would you buy ....

[buyingsoon]

Ive been lurking on here for a while, and finally decided to post. Its been many years since my family had a hot tub.

I have looked at the majority of the major brands over past six months. I narrowed it down to two.  Heres the dilema.

brand X I like a lot, but that dealer is going out of business after 20 years. Brand Z I also like but its one of those mom & pop built spas, and that store is closing as well soon.

I can still get service for brand X as they are national company. Brand Z is good as well, a bit cheaper, but no service once dealer closes.

Dont tell me to look at others that will be around for me, we have narrowed it down to one of these two. Im just asking for opinions if you were in the same boat.

[HotTubMan]

Go with X. If X is a solid brand, another dealer will move in to town or nearby soon.

HTM

[Mendocino101]

I to would go with the National brand....long term it just makes more sense...

[Vinny]

I agree, I would go with the national brand. If you buy the mom and pop brand and it breaks it could cost you more in the long run. Also, If the tub develops a major problem, you'll be out of luck.

Just my 2 cents!

[windsurfdog]

Warranty would be he deciding factor.  There will be no warranty performance (if there even is a warranty) on brand z.  I would recommend you contact the brand x manufacturer and find their protocol for servicing warranty issues once your dealer closes.  At least you should have some warranty support of some kind with brand x.  Good luck.

[Chas]

Warranties are wonderful things. I love to know I can make a phone call and get something taken care of. And I agree that if the market is good there will likely be another dealer along in a short time. That would tend to push me toward the major name brand.

[Spatech_tuo]

Go with Brand X unless you want to become your own service man. Brand Z would be a big gamble.

[empolgation]

With that info brand X would be the better choice. I suggest contacting the brand X manufacturer and ask where the closest dealer is that could service your tub and ask if they know of a new dealership opening to replace the one going out of business.

[Chas]

Go with Brand X unless you want to become your own service man.

You bring up a point that I don't think was mentioned. Roger bought a spa which he has enjoyed tinkering with. He has gotten good service out of it, I don't think anything has broken on it - he just likes to tinker with it, improving it.

There are people out there who have an altar full of tools, and who are not the least bit troubled by digging into something as simple as a hot tub. Those folks would be the perfect customer for a tub built by your typical mom-and-pop operation. These small companies are forced to select from off-the-shelf components, which can work quite well if they have a bit of experience assembling them.

You may end up with a tub that does a great job, which you can take care of yourself by purchasing generic parts if needed. Also, some of these operations can offer you the 'custom' touch of being able to install a larger/smaller pump, or extra jets, or they may be able to put a couple of jets in lower/higher locations for people with long torso or whatever.

I tend to look at the ease of owning a spa from a major maker as the only way to go becuase I don't have time to tinker any more. As a result, I strongly recommend a major name brand. But that's a decision each person has to make.