" Dealers" Warranty/Trip Charges

[sledjunkie]

I forgot something..

If you save thousands by traveling hours away, or even out of state while shopping/buying a hot tub...

Make sure you stop by your (close to home) dealer and tell them you just moved here from timbuktu and moved your hot tub with you and are just wondering if they would be able to service your spa if you ever had a problem.

So essentially lie to them so they don't know you shopped around for the best deal.

Thanks for the buying tip Mr. Texas, I'll make sure to include this in my posts when necessary as a buyer tip for newbie’s

[sledjunkie]

Here is my recommendation for getting the best deal....

First and foremost you need to know at least one, two, maybe three models your interested in. This can be multiple manufactures.
Next, call around (it's cheaper than driving) all dealers for those models up to 2-3 hours away from you and get prices on the the brand new leftover models you are interested in.

The further away from the city you go, the better deal you get and the better chances you have for finding leftovers.

So after they tell you the price and everything it comes with:

cover
lifter
steps
startup chemicals
delivery + setup
etc...

Give it some thought, call them back and counter offer the following...

I'll buy right now if you take off $800 and..

No steps
No startup chemicals
No deliver + setup

I will pick up tub.

This is a similar(not exact by any means) of what I did.

I bought a brand new leftover
05 Artesian Opal for $6177 about 2 months ago.

[Chris_H]

Make sure you stop by your (close to home) dealer and tell them you just moved here from timbuktu and moved your hot tub with you and are just wondering if they would be able to service your spa if you ever had a problem.

[/b]

Yep, you can tell the close to home dealer that you just moved, but your sales invoice will tell them your address.  

Any dealer with half a brain will request the sales invoice on spas they didn’t sell.  Yes, front and back of the invoice too.  Just to make sure that it doesn’t have a fake address and directions to your real house on the back.  Dealers with a whole brain will check their lead books over the past few years and ask for the sales invoice.

Funniest one I heard: A customer had his brother buy the spa at a lower price then when the guy needed service, the brothers name was on the sales contract.  Sorry warranties are non-transferable.  We charge $75 an hour to fix – would you like for me to set-up an appointment?

[Spatech_tuo]

Make sure you stop by your (close to home) dealer and tell them you just moved here from timbuktu and moved your hot tub with you and are just wondering if they would be able to service your spa if you ever had a problem.

[/b]

Yep, you can tell the close to home dealer that you just moved, but your sales invoice will tell them your address.  

Yup, it took me all of about 0.3 seconds to figure that out as well. I guess we're not quite as dumb as Mr. Humility, the great spa shopping guru Sledjunkie, thinks we are. I always love when his kind come to these sites with all the answers.

[sledjunkie]

Wow I suppose you took offense to that...

And I agree any dealer with half a brain would request (not require) a sales invoice, however most don't have....

uhhh ummm.

[Reese]

I bought a brand new leftover
05 Artesian Opal for $6177 about 2 months ago.

I have no idea what Artesian pricing is.  What was a comparable 06 selling for?

[Chris_H]

Yup, it took me all of about 0.3 seconds to figure that out as well. I guess we're not quite as dumb as Mr. Humility, the great spa shopping guru Sledjunkie, thinks we are. I always love when his kind come to these sites with all the answers.

Well it only took me .2 seconds.

And I agree any dealer with half a brain would request (not require) a sales invoice, however most don't have....

When service is needed most dealers will require the invoice.  Dealers don't enjoy being screwed out of a sale so this their payback for your purchase especially if you wasted their time.  

[Vinny]

This is why people i tell you dealers don't matter, and the price you pay for your spa makes all the savings.
As long as you buy a good name brand quality spa with a good warranty which covers the parts and labor, you'll be all set.
Me, I don't care if my dealer charged me for travel. In fact I don't think we ever even discussed it. For all I know he does. I'd pay it if he said he did. Hell he's 2 hours away I'm sure he will.

I saved thousands on my spa, plus I have a 5 year warranty on the parts and labor.

Am I ever going to pay thousands in trips charges? Nope

Shop around, after your done, keep shopping
.

You didn't save thousands on your spa! You did save some money though.

A 2004 Artesian Emerald was going for about $7500 at my dealer, prices went up about $600 for 2005 and the Opal was priced at about $500 cheaper (smaller spa than the Emerald and Island series was priced this way).  As I see it you probably got about $1500 off. It was a 2005 in the middle of 2006 and the dealer wanted to get rid of it since the 2006 are different than the 2005.

You did get a good price but you make it sound like you got a $9000 spa for $6100.

[Reese]

As I see it you probably got about $1500 off. It was a 2005 in the middle of 2006 and the dealer wanted to get rid of it since the 2006 are different than the 2005.  You did get a good price but you make it sound like you got a $9000 spa for $6100.

Sledjunkie,
It was still money in your pocket, but when you factor in the time spent calling dealers, driving 4 hours round trip to get the spa, and the cost of handling even one repair two hours from your dealer...  I think "saved thousands" is overstating it a bit .  

With a name like Sledjunkie you should appreciate this.  I have an uncle who was in the snowmobile business, who had a similar customer come in for drive belt on a sled that he purchased 50 miles away to get a better deal.  My uncle said he had one, but needed to save it in case one of the customers who bought a sled from him came in.  The out-of-town buyer complained that his sled was stranded out on a river, that it would take him two hours to drive to the next dealer and back, and it would be dark by then.  My uncle told him he better get going!   After the man left, my uncle laughed and said he forgot to remind him that by the time the customer made it to the other dealer, the store would be closed.  He then took me into the parts area, and showed me a case of the belts.  I asked why he didn't sell the man one?  He replied that if all he got to sell was belts, he wouldn't be able to stay in business, and people need to realize that the costs of ownership involve more than what you pay up front.  I doubt the customer got that message, because I'm sure he thought my uncle was just a jerk -- but obviously, I did, because I still remember that story 30 years later.

