A newbie here, replacing a Costco cheapo spa that froze to death in an ice storm last month. OK, I get that the Costco is "pay less, get less", though the Evolution series they have this year seems much better than what they've had in the past, especially the cabinet.
Question 1: Does anyone have experience good or bad with these Costco Evolution Spas? The cheapo I have now was woefully underinsulated and expensive to run, are the new ones better?
What I want to avoid is "pay more, get less".
Question 2: How do you avoid this? Some of the dealers I've been to want to make me take a shower, I would compare them to used car salesmen, but that would be unfair to used car salesmen.
The Hotsprings spa seems to surface over and over as a good brand as I do my research. The local dealer has a Sovereign in his showroom with a price tag of $7500. He seems thoughtful and asked us questions about what we wanted in our spa, and he gave us the soft sell, little pressure. He even stayed late so we could wet test a Hotsprings. He didn't have a Sovereign with water in it but we tested the vanguard model. I love the moto-massage.
Question 3: How imperative is it to test the exact model that we want? I sat in the Sovereign empty so I know it's large enough for me (not true of the Jetsetter).
Question 3A: If I can't test the Sovereign, can someone tell me how different the moto-massage will feel with a 1-pump system as opposed to the 2 pumps in the Vanguard?
He told us he could make "adjustments" on the in stock tub "but he didn't know how long it would be there". (I'm in no rush, I have 2 feet of snow in my back yard preventing delivery)
Question 4: How much wiggle room does this guy have on an in stock tub? If I can get $2000 off I can probably swing the Hotsprings. If I can't I'll have to buy the Costco.
Question 4A: If I do go for the Hotsprings, can this guy deliver it to my snowy backyard without a crane? I have a path cut from the driveway to the old spa/slab (about 50')
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me make this decision wisely.