Narrowing down the choices

[MikeK157]

The rep from sundance went through the artesian warranty and pointed out all the trouble spots for me. Put a wrench on my plans lol

How kind of him to take the time to do so. What trouble spots did he find exactly?

Main concerns were

1) No warranty at all for jets although i have read they are approx 10 bucks to replace
2) No warranty for milage of repairman and assessment of issue (this one has me concerned)
3) Any lighting, pump seals, filters, fuses, shipping charges are not covered
4) You can only use their repair man

Overall it seems Artesian is a hit and run company. Sell you the product and wipe their hands clean. If anything goes wrong your on the hook pretty much.

[Hottubguy]

The rep from sundance went through the artesian warranty and pointed out all the trouble spots for me. Put a wrench on my plans lol

How kind of him to take the time to do so. What trouble spots did he find exactly?

Main concerns were

1) No warranty at all for jets although i have read they are approx 10 bucks to replace
2) No warranty for milage of repairman and assessment of issue (this one has me concerned)
3) Any lighting, pump seals, filters, fuses, shipping charges are not covered
4) You can only use their repair man

Overall it seems Artesian is a hit and run company. Sell you the product and wipe their hands clean. If anything goes wrong your on the hook pretty much.

1) most brands warranty jets
2) that's standard though so dealers waive these fees for a period of time
3)pump seals, filters, fuses aren't covered under any bodies warranties that I know of. Lights are usually covered for a year or two for most brands
4)all warranties need to be done by authorized techs or authorized servicers

[Hottubguy]

Hey Mike,

You just reminded me that to take a look at Artesian.  The only brands that kept coming for me from my research were Sundance, Hot Springs, Marquis, Bullfrog and Jacuzzi.

Having said that, we did our first wet test last night, tried both the Sundance Optima and Chelsee.  We liked them both, lots of power (maybe even too much for my wife) with lots of different configurations.  To be honest I couldn’t tell much of difference between the two in size and power other than the Optima having a few extra jets.

Did you try the Chelsee? What kind of pricing are you getting on the Optima?

Next wet test for us will be the Marquis Euphoria.

Try the Marquis V94 if you can, as well as the Euphoria.

Yes, you're right Markee, we should also take the V94 for a spin, I actually like the looks of this thing, there's not much else like it out there.  My problem is the warranty, inferior warranty in my head means lesser quality of components which probably isn't the case.

Same exact shell. Same exact pumps. Warranties are a part of the price you end up paying for the spa. Since I received one this has been my hottest selling spa. The jet action and individual control to dial in your exact massage is on par to the signature series euphoria. The euphoria does have the hk40 jets which are extremely therapeutic but the vector has almost all the other features

[Tman122]

The rep from sundance went through the artesian warranty and pointed out all the trouble spots for me. Put a wrench on my plans lol

How kind of him to take the time to do so. What trouble spots did he find exactly?

Main concerns were

1) No warranty at all for jets although i have read they are approx 10 bucks to replace
2) No warranty for milage of repairman and assessment of issue (this one has me concerned)
3) Any lighting, pump seals, filters, fuses, shipping charges are not covered
4) You can only use their repair man

Overall it seems Artesian is a hit and run company. Sell you the product and wipe their hands clean. If anything goes wrong your on the hook pretty much.

Ask the Artesian guy to go through the Sundance warranty and he will also find a bunch of things that you won't like. Salesmanship 101.

[MikeK157]

The rep from sundance went through the artesian warranty and pointed out all the trouble spots for me. Put a wrench on my plans lol

How kind of him to take the time to do so. What trouble spots did he find exactly?

Main concerns were

1) No warranty at all for jets although i have read they are approx 10 bucks to replace
2) No warranty for milage of repairman and assessment of issue (this one has me concerned)
3) Any lighting, pump seals, filters, fuses, shipping charges are not covered
4) You can only use their repair man

Overall it seems Artesian is a hit and run company. Sell you the product and wipe their hands clean. If anything goes wrong your on the hook pretty much.

Ask the Artesian guy to go through the Sundance warranty and he will also find a bunch of things that you won't like. Salesmanship 101.

Thats exactly it. Its all just a game.

One comment he made about the ozonator made me laugh. He said putting an ozonator in a 2016 tub is like putting a tape deck in a 2016 car lol

[d00nut]

Ha!  Really?  Both Artesian and Sundance promote their UV-C in-line systems that can be combined with ozone to make even less maintenance on their own websites!

Also, I wouldn't worry so much about the warranty based on what that Sundance rep went through.  Go with the dealer that has the better reputation.  They are likely to take care of you in the event you have a problem, even if it falls "outside" the actual warranty description.  You can also ask if the dealer charges any mileage fees in warranty.  All those warranty statements are written so that the dealer has the right to charge a "reasonable" travel charge.  Whether the dealer does or not... is simply up to them.

