Help! Buying A Used Sundance And Need Advice!

[mcaimless]

OK, I may have made a big mistake here but I can get out of it if I have to...

I purchased a used Sundance Spa from a spa refurbishing outfit here in the Phoenix area. It was advertised as a 2001 unit and when we looked at it it looked fine, though the cabinet was a bit worn and sun damaged but had been freshly stained (the broker was selling the unit right out of the original owner's yard where it was up and running). The price was $2250 with a new cover and 30 day warranty.

The unit was delivered today and after the deal was finished and the broker left I took off the front panel to wire it up and saw that the serial number plate inside had a manufacture date of August 1997. I was livid because this was now an 11 1/2 year old spa instead of 8 years as I was told. I called the broker and told him that I was very displeased and got a very long drawn-out explanation that the date on the serial number plate really had nothing to do with when the spa was actually put into service and that it could have been warehoused for years before it was actually been used. He had called the original owner and the guy insisted that he'd bought the spa new at the most 8 years ago.

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do (I am stopping payment on the check tomorrow and need to renegotiate with the broker or backout). I don't think that the price I paid is right for a tub of this age and I have to decide if I want to keep this tub at all or what price would be fair market value. Also I need to know if there is any truth that a tub with a manufacture date of 1997 would be not sold for 4 years. That seems very far-fetched to me and I told the broker that given the lack of a reciept from the original owner I have to go with the 1997 date. Any ideas on what the value of a tub that age and in good working order (but as far as I can tell all original parts) would be?

Thanks!

[mcaimless]

And I should add that this is a Cameo model of Sundance.

[JKM]

I'd call the dealer that sold the spa and see if they have data on the install date. Other than that, I'd say that they misrepresented the spa in question. I'd either demand a deep discount or insist that they take it back. Either way you should not deal with these people ever again.

[Yunus]

I would look at this situation just like the purchase of a used car. If you bought a car and the dealer said its an 01' and you got it home and the vin number says it was manufactured in 1997 what would you do? I don't care if it sat for years without use, it's no different than a car. A 97' is worth less than an 01' if everything else is equal and you were sold on an 01'.

[mcaimless]

I agree. I just need to figure out how much I should discount the value of the hot tub now sitting in my back yard IF I decide to keep it. I've looked at Craigslist and tried to find a comparable tub but haven't seen any.

I'm also worried that, given its age, its components will start to break down. Obviously I have no idea how much it was used over the years but is there pretty much a rule of thumb as to when parts start to go on these things? The broker wants me to just take a couple hundred off the price and he'll throw in a year warranty (instead of the 30 days originally offered). Still seems like too much to me...

Is there anyone here who sells used tubs and can give me an approximate value?

Thanks!

[KIALDA]

OK, I may have made a big mistake here but I can get out of it if I have to...

I purchased a used Sundance Spa from a spa refurbishing outfit here in the Phoenix area. It was advertised as a 2001 unit and when we looked at it it looked fine, though the cabinet was a bit worn and sun damaged but had been freshly stained (the broker was selling the unit right out of the original owner's yard where it was up and running). The price was $2250 with a new cover and 30 day warranty.

The unit was delivered today and after the deal was finished and the broker left I took off the front panel to wire it up and saw that the serial number plate inside had a manufacture date of August 1997. I was livid because this was now an 11 1/2 year old spa instead of 8 years as I was told. I called the broker and told him that I was very displeased and got a very long drawn-out explanation that the date on the serial number plate really had nothing to do with when the spa was actually put into service and that it could have been warehoused for years before it was actually been used. He had called the original owner and the guy insisted that he'd bought the spa new at the most 8 years ago.

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do (I am stopping payment on the check tomorrow and need to renegotiate with the broker or backout). I don't think that the price I paid is right for a tub of this age and I have to decide if I want to keep this tub at all or what price would be fair market value. Also I need to know if there is any truth that a tub with a manufacture date of 1997 would be not sold for 4 years. That seems very far-fetched to me and I told the broker that given the lack of a reciept from the original owner I have to go with the 1997 date. Any ideas on what the value of a tub that age and in good working order (but as far as I can tell all original parts) would be?

