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rwilkerson

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  1. Thanks spatech. I know that there are multiple good brands but the truth is that I was looking for value also. If I could have gotten similar pricing on the Vanguard I may have changed my mind but who knows. I still had the challenge of the dealer not being willing to get it wet. They weren't willing to budge on the price more than 100 bucks and they have the market locked up here so I had to shift gears and negotiate on the accessories. I know some folks have paid less and some have paid more but in all of my years of selling there is one thing I have learned. Good deals are relative, if you feel that you got a good deal you did, if you feel that you didn't it doesn't matter how little you paid you'll always feel like you got scr*&ed
  2. Will do Trigger. I learned a long time ago that I am not as good as I should be about cleaning the filters. This will address that I hope...lol
  3. Thanks guys, I settled on (not settled FOR) the Jacuzzi J365, man what a spa. We love it!! It is the ONLY spa that both of us can get comfortable in regardless of the seat we are in. The massage was incredible and my wife was in it for two minutes and says, "this is the one" to which the sales guy replied "should I get the paperwork started?" She sabotaged my negotiating position but what the heck. I think we got a great deal at 8450 for the tub, cover, covermate III lifter (with the shocks), chemicals, nature II, hose end filter, two additional filters, delivery and set up. Thanks for the input
  4. We are entering the home stretch and have our two final wet tests tonight and tomorrow. In the Jacuzzi corner we have the Jacuzzi J-365 weighing in at 91 x 84, fully foamed, 32 jets, priced at $8550.00 including the cover, lifter, steps, delivery and set up with starter chemicals. No hard negotiation yet but likely to see a 300-500 reduction in that price. In the Hot Spring corner we have the Vanguard, weighing in at 87 x 87, also fully foamed, also with 32 jets, priced at $9500.00 including the cover, lifter, steps, delivery and set up with starter chemicals. She dropped the price to 9500.00 last night but I got the feeling there was no more to be given. Both dealers are equally reputable, both are BBB Accredited, neither have any complaints, one is in business 20 years, the other for 31. I don't think there is a bad choice here but give me some input, any owners out there to tell me what they think? anyone with pricing info to share? Is it possible that the Hot Spring is actually worth 1000-1500 more than the Jacuzzi? The only time I had any type of bad taste during this process was when the Hot Spring dealer said "oh yes, Jacuzzi is a great name but they don't compare to Hot Spring, come over here and see this Hot Spot Relay if you want to compare to Jacuzzi" Is that true? My thinking is that she either drank the Kool Aid and truly believes that this is the case, or she was engaging in some passive aggressive competitor bashing, thoughts? Give me some feedback guys and gals, ladies and gents. My money is burning a hole in my pocket and this search has gone on long enough. Thanks, Roger
  5. I basically mirror roger's comments but if you can definteily feel/see the difference in quality (not counting energy efficiency which you can't see) then think of the cost difference as being spread out over the life of the spa, not just the difference at point of purchase. I can see the difference in fit and finish between the maax and Artesian and the Strong as well as the Ecco. These are all value line to mid quality tubs in my opinion. There is a local manufacturer here called Aspen Spas. I like the idea of dealing with a local manufacturer that will jet the tub as I ask for it to be done. I haven't found any negative feedback on them. I can get a very nice, seemingly high quality spa in the 8 ft size for what I can get a 7 ft Jacuzzi for. The Aspen has 2 two speed 56 frame pumps as well as a single speed 56 frame pump and a circ pump. They use waterway jets and balboa controls, the tub is sprayed with 2# foam and the conections are all exposed for ease of repair, it has a full abs pan on the bottom, wood frame, duble sided reflective insulation mounted to the inside of the cabinet panels and under the tub. Warranty is comparable to the big companies. Do you think the management at Aspen know what a quality built tubs sells for? And they can build quality tubs and sell them for less? Or do you think they know what a quality tub sells for and have decided to build a cheaper tub by cutting a few simple corners (under Insulate) and sell them for less? Not sure but from the conversation we had it seems that they look at things from an ease of service perspective. I would imagine that the insulation is no better of worse than any other non-fully foamed tub. I really haven't even visited that debate but I know there are staunch supporters on either side of the discussion. My wife got sold on the two 70 gpm tornado jets so I am not sure how to get her off of that but should be wet testing the Jacuzzi J365 late this week and that may tell the tale I'd imagine their insulation may be just as good as the others who use that method but then again I think Mike Tyson is a good singer for a heavyweight boxer. Did they really say the jet was 70 GPM? Thats more than 1 GPM per second lol! Somebody flubbed their sales script! Sure did, I don't really know but they were extremely powerful
  6. So she liked the feel of the 70GPM tornado jets huh? I didn't measure the output but that is what we were told and they were pretty darn strong
  7. I have a tendency to agree and I am going to be wet testing the Jacuzzi on Thursday so that will let us know. Unfortunately my wife and I are a ways apart in stature. She is slight and I am big with a longgg torso and that kind of limits the choices
  8. Paper thin........like wearing a T-shirt in the middle of winter And MASSIVE heat LOSS. The additional cost of heating this will almost certainly far exceed the costs of any possible future leak repairs. Thanks Dr. Spa, do you think the operating cost would be any worse than any other non-fully foamed tub?