[MikeK157]

Ha!  Really?  Both Artesian and Sundance promote their UV-C in-line systems that can be combined with ozone to make even less maintenance on their own websites!

Also, I wouldn't worry so much about the warranty based on what that Sundance rep went through.  Go with the dealer that has the better reputation.  They are likely to take care of you in the event you have a problem, even if it falls "outside" the actual warranty description.  You can also ask if the dealer charges any mileage fees in warranty.  All those warranty statements are written so that the dealer has the right to charge a "reasonable" travel charge.  Whether the dealer does or not... is simply up to them.

As far as i can tell sundance doesnt do the ozonator anymore. Just the clear ray

[The Wizard of Spas]

Ha!  Really?  Both Artesian and Sundance promote their UV-C in-line systems that can be combined with ozone to make even less maintenance on their own websites!

Also, I wouldn't worry so much about the warranty based on what that Sundance rep went through.  Go with the dealer that has the better reputation.  They are likely to take care of you in the event you have a problem, even if it falls "outside" the actual warranty description.  You can also ask if the dealer charges any mileage fees in warranty.  All those warranty statements are written so that the dealer has the right to charge a "reasonable" travel charge.  Whether the dealer does or not... is simply up to them.

Exactly.  I carry Artesian and go directly against Sundance.  I feel the warranty is a wash, as both have 100% parts and 100% labor for 5 years, both with caveats.  A warranty is as good as the dealer. 

Look, you're getting to the next level and doing your homework.  But don't bury the headline:  What is the most comfortable?  What feels the best?  What fits you the best?  What do you like more? 

These are two great brands and when you get down to stuff like ozone and warranty, you're splitting hairs.  Ozone on the Artesian is awesome but I don't push it on my clients.  Ozone and filters, even though my Artesians have a "story," still are only assistants to your water chemistry.

Hope this helps.  Good luck moving forward.

[Sam]

Yeah, don't fall for that B.S. about the warranty on Artesian.  They absolutely do cover their jets and lights.  They don't charge shipping for parts either.  Mileage charges are built in to every warranty out there.  Most dealers waive those charges for a certain period of time and they are usually minimal when they do charge.  Also, every single hot tub manufacturer requires you to use their authorized techs.  Honestly, the Sundance sales guy is being kind of shady here.  That's all B.S. 

As stated above, they basically have the same warranty.  This should not be a deciding factor for you between these 2 spas.  They are both top of the line hot tubs and have good reputations.  Pick the one that fits your needs best.  Also make sure that you are comfortable with the dealer.

[MikeK157]

Yeah, don't fall for that B.S. about the warranty on Artesian.  They absolutely do cover their jets and lights.  They don't charge shipping for parts either.  Mileage charges are built in to every warranty out there.  Most dealers waive those charges for a certain period of time and they are usually minimal when they do charge.  Also, every single hot tub manufacturer requires you to use their authorized techs.  Honestly, the Sundance sales guy is being kind of shady here.  That's all B.S. 

As stated above, they basically have the same warranty.  This should not be a deciding factor for you between these 2 spas.  They are both top of the line hot tubs and have good reputations.  Pick the one that fits your needs best.  Also make sure that you are comfortable with the dealer.

I agree. I am setting up a meeting with another artesian dealer who is even closer than the other. The initial dealer i met was not a good experience at all.

[MikeK157]

Ideally i would love to find a 1-2 year old tub and pay 5-6k for it if possible but we will see if that's realistic or not.

The deck im getting put in is already pushing 25k and a 15k tub would stretch the budget but we will see

This is where the 12k offer from Artesian is tempting vs the 15k offer from sundance. 

[d00nut]

As far as i can tell sundance doesnt do the ozonator anymore. Just the clear ray

You're right MikeK.  I just looked it up and they don't promote it anymore on their website.  I know when I was selling it, the rep was pushing adding on ozone with Clear-Ray for even less maintenance... I guess they changed their mind!

[Spatech_tuo]

As far as i can tell sundance doesnt do the ozonator anymore. Just the clear ray

You're right MikeK.  I just looked it up and they don't promote it anymore on their website.  I know when I was selling it, the rep was pushing adding on ozone with Clear-Ray for even less maintenance... I guess they changed their mind!

Sometimes its amusing how great a product is until someone stops using/carrying/selling it and then all of a sudden they may tell you how its a waste and meaningless. 

[MikeK157]

Going to do one more wet test. I want to try a beachcomber. I know they arrle a mid range tub and i was not impressed when i saw them last year but looking at their current lineup and tech they have really done a good job of changing their designs

[Hottubprosne]

Bullfrog Spas warranty covers pump seals and fuses. 5 years on A and R series 3 years on the X spas. While your talking about warranty look really close at Beachcombers warranty. We sell artisan and bullfrog. Haven't ever had a problem with either manufacturer on warranty work. BTW we used to sell Sundance never had any problems with them either.