Thanks!

I would be concerned also. As someone else here posted, there is a big difference between a 2001 and a 1997.

My first suggestion would be to contact your local Sundance Dealer. All dealers have access to the Sundance data base. They can look up that spa by the serial number. It will give them the name of the original owner, the town they lived in, the manufacture date and the Real Delivery date. You will know the true date the spa was put into service. You may even be able to post that serial number on here and someone could look it up for you.

A dealer can also contact Sundance and find out the store that spa was sold thru. If you then contacted that store they may have a complete service record of that spa.

I believe knowing the facts and the history of that spa may help your discussions with the company you purchased it from..

[mcaimless]

I've decided to not go with this spa. Even as an 8 year old unit it was a bit outside my comfort zone to purchase and now as an 11+ year old spa I'm not at all comfortable.

Now I'm wading back into that morass known as Craigslist to try to find a decent used tub in my price range. I've looked here and gleaned a lot of good advice so will proceed with caution.

I'm really looking for the most energy efficient tub I can find-- can you tell me what to look for in motor options to achieve this? I'm purchasing mostly for the hot water and not the hydrotherapy (I have fibromyalgia and the jets can be annoying or painful to me) so I want a tub that stays pretty hot and is used very frequently. It will be used about 90% of the time by just my husband and myself but would like to be able to seat at least 4 if we have guests.

Right now I've seen Jacuzzi, Sundance, Cal Spa, and one labled as "Spa Depot" that are newer tubs right around $2k. Any feedback would be great (I'd wet test before purchasing).

Thanks!

[spatech (the unreal one)]

I'm really looking for the most energy efficient tub I can find-- can you tell me what to look for in motor options to achieve this?

Right now I've seen Jacuzzi, Sundance, Cal Spa, and one labled as "Spa Depot" that are newer tubs right around $2k. Any feedback would be great (I'd wet test before purchasing).

Thanks!

I'd skip the Spa Depot unit if you want to control your energy use and don't worry much about pump size, the insulation method and quality make of the spa mean more (so I'd skip the Cal as well). You should find plenty of options out there but if you want to increase your odds of getting a good unit I'd stick with Arctic, Artesian, Beachcomber, Caldera, D1, Jacuzzi, Hot Spring, Marquis or Sundance.

If you're patient the right spa will come along, don't settle for someone else's headache spa. One word of advice, under NO circumstances should you EVER buy a used spa without personally seeing it in operation (regardless of how much they swear it was working perfectly before they disconnected it and only used for baptisms on Sunday).

[ps558]

I've decided to not go with this spa. Even as an 8 year old unit it was a bit outside my comfort zone to purchase and now as an 11+ year old spa I'm not at all comfortable.

Now I'm wading back into that morass known as Craigslist to try to find a decent used tub in my price range. I've looked here and gleaned a lot of good advice so will proceed with caution.

I'm really looking for the most energy efficient tub I can find-- can you tell me what to look for in motor options to achieve this? I'm purchasing mostly for the hot water and not the hydrotherapy (I have fibromyalgia and the jets can be annoying or painful to me) so I want a tub that stays pretty hot and is used very frequently. It will be used about 90% of the time by just my husband and myself but would like to be able to seat at least 4 if we have guests.

Right now I've seen Jacuzzi, Sundance, Cal Spa, and one labled as "Spa Depot" that are newer tubs right around $2k. Any feedback would be great (I'd wet test before purchasing).

Thanks!

My advice, save up some more money and buy a new spa with a warranty. There are tubs out there new for a good price and work well.

[mcaimless]

Well I've decided to get a 2005 Sundance Cayman-- I know it's not a high end Sundance and I see that it has just one pump... but given that I rarely use the jets is this a disadvantage of any kind? The spa is in excellent shape (only driven by a little old lady on Sundays...) and looks almost brand new.

Anyone have any experience with this particular spa? What are the pros and cons of 1 vs 2 pump spas?

Thx