  9. I basically mirror roger's comments but if you can definteily feel/see the difference in quality (not counting energy efficiency which you can't see) then think of the cost difference as being spread out over the life of the spa, not just the difference at point of purchase. I can see the difference in fit and finish between the maax and Artesian and the Strong as well as the Ecco. These are all value line to mid quality tubs in my opinion. There is a local manufacturer here called Aspen Spas. I like the idea of dealing with a local manufacturer that will jet the tub as I ask for it to be done. I haven't found any negative feedback on them. I can get a very nice, seemingly high quality spa in the 8 ft size for what I can get a 7 ft Jacuzzi for. The Aspen has 2 two speed 56 frame pumps as well as a single speed 56 frame pump and a circ pump. They use waterway jets and balboa controls, the tub is sprayed with 2# foam and the conections are all exposed for ease of repair, it has a full abs pan on the bottom, wood frame, duble sided reflective insulation mounted to the inside of the cabinet panels and under the tub. Warranty is comparable to the big companies. Do you think the management at Aspen know what a quality built tubs sells for? And they can build quality tubs and sell them for less? Or do you think they know what a quality tub sells for and have decided to build a cheaper tub by cutting a few simple corners (under Insulate) and sell them for less? Not sure but from the conversation we had it seems that they look at things from an ease of service perspective. I would imagine that the insulation is no better of worse than any other non-fully foamed tub. I really haven't even visited that debate but I know there are staunch supporters on either side of the discussion. My wife got sold on the two 70 gpm tornado jets so I am not sure how to get her off of that but should be wet testing the Jacuzzi J365 late this week and that may tell the tale
  10. Does anyone have any feedback on this company from a personal perspective? There is a local manufacturer here called Aspen Spas. I like the idea of dealing with a local manufacturer that will jet the tub as I ask for it to be done (add remove, move, change jets). I haven't found any negative feedback on them. I can get a very nice, seemingly high quality spa in the 8 ft size for what I can get a 7 ft Jacuzzi for. The Aspen Arcadia ES I had spec'd out has 2 two speed 56 frame pumps as well as a single speed 56 frame pump and a circ pump. They use waterway jets and balboa controls, the tub is sprayed with 2# foam and the conections are all exposed for ease of repair, it has a full abs pan on the bottom, wood frame, double sided reflective insulation mounted to the inside of the cabinet panels and under the tub. Warranty is comparable to the big companies. We have wet tested this tub extensively and it seems to be a great tub but for me there is a perceived quality difference between the Jacuzzi and the Aspen. I can't see it or feel it but I think it for some reason. Crazy I know but I do think that way. Here is a link. Please give me opinions of the tub as well as the idea of a local company to deal with http://aspen-spas.com/spas/arcadia
  11. I basically mirror roger's comments but if you can definteily feel/see the difference in quality (not counting energy efficiency which you can't see) then think of the cost difference as being spread out over the life of the spa, not just the difference at point of purchase. I can see the difference in fit and finish between the maax and Artesian and the Strong as well as the Ecco. These are all value line to mid quality tubs in my opinion. There is a local manufacturer here called Aspen Spas. I like the idea of dealing with a local manufacturer that will jet the tub as I ask for it to be done. I haven't found any negative feedback on them. I can get a very nice, seemingly high quality spa in the 8 ft size for what I can get a 7 ft Jacuzzi for. The Aspen has 2 two speed 56 frame pumps as well as a single speed 56 frame pump and a circ pump. They use waterway jets and balboa controls, the tub is sprayed with 2# foam and the conections are all exposed for ease of repair, it has a full abs pan on the bottom, wood frame, duble sided reflective insulation mounted to the inside of the cabinet panels and under the tub. Warranty is comparable to the big companies.
  12. You have the whole spectrum here. Strong on the value end, Maxx in the middle, Artisian above that and Hot Springs, Jacuzzi Caldera at the top. If you want a value tub buy one, if you want a top of the line tub buy one. If you cant see the difference in fit and finish and quality or feel the difference when you wet test (I know I can) Then what difference does it make. Longer lasting higher quality is important to some but not to others. If you go value end 3 years from now you likely won't know the difference except in your electric bill. 6 years from now you may be looking for a new tub. I plan for this to be my last tub (at least here at this house) I guess with the Maax and the Artesian being right around 7k and the Jacuzzi and Caldera right around 8k, that kind of make my decision for me. Ultimately the massage is the important thing and not so much the bling (nice but not necessary). I can definitely see and feel the difference but I have been weighing the difference in quality vs. the difference in cost and I am not sure how to factor that.
  13. I am deep into the process of paralyzing myself by over analyzing. I have a couple of other threads going but wanted one more set of opinions. I accidentally found out about Maax Spas and Artesian today and went to look at the Maax 480 and Artesian Island Captiva. In addition I got an email from a dealer telling me that he is getting in a new Strong Madrid 64. Previously I had ruled these out and started testing Hot Spring Vanguard, Jacuzzi J355 and a Caldera Geneva. All great solid premium spas. Would I be a fool to consider the lower line spas when I can afford the higher line spa/ Thanks Roger
  14. We are buying a new spa (our third) and the prices seem to vary pretty widely so I could use an assist if possible in my negotiations Right now the contenders are, in no particular order. Hot Spring Vanguard 10,395.00 Jacuzzi J365 8795.00 Caldera Utopia Geneva 8199.00 (2011 floor model) Sundance Chelsee 9600.00 I am thinking about checking out Dimension One but the dealer is about 75 miles away. Any input on pricing for any of these models? or am I missing out on checking any out? Thanks in advance Roger
  15. Well we wet tested the Jacuzzi J355 tonight. It wasn't very comfortable for her as she floated out of every seat. We did love the way the jets felt though. We are going to try to find the J365 with the foot dome and hope that solves the problem. Right now the contenders are in no particular order. Hot Spring Vanguard, Jacuzzi J365, Caldera Utopia Geneva, Sundance Chelsee ( I am thinking about checking out Dimension One but the dealer is about 75 miles away. Any input on pricing for any of these models?
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