D1 spas: Sequencer question

[solo]

OK...I have 2 spas that I want to buy.  Made offers to both, now just waiting.  Figure I will go find a 3rd spa that I like just to be safe and maximize my options and competition for my business.  D1 is the next stop.

I haven't wet tested or even been to the dealer.  But I hear their product has a sequencer that is electronically controlled.  Good feature?  Potentially risky as something else that can break?

I've also heard that the sequencer feels heavenly, so I'm gonna have to try it.  Just figured I'd run it around the horn here first.  

[loosenupspas]

Coleman spas by maax has something similar in their model M6 and it very nice.  Check out the M6 at your local coleman retailer.

[D.P. Roberts]

Solo, I don't believe I've chimed in on any of your posts yet. I'm not a dealer, so it really doesn't bother me to read your "wishy washy" posts. I think many of the dealers on this forum have had other customers like you, so they're "venting" in your direction - unfortunately for you.

So, please don't take what I'm saying as the words of an "angry dealer".

As you mentioned, you've made offers on two different spas that you like. You say in the other thread that you've "narrowed it down to two." And yet here you are with a third brand, "just to be safe".

Why? Why is this just a "safe" brand? If there's a D1 dealer in your area, and it sounds like you're interested, why are you considering it as an equal to Caldera and HS? Don't you owe it to yourself to go to the dealer and test soak a D1 before considering bids on the other two spas?

You mentioned a few threads ago that you realized that your "haggle first, test later" strategy wasn't working for you. It seems to me like you're doing it again.

Here's my advice.

1) Go to the D1 dealer, and wet test one of the spas you're interested in.
2) Then, make a list of ALL the manufacturers in your area that MIGHT interest you, whether you've considered them yet or not.
3) Then, do some research to narrow down ones you might actually want to wet test.
4) Wet test them. Get an idea of which dealers you liked as well.
5) Make a list of all the spas you wet tested & liked, who also had dealers you think you might like. Add the ones you've already liked - Caldera and HS - to this list.
5) THEN make offers on the spas you liked. It may be just two, the Caldera and HS you've already tried. It may include D1, or others (have you looked at Arctic, Artesian, Marquis? They're worth a try).
6) At this point you will have worked out a deal with one or more dealers. Evaluate your deals, and pick the best one. Then buy that spa.

The problem with your current approach is that there's not an inexhaustible supply of brands and dealers out there. Once you've tried all the brands in your area, there's nothing else you can do - you have to work with what you've got.
If D1 doesn't work out, it may be that Caldera and HS are your only two choices. If both dealers reject your offers, what will you do then?

[solo]

Your approach makes sense.  I am just tired of shopping and ready to buy.  When I see something I like that I feel will make ma happy and last, I make an offer.  I thought that sales reps might appreciate the fact that I was ready to deal instead of having to look at every brand.  But that strategy hasn't worked.

I've got D1 to go to.  Bullfrog is here and I  have wet tested.  Still an option  Jacuzzi is here, no spa to wet test yet. Should be here this week  Vita Spa is here.  Sundance is here but doesn't have a spa that I want.  I can probably also drive up to Wash DC to get a deal if I can't make a deal in Richmond.  The other option is to buy used.  One of my friends did this and has very little money invested.  It's a more risky apporach, but an option.  

Again, I have tried to let the sales reps know that I am serious about buying a spa and not just shopping everywhere.  I truly thought that they would appreciate that and also that it might save me some time.  But I am realizing that unless these guys feel competition, they probably aren't gonna make me their best deal.  It's all a game. Admittedly,  I haven't played it the wisest.  But I do feel that I will get my deal.  

[Spatech_tuo]

You should be happy with most any of the options you mentioned but at the same time I wonder if no matter what you buy that you'll have some buyer's remorse afterward that some other spa may have been better or that you wonder if you might have gotten a better deal somehow.

When you do buy something, leave it all behind you and enjoy the spa.

[solo]

Great advice Spatech.

Once I make my deal, I am done.  No looking back.  My wife does this and it drives us both crazy.  We will make a big purchase then she will comb the papers for weeks after just to make sure she got the best deal.

Not me.  Once I buy somnething, it's time to enjoy and move on.  

[Lars]

The sequencer looked like a very nice feature.  Don't see any reason why it would be more prone to break than any other switch on the board.

