Help!! Down to three models: J375, J495, or Sundance optima?

[twin43]

After tons of research...we are down to these three models. Every dealer we speak to has a different opinion. We have 4 kids, 3 in college but are home alot. I know the J495 is large but we haven't seen it in person. Wet tested a tub with same jets. Is it too large that it'll look ugly? I thought the sundance jets were a little itchy but people seem to love it and I floated in that tub. I was able to sit put on the longer in the J375.  We are getting prices of 8900 for the J375, 11900 for the J495 (small blemish), and 9700 for the Optima. Price includes everything but tax including delivery. Any suggestions on which make is better?

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Both brands are great, it comes down to what you are comfortable in.   I recently sold a J-495 to a long time buyer of mine, he has several kids and loves the spa space wise for his family it works.  That price you also have is very good.      That being said the 375 has a nice layout as well with again a good price, same for the optima.     

[wmccall]

Welcome to the forum!  In my opinion the only way it would look ugly if its in a out place environment, such as outside a doublewide next to the interstate. If your yard will support the tub, it will look good.

[twin43]

Both brands are great, it comes down to what you are comfortable in.   I recently sold a J-495 to a long time buyer of mine, he has several kids and loves the spa space wise for his family it works.  That price you also have is very good.      That being said the 375 has a nice layout as well with again a good price, same for the optima.   

Thanks Jim. Just bought the J495 with 1/4" tiny blemish for 11,300! Got the J375 down to 8750 but to upgrade to the 400 series...We couldn't pass this deal up! Jim, what would you recommend setting it on? Pavers vs. concrete vs "Easy pad"? Thanks wmccall! Can I turn the heat down use it as a pool in the summer?

[planetary]

I'll share my experience and thought process. 

I have a 2012 470, and it's... not small.

The main question to consider is this: do you size your tub for your most common soaking use case (maybe you and your spouse) or for the peak use case (whole family, or your kids + their friends), or something in the middle.

80% of the time, I expect my wife and I to use the tub, or our 3 smaller kids together.  Sometimes, all of us.  Sometimes our 3 kids + a couple friends.  Either way, that less common case nets out to about 5 people, not all of them yet adults -- so the 470, or something marketed as a 6-7 person tub (so you're not packed in there like sardines), is a reasonable choice.

How the tub looks in your yard depends on a lot of things, including overall space, any plants between where you typically are and the tub, and elevations.  In my yard (suburban, on a roughly 8k sqft lot), I think the 470 looks big but not imposing.  The 495 is TWO FEET LONGER than the 470/480, however, and it looks it.  Also, until you're actually in that tub, I don't think you can understand just how big it feels.  Yeah, tubs shrink over time as you get used to them -- sortof like computer monitors and car engines -- but I still think the 495 and tubs of similar size feel massive.

All this said, I really like the higher-end Jacuzzi 400 series, and think they're a good step up from the 300's.  Pictures can be tricky, but here are a couple pictures of the tub in my yard.  Most useful for you, perhaps, to judge the height of the tub, as the 495 is an inch taller, roughly the same.

[twin43]

Both brands are great, it comes down to what you are comfortable in.   I recently sold a J-495 to a long time buyer of mine, he has several kids and loves the spa space wise for his family it works.  That price you also have is very good.      That being said the 375 has a nice layout as well with again a good price, same for the optima.   

Thanks Jim. Just bought the J495 with 1/4" tiny blemish for 11,300! Got the J375 down to 8750 but to upgrade to the 400 series...We couldn't pass this deal up! Jim, what would you recommend setting it on? Pavers vs. concrete vs "Easy pad"? Thanks wmccall! Can I turn the heat down use it as a pool in the summer?

 Interesting day.......I emailed our local dealer to tell her thanks for the wet test but we could not pass up the blemish deal (She was 12998 whe we were there yesterday for the J495). Without hesitation she said we could get a brand new J495 for 11,200. Hope it's ok to post prices as I'm a newbie. Didn't read I shouldn't. What the heck is the mark up on these tubs that she came down almost 2000???Needless to say we cancelled the blemished and are now proud owners of a new J495!

[goose973]

Only God, the dealer, and maybe the IRS knows the markup on a hot tub. That's part of what makes hot tub buying so difficult. Some dealers put prices at or above the tub's MSRP on display and then give you a huge discount. Others will put pretty close to their bottom line price out there. The best way to avoid paying more than you have to is to do exactly what you did-get prices from more than one dealer.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Both brands are great, it comes down to what you are comfortable in.   I recently sold a J-495 to a long time buyer of mine, he has several kids and loves the spa space wise for his family it works.  That price you also have is very good.      That being said the 375 has a nice layout as well with again a good price, same for the optima.   

Thanks Jim. Just bought the J495 with 1/4" tiny blemish for 11,300! Got the J375 down to 8750 but to upgrade to the 400 series...We couldn't pass this deal up! Jim, what would you recommend setting it on? Pavers vs. concrete vs "Easy pad"? Thanks wmccall! Can I turn the heat down use it as a pool in the summer?

