I'm looking for a 5-6 person tub, no lounger, in the $6s, though I'm willing to stretch into the very low $7s. With floor models and sales, I'm finding them in Bullfrog, Nordic and Sundance 680.
My question is on warranties. I spoke with a friend about her Sundance 880 which she had for about 5 years (until they moved across country, and left the tub). Lots of great feedback, and she said they'll buy another soon, but when I asked about repairs she said "oh, we had a couple of things go wrong, but it was all covered under warranty." She thought one was a pump. She remembered at least 3 service issues. Her husband is meticulous, so let's assume it was well cared for. I am too, so I'm thinking our experiences could be similar (I know there are lots of other factors like bather load, water quality, etc. but you can only control so many variables!)
Her and her spouse make a lot more than me and mine, so they can afford an 880. But thinking about it -- if the 880 had warranty claims in the 5 years she had it, is saving $2-4K by going down market (and the shorter warranty) just going to be eaten up later by issues outside of warranty?
What kinds of repairs can you expect from a hot tub within 3, 5 and 10 years? I know Ozonator has like a 3 year shelf life, but what else?
