Tsunami Hot Tubs

[jim97219]

I'm in the market for a new hot tub as my current one, about 15 years old and came with the house, has developed a leak and has several cracks.  It's time to bid my old friend adios.  I've never shopped for one before so I'm doing some research before venturing out.

My question is concerning a local manufacturer of hot tubs, Tsunami Spas. They are in Vancouver, Washington, about a half-hour from my house in Portland, Oregon.  Their website is http://www.tsunamispas.com.  What can I expect from this kind of company, especially when compared to other, bigger makers such as Hot Springs or Arctic?  From what I can see on his website, it looks like he puts together a pretty good tub.  He seems to use "known" components and does a 24-hour water/electrical test.  Hydropool's is an 8-hour test.

I did a BBB check and he's had one complaint.  The outcome was that it was "Administratively Closed" and that the "BBB determined the company made good faith and reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer."

Any input you all might have for me would be most appreciated, especially when it comes to what questions to ask.

Thanks to all in advance!

Jim

[drewstar]

HI Jim,

I can't comment on Tusami spas personally, but I looked quickly at their web site, specifically the comparison page they put up.

http://www.tsunamispas.com/comparison.htm


All manufactuers/dealers/salesfolks attempt to put thier product in the best light.  As a consumer, it's your resposibility to understand these differnces and what the actually mean.

-They  Significantly understates the competiotors  ozinators.  

- His sheet makes it look like he is the only one offering substainal options. This is very misleading, to say the least.

- They give the impression they are the only ones to include a cover. Talk with your dealer. You'll get a cover.  

And lastly, I was shocked to find out my watkins tub sits 3-8 people. Here, like a fool I was using most of the time with just 1 person. Huh.   I didn't realize i needed a minimum of 3 people to use it.  

From a quick look, they give me the impression that they could offer a decent spa and are worth a look or two. However,  Thier prices, options, features and quality do no seem to surpass the other quality brand name tubs mentioned in this forum. I'd  look around at the other manufactuers before making any final decisons.

[drewstar]

And looking at the spas a bit more in detail...why when you go to thier site, and click on a specific model to get warrenty info, it takes you to a Caldera site, a H20 site, as well as others depending on the tub.

This gives me the impression he is more of a "Re-manufactuer" than a "manufactuer".  I'm not sure what this all means.  If they "make" the tub there, why are they using other manufactuers' pages when showing warrenty and spa info?

Also, when pricing out the spas, keep and eye on what you are getting, some units have 1 pump, some have 2, some have more.  

When comparing these tubs to others, make sure you are comparing apples to apples, and know what the whole package is made up of.

[jim97219]

Drewstar,

Thanks for the reply!  I do have more homework to do, that's for sure.  As for what exactly Tsunami does, it looks like they are both a manufacturer making their own tubs and they're also a retail outlet for H2O and for Caldera.  I'm looking more at their own tubs than I am at the Caldera and H2O tubs.  I have a specific width that I need and Tsunami's 725 & 730 would both work well in that space.  And the warranty stuff, I suspect they steer you to the manufacturer's website as it's their warranty, not his.


As for options available, I think they're touting their ability to custom-configure a hot tub.  I'm not sure you can get that to the same degree from some of the other companies out there.  And I agree, on that web page you pointed out, they have understated the competition's options.

Again, thanks for the replies!