HELP! Marquis Quest

[hail2queen]

I bought a used Marquis Quest yesterday from a guy who said he formerly worked for Marquis and had taken this spa on as a project. He said the shell was a 2004 but the spa parts were 2006. Apparently the spa had a leak and it was returned and reconditioned. The guy said he ran it back through production to make sure everything was okay, and it looked fine when I went to check it out. Well, it was delivered last night and is now leaking... I see a drip from a tube on the right front bottom of the spa. I don't know if this was pre-existing or if it happened while he was moving it. There are also flakes of what I think is silicon blowing out from the jets whenever I run them. The guy I bought it from said it was skin from his brother having a sunburn... but there is no way.  It looks like the silicon stuff that was peeling off from around the control panel. Is this indicative of an even bigger problem? What do I do? HELP!!!!!

[drewstar]

How did you pay for the spa? (Credit card, check, money order, cash) Do you have recourse by stopping payment on the check?

Did you get anything in writing?  

What do you know about this person?

How much did you pay?


The bad news is, I bet it's buyer beware. And you might have bought a pig in a poke.

I've never heard of a spa being "Re-run" throught the factory.  ? ? ?

What did the seller say when you told him it leaked?  If's he's a decent guy, I would think maybe you could split the repair bill?


Hopefully, the leak is just  something that came undone from the move....is it piping or a small tube? Is it something that can be clamped?

Once you get the leak taken care of, I would get the tub super clean.
I would at the  very least  get a new filter, and purchase a swirl away product  to really clean out the tub.   Those flakes could be a type of algei.

[hail2queen]

He said he replaced both filters before he delivered them to me, and the flakes really do not look or feel like plant matter. It is more like a silicon/plastic matter. Would anything have been used to seal inside the pipes that could blow out when the jets are run?
I paid by cashier's check and there was no written contract, only an oral agreement. I haven't called the guy yet because I wanted to check into things first. I got the spa with the transducer sound system, chemicals & dolphin remote for 4K. Considering a spa should depreciate by about 45% in 2 years time I thought that was a pretty good deal. But now I wonder if something serious might be wrong with the spa. Any ideas?

[drewstar]

There's a couple of decent marquis folks in here who could probabaly talk very intenligently to you about the specifics.  (the leak, the "siilicone" some basic things to check for and questions to ask the seller. They might even be able to verify what year the tub is via the serial number (to see if the guy is telling the truth).  

Good luck.

[PotomacG]

... I see a drip from a tube on the right front bottom of the spa. ....

Tube on the right front bottom...  sounds like it could be one of your drain valves.  Did the seller supply you with a complete owner's manual?  

I know it sounds too simple, but it would be nice if that was what's leaking.  

Best of luck finding out.

[Chas]

I would sure get a technician out there right away.

It could be a very minor thing - a loose connection or hose or whatever. But if it's a big problem, you need a third-party to vouch for it.

As far as the flakes: could it be water mold? Do they look like somebody dropped a tissue in the water and it came all apart?

[hail2queen]

There are manuals online I could look at, thanks for the suggestion. Any ideas about the flakes? It is grosssssss.
PS. I totally love this tub otherwise!

[hail2queen]

Chas... yeah that is exactly what it looks like and it is a pale yellowish/dead skin color. So that can be mold? How does that happen in a spa? Is that easy to get rid of?  As for getting a technician out to look at it, are you suggesting that I just call someone from out of the phone book? I am really hoping this is something that can be resolved easily.

[Cola]

Not sure about the quest but the marquis warranties are transferable.  Try contacting Marquis.  Or you could IM Markee, they should pop in here soon anyhow.
Good luck
Steve

[MarKee]

hail2queen:  It sounds like you are in Oregon?  It sounds like the tub is some sort of reconditioned spa and those carry no warranty.  Did you buy the tub from Andy Garcia by any chance?  If the tub is leaking in the equipment compartment, that is usually a pretty simple fix, something is probably just a little loose.  If the tub sat for a long period of time with no water in it, the flakes might be what is called pipe mold, which is an easy fix if you use a product called Swirl Away.  Are the flakes white or clear?  If you are in the Salem/Portland area, I work for the dealer that would service your spa, let me know if you need any more help.

[hail2queen]

I called the guy (not Andy) and it turns out the drain valve was left open... I turned the red valve shut and will watch to see if all the puddling stops. He had no idea about the flakes.. said he had just swirl treated it himself and the water chemistry had been kept up all along... very weird. I will try super shocking with dichlor and hand skimming the flakes every day, any other suggestions? I appreciate everyone being so helpful.

[MarKee]

Sometimes it takes two times of using Swirl Away to get pipe mold out of the plumbing.  That's a minor problem though.  It's a good thing there is no leak, it was just the drain

[drewstar]

I called the guy (not Andy) and it turns out the drain valve was left open... I turned the red valve shut and will watch to see if all the puddling stops. He had no idea about the flakes.. said he had just swirl treated it himself and the water chemistry had been kept up all along... very weird. I will try super shocking with dichlor and hand skimming the flakes every day, any other suggestions? I appreciate everyone being so helpful.

That's  great if it's just an open drain or a loose fitting.

The "dead skin"  flakes sound to me like a mold/algie.  On an older tub I got 3rd hand I saw the same thing.  I too thought "silicone"  but it was the white mold.  I'd nuke the tub with some swirl away (even if the previous owner said he did, Spend the $8 and do it again.) I'd scrub the tub and put in new filters. You want to start off as clean as possible.

Hope it works out for you.  

[tmknies1]

Hail,

If the guy has scammed you (hopefully not the case), you can go back to the bank and see if they can place a stop payment on the cashiers check. People do this all the time (I work for a bank).

Good luck.