing so.

Before looking at the Arctic spas, I was leaning on getting an Epic from Marquis but did not wet test.  I do not have much experience as to what spas and jets feel like since the only ones up to this point have been outside hot tubs that are merely big round warm soaking tubs.  When I sat in the summit, it seemed nice as I didn't know what to expect, tried the different seats for a brief moment at each.  Then sat in the Cub, and noticed a big difference in how one seat massaged my back.

So how does one decide on a brand or model of spa when your limited to just looking at a spa online, or in a showroom, maybe wet test but probably can't?  Also, searching for reviews on spas can be really difficult to say the least.  At one point I was close to pulling the trigger on the Kodiak after the dealer offered me $500 off if I placed the order soon because he said his shipping cost would be lower if I ordered it with a few other orders he needed to place.... hmmm.... but I did other search on Arctic and was scared to even consider them, but the post were older and now I found this site to hopefully get some help.

Getting frustrated..... any help would be appreciated.

[The Wizard of Spas]

https://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/forum/index.php/topic,20710.0.html

This thread, and many, many others on this forum, will be able to help inspire you as to what questions to ask and how to go about the process.

[Foxy]

What sold me on Arctic was the way they were built.The way they insulate their spas made the most sense being able to utilize the heat off the pumps also so that heater becomes a secondary source of heat.Also they have 2 doors on each side of spa so that they can spot problems and fix them quickly.Also with this access you can upgrade your spa at anytime with new features that you may like in the future w/o having to trade in your spa. Jets they have are the best as no one jet does not spin and give you a nice massage. Most other companies have a lot of directional jets that shoot straight water out and feel like someone poking you in the back. I love their spa boy system as it is the only web connect self automated system out their taking the stress out of water chemistry. It also allows you to monitor your spa from anywhere in the world that has internet. Aquatremor itself gives you not only great sound but the sound wave massage you get from sound waves travelling through water benefits you more than jets themselves.
Personally I went with family lighting pkg.as yes the lighted up jets look great when spa empty but think about how many of those lighted jets you can see when sitting in front of them.Family lighting lights up everything but the jets and felt much better and cheaper way to go.Therapy air is really a waste of money as therapeutic value their is none and winter time it will cool your water down. Skyfall fogger ? much better off just staying with the standard waterfall feature as fogger just one more thing to go wrong and also you can only see the mist off fogger during evenings and cooler weather.
Just my thoughts as did a lot of research and love my Arctic Spa and options I went with.

[Foxy]

Also just wondering if you could tell me what Arctic dealer you were looking to buy from

[cobbmeo]

Thanks for your opinion, I liked some of the same reasons that you noted as to consider Arctic spa for my purchase.  My nearest dealer is Acme Pure Blu near Grand Rapids Michigan.  I do wish I could wet test the Kodiak though. 

[Tman122]

What sold me on Arctic was the way they were built.The way they insulate their spas made the most sense being able to utilize the heat off the pumps also so that heater becomes a secondary source of heat.

I'll hit on one point here. The tub needs to filter for 4 hours a day. The pump creates warmth that will fill the space inside the cabinet and create r factor. Not heat the water. Then there is the other 20 hours a day the pump isn't running and not creating R-factor. If your pump is running hot enough to heat the water it will burn out prematurely.

Don't let the BS sales spin sway your decision. Arctic's claims of heating without a heater are BS.

Not a bad tub just get past the heating with the pump BS. All tubs utilize the pump WARMTH to keep the pipes warm and create r-factor.

[Beck0101]

Man that's a lot of cabbage for a tub.  You can get a lot of tub within a stones throw of $10k.  Wowsers....

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Man that's a lot of cabbage for a tub.  You can get a lot of tub within a stones throw of $10k.  Wowsers....

Now days that isn't really out of line to be honest, most dealers who sell a premium brand AVERAGE $8,500 - $9,500 per invoice or even higher during events/shows

[bud16415]

