[Advice On Buying 2006 Sundance Altamar]

Thanks for the help. I finally got a hold of the seller, the hot tub is at his vacation home - it actually came with the home he's the second owner- which is why he uses it so rarely; but he says he keeps it full of water year round. I have an appointment to look at it Monday morning. If anyone has any last minute advice on price or inspection it would be appreciated. I'll keep you updated. Wish me luck!

[Advice On Buying 2006 Sundance Altamar]

Hi, I posted a couple weeks back and you guys were a lot of help; thank you. I was hoping you could help me again. I found a 2006 Sundance Altamar for sale asking $3,200, they say it has only been used 6 times which actually sounds like a bad thing to me. I started to research this hot tub and have found a few posts about problems with Sundance Spas leaking and being extremely hard and expensive to fix when they do. I was thinking this might be Sundances competitors trying to make them look bad, or the negative reviews might be more prevalent because people complain louder than they praise. Most these complaints are on epinions.com here is a specific link the post even has pictures http://www.epinions.com/review/Sundance_Ca...-3A2667D7-prod3.

I wanted to ask the experts. Is this really so common I need to be concerned about it? I noticed some of the post are older have they improved the process to prevent leaks since then? If its not leaking when I inspect it, what are the chances it will start leaking within the next couple of years? Does anyone have a good guide, or checklist on what problems to look for when inspecting a used spa? Also is $3,200 a good buy for this spa? As I don't have a lot of money I was going to offer $2,500 and hope for the best

[2008 Infinity Costco Hot Tub]

OK, sometimes you can make a killer deal. But $2800 is far, far too much for that spa. Being used, you can’t return it to Costco, and having that backstop is a major part of the Infinity value proposition.

Still, here's a possible course of action.

1. Find out why they're selling. The best thing to do is just come out and ask. See if the reason rings true to you. If you have any sense of unease, walk.

2. Ask about the energy usage. You can improve the heat retention of that spa, but if it's a major energy hog, stay away. Ask to see electric bills from summer and winter months. Some people keep their bills filed away. Again, if you get any sense that the spa is being sold because it sucks kilowatt hours, walk away.

3. See the spa running. Have the owner produce the manual, and check the control panel function to make sure everything does what it's supposed to do. If there are any failures or non-working functions, pass on the tub.

4. Wet test the spa to make sure you like it. Nothing is a bargain if you don't like it.

5. Remove EVERY removable cabinet panel. Stick your head inside and look carefully for any signs of leakage, water stains or mold growing anywhere. Look for water tracks (evidence of a leak) around the jets, and every other penetration in the shell. Poke the frame with an awl, especially if you see any discolored areas or other indication that it has been wet for a prolonged period of time. Crumbly or soft wood = rot. Anything looks less than perfect, say "thanks" and leave.

6. Examine the condition of the cover and pillows. Both are limited-life items and expensive to replace.

7. Now, if everything looks perfect, offer them no more than $1500. Cash (benjamins) often has a very persuasive effect. This is about ½ price of what they were new and is the absolute most I would drop on this spa without the Costco backstop. Make the deal contingent (very important) on your inspection *after the water is drained*

8. When the water is out of the tub, go over EVERY SQUARE INCH of the shell looking for blisters or other signs of delamination. Take your time and do this carefully, it is important. The shell is about the only part that you CAN'T easily replace on that tub. A blister will be a bump, maybe a little smaller than a dime but could be larger than a quarter. Don't rely on eyes, especially if the shell is light colored. Run your fingers over the plastic. Fingers will pick up things that eyes miss. Look AND feel. If there are ANY problems with the shell, pass on the spa. Once you get even a single delam or blister in an acrylic shell with polyester/fiberglass backing, it's likely that you'll get more.

9. You might still have problems. Remember that there is no guarantee. But if you can get this spa for no more than $1500, I might consider it a reasonable gamble. If you get three years out of it, you did ok. Any more than that would be gravy. But remember, you are buying used, there is a reason they're selling such a new tub, and YOU are on the hook for any problems or service. Still, your total exposure if you can get it for $1500 would be pretty small.

Good luck!

I forgot to mention that it was a 7 man hot tub, I believe they paid $4,900 new so following your advice I resent an offer for $2,200 if we pick it up, and $2,500 if they can deliver it to my house. I also linked to this post so the sellers can understand where I'm coming from.

Thanks for the taking so much time to help! It's amazing how much there is to know about spa's!

[2008 Infinity Costco Hot Tub]

Thanks so much for the advice everyone! Looks like I'll keep searching.

[2008 Infinity Costco Hot Tub]

*patiently waiting on a barrage of interesting and exciting responses*

Where did you find the "check list"???

http://www.spadepot.com/spacyclopedia/used-hot-tubs.htm any good?

[2008 Infinity Costco Hot Tub]

Hi everyone,

After a long search I think I finally found a good spa to buy but this is a huge purchase for me and I wanted to make sure I wasn't making a mistake. I've heard mixed reviews about infinity and know they went out of business, a lot of people say they are a decent brand for the price.

Here are the specs:

2008 infinity hot tub originally purchased at costco, now purchasing from private party.

64 jets

2 pumps

waterfall

ozonator

cd player

lighting

2 air control valves

$2,800

Should i buy if everything looks, sounds, and works good when i check it out? I have a used spa buying check list i found on the net to check everything out...

I've been looking at used spas now for months, I have a $3,000 dollar budget and I'm having a really tough time finding a good used bang for my buck hot. So any recommendations on brands/ models would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance!