Hot tubs are expensive. Just no getting around that, but there is also the old adage that you get what you pay for. Shopping for hot tubs can also be a pretty daunting experience. In another recent thread, I posted what the three most important things to me were when we were shopping for our tub. These three things, in no particular order, are the following:
1. Buy a good quality spa made by a manufacturer that's got a good reputation, and preferably has been around a while so you have a good idea of their track record.
2. Buy from a reputable dealer who will give you good service and will stand behind the product they sell.
3. Wet test any spa you plan to purchase and be sure you are comfortable in it.
Given the priorities we had, I don't think any one of these would have been met if we had not purchased from a dealer. Yes, I'm sure we paid more but with that we are pretty confident we got a great spa that will last us a long time, and if there are problems, we have a dealer who we believe will look after us. Really, when you average out the cost difference over the number of years you hope to have the spa, I don't think it will be a huge difference. Certainly it wouldn't have been enough for us not to have purchased from a dealer.