We paid 12k for a premium brand tub that holds 6 and has an 8’x8’ foot print, is deep enough that even the tallest of people can get all under the water. It has a waterfall feature we never use unless we are showing guests and 95% of the time all the lights are set to blue and we don’t use all the lighting colors and features it has. I might make it red for V-day this weekend though. Our tub was bought to be therapeutic first and social second and most nights it is a mixture of both. We soak to get relaxed and soothed and don’t want a lot of music and distractions. We had used friends tubs a lot and knew the kind of things we liked and took a leap of faith after reading a lot of reviews and bought the one we did without testing it. The construction and insulation system and all the pumps and stuff I liked what I read and saw in person. I didn’t want a tub with sprayed in foam, based on making any repairs in the future. We ended up with one packed with fibercor insulation that allows finding a leak and repairing it much quicker if and when you get one. Our tub also has a split GFCI breaker and I liked that feature as we live where we have artic cold winters and if the heater fails the tub will still go into survival mode and circulate water slowly to keep pipes from freezing. I wish we had a salt system but am happy with the sanitizing system we have and at some point might add a salt converter aftermarket DIY system that will only take an hour to install and cost about 300 bucks. Have several friends that have these and all are happy with them.   

[Tman122]

I got a price quote on an Arctic Kodiak spa, but the price seems high to me.  Quote shows "Spa with Options and Upgrades" with a total of $19,595, with a $2,062 reduction in price due to "Winter Order Incentives", so a total of $17,995. 

Upgrades include: Spaboy and Peak 2 Ozone, Ultimate Led lighting, the Aquatremor sound system, Skyfall Fogger and Therapy Air. 

The cover and a cover assist, and a set of steps are also included in that price. 

The dealer didn't have one on the floor for me to wet test, but I did wet test a Summit that had the spaboy system and the aquatrmor deluxe sound system, which we liked how the salt water system felt and I did like the sound of the stereo system.
It did have the led lighting and the skyfall fogger, which was ok I guess, along with the therapy air.  The sales person just through out a price of $18,000 for the Summit on the floor, but didn't give me an actual quote.   I was looking for a spa with a lounger, hence the Kodiak model.  I also briefly sat in a Cub with less options, but it has a lounger that I could try. 

I have been trying to do a fair amount of research on the web about spas/manufactures and I have read comments on being able to wet test spas, especially ones with loungers.  In my area, it seems many places are not really set up to do wet testing.
The Arctic dealer didn't offer to get a Kodiak in for me to wet test, and it is hard to make such a purchase with out doing so.

Before looking at the Arctic spas, I was leaning on getting an Epic from Marquis but did not wet test.  I do not have much experience as to what spas and jets feel like since the only ones up to this point have been outside hot tubs that are merely big round warm soaking tubs.  When I sat in the summit, it seemed nice as I didn't know what to expect, tried the different seats for a brief moment at each.  Then sat in the Cub, and noticed a big difference in how one seat massaged my back.

So how does one decide on a brand or model of spa when your limited to just looking at a spa online, or in a showroom, maybe wet test but probably can't?  Also, searching for reviews on spas can be really difficult to say the least.  At one point I was close to pulling the trigger on the Kodiak after the dealer offered me $500 off if I placed the order soon because he said his shipping cost would be lower if I ordered it with a few other orders he needed to place.... hmmm.... but I did other search on Arctic and was scared to even consider them, but the post were older and now I found this site to hopefully get some help.

Getting frustrated..... any help would be appreciated.

Marquis is a good brand and so is Arctic. They will both be about the same in costs to operate. They will both be about the same longevity. They should both cost about the same. You won't add or change any jets, trust me. You will have enough options and seating positions in either brand to make you comfortable.

Seems the only question is, how do they feel? Which feels better to you? Which dealer is better?

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Marquis is good brand, personally I like Bullfrog, Marquis and Hot Springs as top 3 manufacturers in the industry, Grand Rapids, MI should have dealers for all 3...check them out, find a model or two from each that fits within your size/budget requirements and wet test, wet test, wet test...and of course make sure you are buying from a respectable dealer. 

[Water Boy]

That's not a bad price OP on the Kodiak option. That would be the fully loaded model and you were looking at pretty much every option that they have to offer on that spa as well.  You could maybe get the price down some if you were to remove a couple of those options, or maybe you could look at a Kodiak legend instead of a Kodiak epic.   Maybe after you do some comparative shopping you can go back to the Arctic dealer, and tell him you've been looking around and get some prices and you want their very best price on that spot if you were to buy one right now. Maybe  they will work with you a little more if you try that.

The Arctic spas are definitely on par with all the other brands you've mentioned. Many regard them as one of the upper tier brands in the industry. I would maybe go ahead and work has the summit, or even the covers that will give you a good feel for the audit j I would maybe go ahead and work has the summit, or even the Cub as, that will give you a good feel for the Arctic Spas jets.  I would also buy from a good local reputable dealer which it sounds like you were doing that anyways. Good luck with your search!