risk of buying a spa that has been unused

[btk]

hello;

My goal for 2004 is to put a hot tub/ spa in place.

A local neighbor has a Cal Spa PS3 for sale.  Was in use, moved, no place for the tub, its been sitting in their yard for  4 years.  looks like it has two motors, 2 and almost 3 hp, a ozone thingy,  and lots of cobwebs.

price: $500

So, was looking at a hydrospa endurance model, $3200, so the $500 price is atractive, but, no warentee, tech support, etc, but i have lots of experience with plumbing, pumps, seals, etc.

Part of me thinks that buying a used spa is maybe not the way to go, no matter what the price, as you NEVER know what you will get.

Any comments are appreciates

Bill marriott

[pafoster62]

hmmmmm

[Chas]

Set a goal or max budget and stick to it:

Fill the tub and see what leaks. Run power to it, even temp, and see if the controls work.

Seals on the pump may have rotted or shrunk, orings the same.

The rest of the plumbing and such is pvc, so it really should be fine.

The heater element may be bad - if it sat in water or had a lot of moisture after the initial shut-down, but that's not a big deal.

Add it all up - and see if you are under budget.

Cover?

[saz]

if I were you i would connect the tub up and run it for a couple of days, (if practical). If it's ok after that, and everythign seems ok, what have you got to lose for $500?? It's better than paying out $3200. However, if you find that there are problems with it, I would get an estimate of what it's gonna cost to fix, and do the maths from there.
saz

[dpgtech]

Chas is right about filling the spa and making sure it works.  is there a cal spa dealer near you to obtain parts? used spas are always a crapshoot. 500 can turn into much more not to mention your time.  i say if it works with maybe one to two minor problems it could be worth it, any major problems I say keep looking.