Congrats!  And yes you got a good price, I sold mine at 13,999

  A spa that big I would do a slab, it will cast a bit more but in the long run a better way to go!    If you were doing an EZ pad I would go the paver route over that, labor is the same but cost is probably less for pavers? 

[Maryphil]

Hi Everyone,

Hope you don't mind me hopping in here but my husband and I are about to do our backyard and we absolutely love the J480, but are having trouble securing a price from our local Jacuzzi dealer. He's one of those guys who tells you it's a $20,000 tub,but if we deal now we could work on that somewhere in the sphere of 20%, but again he still fails to give an actual price. He has been equally evasive and I would say rather rude on more than one occasion so we would really not want to buy one from him anyway.

That said, the price I was quoted on by another local dealer who had recently stopped carrying Jacuzzi, but had a J470 in stock with a radio(an option we are not interested in), was $13,000.  Still far and above the prices you are quoting below for the J-495. 

Can I ask where you are located and selling those tubs at that price?  I would be very interested in that blemished J-495, and even the dealer who said he recently sold one for$13K sounds awesome.

The next closest local dealers are over an hour and a half away in what my area would perceive a different market. At this time we have wet tested the J-480 and 470 and the 470 is just not for us.

We were also considering the large Sundance spa, the Maximus or Apen(Optima did not work for us). But at the prices I am hearing on this site, we really love those Jacuzzi jets.

We would appreciate your input. We don't need the tub tomorrow, but if I got a great price on what I want I will buy it immediately.

Thanks.

[twin43]

  A spa that big I would do a slab, it will cast a bit more but in the long run a better way to go!    If you were doing an EZ pad I would go the paver route over that, labor is the same but cost is probably less for pavers?
[/quote]

Thanks Jim. Don't plan on moving so don't need it to be portable. We are planning on extending the area to a fire pit etc with pavers in the Spring so do you think the pad with pavers might be better or start the pavers around the tub? I'm reviewing my UCONN chemistry notes...trying to figure how were going to sanitize this thing! I'm an RN and against ozonators. Have heard mixed reviews about how well the UVC works but I've read it's been used in ponds successfully for years. I know it's not the primary sanitizer and hoping it will help cut way down on chemicals. What would you recommend as the healthiest route? Ever use them like a swimming pool in the summer to float around in? Have 3 in college so NEEDED a good deal

[twin43]

Can I ask where you are located and selling those tubs at that price?  I would be very interested in that blemished J-495, and even the dealer who said he recently sold one for$13K sounds awesome.

We were also considering the large Sundance spa, the Maximus or Apen(Optima did not work for us). But at the prices I am hearing on this site, we really love those Jacuzzi jets.

We would appreciate your input. We don't need the tub tomorrow, but if I got a great price on what I want I will buy it immediately.

I am no expert in hot tubs but am an RN in health. We are in CT. We looked at Sundance too and can only tell you that the countless hours of research I have done....ozonators are very dangerous. Hot tubs are not deep enough to bind the free radicals. Oxygen as a free radical will kill your lungs. When I bought my Acura I did the same thing. I searched Mass and Rhode island and was VERY HONEST. We have bought our last two cars out of state. I am happy we ended up with a local company but think anyone can meet the warranty. Jacuzzi used an ozonator last year but it only ran when you weren't in the tub. This year they have gone with UVC. Inormally don't buy anything when it it is the first year.  I have read that UVC has been used for ponds for years. I love their jets! Call around, being honest, and tell them the price you saw on this site. Hopefully one dealer will match it. The 495 is very large and that may be why we got a great deal. Many people don't want a tub that large. If the 480 is in demand then the price will reflect that! Would be happy to give you salesaman info on blemish but he thought it would sell that same day.

[JohnnyK45]

All this said, I really like the higher-end Jacuzzi 400 series, and think they're a good step up from the 300's.  Pictures can be tricky, but here are a couple pictures of the tub in my yard.  Most useful for you, perhaps, to judge the height of the tub, as the 495 is an inch taller, roughly the same.

Wow, great job on the photos Planetary!  Great looking tub you have and I love your patio, just excellent.  There should be a separate photo gallery page (way too easy for these links to get lost in a thread); always enjoy taking a look at other tubs and sometimes you get an idea or two by the way someone else did something or the way they have their yard set up, etc.

J

[Maryphil]

Thanks twin43, you are actually not that far from me at all, I am in NY, on Long Island. I think we can be a bit more aggressive in calling around for a good price. In the end the local dealer will end up doing any needed service.


And yes, if you could I would love a referral to the place you ended up getting your tub from. Sounds like you had a great experience there. I only wish our local dealer was that good. I had run into some great, honest tub salesmen but unfortunately, I was not as interested in the tub. That is the main reason we were considering the Sundance tubs still, the salesman and store were great, but as you said, those Jacuzzi jets can get you sold quickly. 

Enjoy your tub.