[Seahawk]

Solo,
I will save you the time coming north to DC area.  Both Caldera and Hotspring spas are going to be priced higher than the budget you have fit for yourself. Our bottom lined price on the Envoy is more than you have budged with no room for taking more off. Knowing the guys who sell Caldera, their prices are right on par with the dc metro area.   Plus, we will not be able to do any warranty work for you.  Just too far.  Having travelled and talked to many Hotspring dealers throughout the country a deal at $8400-8500 for an Envoy is a steal!  Remember the cost of business is also want goes into cost of spa.  If you want to find the best possible prices, than you have to find a place where cost of living and business costs are kept low.  Maryland and Northern Virginia are the wealthest places in the country, so doing business in these areas come at a premium.  Good Luck

[Richs100]

Solo,
I will save you the time coming north to DC area.  Both Caldera and Hotspring spas are going to be priced higher than the budget you have fit for yourself. Our bottom lined price on the Envoy is more than you have budged with no room for taking more off.......Remember the cost of business is also want goes into cost of spa.  If you want to find the best possible prices, than you have to find a place where cost of living and business costs are kept low.  Maryland and Northern Virginia are the wealthest places in the country, so doing business in these areas come at a premium.  

Seahawk

Wow, I feel much better about what I paid you guys for my Envoy!  
But I also know you guys have got my back, too!

Rich

[Tom]

No looking back.  My wife does this and it drives us both crazy.  We will make a big purchase then she will comb the papers for weeks after just to make sure she got the best deal.

Fact of Life #317:  Whatever you buy will go on sale just after the price guarantee runs out.   8-)

[RK23]

Solo, I'm not sure if it's in another string, but how did you make out on pricing for the Geneva?

[solo]

Solo, I'm not sure if it's in another string, but how did you make out on pricing for the Geneva?

The Caldera rep didn't budge from his $9000 price on the Geneva.  Probably because he wants to sell me the Caldera C45 (stripped down Geneva) for $7500.  I walked from both deals.  

I found 4 other people on-line that got a 2007 Geneva for $8000 or less.  So I faxed my dealer the message board quotes and offered hiom $8000 for his Geneva.  He didn't take it.

That's OK though, I'm in no rush and not set on the Geneva (though I really liked it).  Since leaving the Caldera store I found a tub I liked in my price range and am wet testing another in my price range this weekend.  

[East_TX_Spa]

If I were still selling Caldera, I would have sold it to you for $9500, but I would have thrown in a pet monkey that you could name Chewie to sit on your shoulder in the spa and groom you.  NO one can pass up a free monkey.  Sold a Jetsetter and a Vanguard today, got rid of 2 damn monkeys.  Got 15 more crappin' all over the place that need a good home.

Terminator

[Spatech_tuo]

The Caldera rep didn't budge from his $9000 price on the Geneva.  Probably because he wants to sell me the Caldera C45 (stripped down Geneva) for $7500.   

... or possibly because your arbitrary offer of $8000 was not sufficient on that spa for him to make his business work in the region of the country where he does business. I imagine he could have made an excetion for you but since he was not beholden to you in any way he passed at an offer that he felt was too low. No harm done on either side.

[Spatech_tuo]

The Caldera rep didn't budge from his $9000 price on the Geneva.  Probably because he wants to sell me the Caldera C45 (stripped down Geneva) for $7500.  I walked from both deals.  

I found 4 other people on-line that got a 2007 Geneva for $8000 or less.  So I faxed my dealer the message board quotes and offered hiom $8000 for his Geneva.  He didn't take it.

That's OK though, I'm in no rush and not set on the Geneva (though I really liked it).  Since leaving the Caldera store I found a tub I liked in my price range and am wet testing another in my price range this weekend.  

You originally only had $7k to spend but couldn't get the spa you wanted and now its an $8k budget but you’re in the same boat because instead of going after spas that you were a little to short of cash on at $7k you added the extra $1k and then started looking at spas that are about $1.5k more than the spas you were looking at when you had $7k to spend!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, you talked about not wanting to buy cars that are more expensive than $30k and about how your dad regretted buying a Mercedes and then you are looking to spend more on a Geneva than a C45. The C45 is marketed for people who don't want to pay extra for some of the "extras" that comes with premium large spas that aren't always necessary so part of that lower price is to make people who think like you (and me) happy by concentrating on the things that matter most to a price conscious person who still wants a high quality spa. That is the kind of spa you should be embracing!!

These things lead me to conclude (though I already kind of did) that this is about you “winning”, not about getting the right spa that your budget allows.