Artesian or Hot Spring w/a Splash and a Twist

[canigetahottub]

Not your normal choice...A 6-month old, installed Artesian Santa Cruz ($4k) or a new Hot Spring Jetsetter ($8k+ including installation).

We're buying a home that has an Artesian Santa Cruz Hot Tub installed. We can buy the hot tub with the home or the Seller will remove and take the tub with them.

Dropped by a showroom that sells and repairs hot tubs in the area. They represent Hot Spring and Jacuzzi. When asked about Artesian, they called them "leakers" as the jets frequently leak. Artesian Santa Cruz has 33 jets vs 22 in the Jetsetter. They say: most of their repair calls are on brands other than Hot Spring or Jacuzzi. They say that Hot Spring and Jacuzzi are very reliable...if maintained properly. We are also considering salt vs chlorine, which apparently is not an easy conversion with the Artesian Santa Cruz.

Price is important, yet reliability and service are more important to us. We have read other discussions that suggest that Artesian's warranty is less than expected. Artesian is not sold in our immediate area, so repair is third party and provided by those who represent competitive brands. Buying and getting service locally always seems to be a smart move considering the odds are always better you'll get better service from where it was purchased.

So...

- Is the Hot Spring Jetsetter worth twice that of the 6-month old, installed Artesian Santa Cruz 33?;

- Which maker's hot tub will provide the most years of reliable service with the least troubles?; and

- Any and all thoughts you'd like to share is greatly appreciated...about hot tubs that is!

[castletonia]

I have no idea what the Artesian sells for new, so I don’t know if that is a fair price or not.  Keep in mind, no warranty on the Artesian for you.  Artesian makes a quality hot tub.  I would ignore the statement that they are leakers.

As for Hot Spring, I sell them and obviously think very highly of them.  You reference 22 jets, which would be a Jetsetter NXT.  If so, really, really good price.  That price would be fair for the regular Jetsetter which has 14 jets.

Will the homeowner allow you to try their hot tub?  Also, is it filled and running?  Small hot tubs in my opinion are important to wet test.  Not a lot of space to begin with and if you are tall, or a bigger than average person, they can be confining and uncomfortable.

[d00nut]

I have limited experience with Artesian, but from what I know, they'd be a brand I'd consider flooring here at my store, which should say how good they are (very few brands I would even remotely consider.)

That being said, I too sell Hot Spring, and I am not a fan of whoever the sales person is who said that to you.  They may be pros and cons, but that is a classic novice sales person who doesn't know how to build their own brand up other than bashing another.

My largest concern would be... who sells and services Artesian?  Talk to them.

If you get a new hot tub, great!  Service after the install is where the dealer can shine and make your experience amazing... or where the dog turds really start to show up.

[canigetahottub]

re: doonut: Thank you for your post. There were several moments during our local dealer visit that caused concern and doubt, hence this post. It's understood that the warranty does not follow ownership changes and the closest dealership is 2 hours away. Being a hot tub newbie and not knowing hot tubs to any extent, the warranty/service factors are a concern. We will need support in the early days of ownership. Any service would likely be handled by a non-Artesian dealer. We'd expect asking for support when they have no relationship to the tub would be expected to be strained until repairs where needed. That may sound unreasonable, yet understandable. In the end, this all comes down to gambling the $4k with hopes that all will work out. If it wasn't a 6-month old tub, we would not be taking that gamble.

[Tman122]

We are also considering salt vs chlorine, which apparently is not an easy conversion with the Artesian Santa Cruz.

My understanding is salt is converted to chlorine in a salt water tub.

[Spatech_tuo]

re: doonut: Thank you for your post. There were several moments during our local dealer visit that caused concern and doubt, hence this post. It's understood that the warranty does not follow ownership changes and the closest dealership is 2 hours away. Being a hot tub newbie and not knowing hot tubs to any extent, the warranty/service factors are a concern. We will need support in the early days of ownership. Any service would likely be handled by a non-Artesian dealer. We'd expect asking for support when they have no relationship to the tub would be expected to be strained until repairs where needed. That may sound unreasonable, yet understandable. In the end, this all comes down to gambling the $4k with hopes that all will work out. If it wasn't a 6-month old tub, we would not be taking that gamble.

Some people feel ok about being their own service person in a case like this and others feel "I have a regular job, I don't want to train to be a hot tub service tech I just want to own the hot tub". If you're the latter that's perfectly understandable. If there was a local dealer that would help a lot.

I can almost guarantee that owner wants no part of taking the tub with them and would probably counter to the point where you'd feel better about hiring someone as needed for service. I'd play hardball and say "no thanks it doesn't add up for me at that price" and wait for a counter or suggest you counter (like $3k) and if they don't then I'd suggest you look at new.