Given your previously stated disdain for people who make a living selling things... I can see that supporting a local business is probably not a concern of yours.  I'm not a dealer or a salesperson, but I can't help wonder... how smug will you feel, if the one time you need a repair is a February Saturday afternoon?  Good luck to you!

[sledjunkie]

I did save thousands. Well I suppose it depends on what your comparing. I'm comparing my 05 Opal against an 06 Opal. The dealerships are closed now, but tomorrow I will call and get a price on a comprable 06 Opal and let you know.

You watch it will be in the 8-9K range, which is what is was 3 months ago when I was shopping.

Remember, I stated I saved thousands by getting a leftover, plus picking up my spa myself, plus shopping around, etc...

[Vinny]

I have to say that IF a 2006 Opal is $9000 that is a rip off IMO. In Oct 2004, the Emerald was $7500, I know prices went up about $600 in 2005 and I assumed it went up about the same in 2006 that's $8700 for the Emerald. As I said Artesian priced it's Island tubs at about $500 lower for each size depending on the jet and pump configuration. The Opal is the smaller verison of the Emerald so I would say $8200 tops. I wouldn't pay that much money for a 7x7 tub, even if it was an Artesian.

I guess the fact is I AM CHEAP!! The truth of the matter I wouldn't pay that for any tub ... and I didn't!

[sledjunkie]

Vinny, your not cheap. I feel the same way. I wouldn't pay that much for any tub either. It's simply too much money for a hot tub in my opinion.

Now you have me wondering about the Opal price...

[clover]

I forgot something.......essentially lie to them so they don't know you shopped around for the best deal.

Here in lies the underlying problem of relationships.  For someone who has such disdain for others, there seems to be something seriously lacking in character and integrity.  

I wonder if it is all right for your children to lie to you or even to others to meet their needs as well.  

[Vinny]

Vinny, your not cheap. I feel the same way. I wouldn't pay that much for any tub either. It's simply too much money for a hot tub in my opinion.

Now you have me wondering about the Opal price...

The truth is that pricing is something that can't really be compared. My price is NJ and in 2004 I got a price for my tub of about $7000 and another person bought their tub for $6000 but I still got a good price .... for NJ. I think some dealers blow smoke up people's butts and maybe mine did to me.

Be happy with the price you got, it's a good price (maybe a great price) but remember not everyone is going to haul their tub around.

I also wonder as you played hardball with them, what might be up their sleeve. Maybe they might dishonor the warranty because they didn't install it, maybe they will have a trip charge or maybe they're OK with it. Whenever I call, my dealer seems to remember me and hopefully I haven't been a P.I.T.A that when my tub breaks in the winter they will come out.

And speaking of the warranty and trip charge, maybe I'm stupid but to me having the warranty and NOT USING THE WARRANTY are 2 different thing ... I hope never to use my warranty (OK I have but it's just been jets)!

[JUST ME]

In the grand scheme of things, is a trip charge for a service call all that big of a deal?
 For a decent spa, we're shucking out say $8K, probably more if you count electrical, site prep, and the like.  
 And hundreds of dollars in interest for those who choose to borrow the money.
Or somewhat less than hundreds of dollars in lost interest from taking the money out of the bank.
Then we're paying hundreds of dollars per year to the electric company, and depending on the system, potentially hundreds of dollars per year for chemicals, filters, and such.
 And in the unlikely event that the spa needs service we worry about paying $60 (or whatever) to get the spa back up and running?
  If my spa breaks down in -20 degree winter temperatures, the last thing I'm fretting about is weather or not I have to pay for a trip fee.  
  
 Remember- there is no free lunch.  We all pay one way or another- business must recoup all expenses before they can make a profit.  Far be it from me to try to second guess how a spa dealer needs to price things to make a living.  



PS-

My Magtag washing machine just gave up the ghost last night.  
 When I get home from work tonite, I get the fun of wash machine shopping.

I'm thinking that Maytag isn't going to be the brand I buy.  They used to make a really solid washing machine, and used to charge a premium price for that reliability.
 But I'm with whoever posted farther back saying that the Maytag repairmen are not all the lonely anymore.  Notice how that add isn't running now?

Didn't Whirlpool just buy Maytag a few months ago?

Ok,

Here's another scenario.

The local dealer goes out of bubusiness 1-2 years after I buy my spa from him.

He charges a $65.00 trip charge to go 3.85 miles to fix my spa under warranty, so now the closest dealer in 85 miles away. I wonder what he's going to charge?

Can someone give me some input on this?

I'm sorry Brewman but these are things I have to worry about, I may not be as well off financually as you are and I need this hot tub for my wifes medical problems, I don't have medical coverage because I can't afforde it and when I ask my dealer to cut the cost my $500 they would not even think about it,,, so yes I am looking for a better price for the tub my wife likes and yes it makes me mad that now I might and probebly will get charge a trip charge ( $65.00 trip charge to go 3.85 miles to fix my spa under warranty) If I dont get the tub from local dealer, and not only that but when the heater goes out under warranty the heater only cost $50 if I did the repair myself Im sure this would void the warranty.

I wouldn't own any appliance that was not made my whirlpool and defiantly only buy washer and dryers ( side by side ) that are made by whirlpool they are the best,

but thats,

just me