Purchasing Advice Sought - Dealers Visited

[yukiginger]

Below are my notes on our shopping experience. We are close to a Jacuzzi 3-series purchase. I'm just wondering if there is something I'm missing or should consider. The tub is going under an outside gazebo structure (not all enclosed) and we are limited in space (and budget) to a tub that is approximately 7' square. All prices below are pretax and include delivery, steps, cover, cover lifter. I am in Western NY so insulation and the related operating costs are important. We wet tested the Jacuzzi only.

I am curious about your advice on the Jacuzzi 300 series and whether I have compared apples to apples on the others provided below. I also wonder what you think of the Paragon tubs and their construction/insulation.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Dealer 1:

Jacuzzi J-345 $7200, J-365 $7800 (a little larger at 91x84x38 inches deep to include the foot massage mound). Like this dealer a lot and is local – just a few miles from our house. Looked at the 400 series that they had – larger than we can handle and well out of the price range. Don’t think we need the extra bells and whistles of the 400 series. Dealer suggested that I go with a 60 amp breaker if we do purchase.

Dealer 2:

Sundance Altamar for $8000 floor model

Paragon (Sunrise) Spas – Genesis $9000 Removable insulation, plastic base and supports

Dealer 3:

Dimension1 dealer. Dealer pushed Maax spas, which seemed as expensive as the premium brands we had looked at; only had one D1 that wasn’t our size and didn’t seem interested in selling D1.

Dealer 4:

Hot Spring: can only afford the Prodigy or Sovereign and too shallow for me (I’m 6’4”). Next model up that the dealer had was the Vanguard and that was out of our price range. Liked the salesman and dealership generally. Showed us the HotSpot brand which seemed okay.

[Spa_Guru]

Hot spot is what I refer to as a "B" brand, of Hot Springs, lower warranty levels etc.

I am a spa repair professional, I like the way the Marquis is built.

I have fixed every brand made for over two decades, I don't sell spas.

You may want to try out a Marquis Wish or Reward, (both have varied seating for tall and short) or if you are happy with a "B" brand, they have a 660 that runs typically under $7K, but is a bit over 7 ft and has room for you.

However, since you were pretty vague about your location, I would like to add that it is not wise to purchase from a dealer that is 50+ miles away unless you have no other choices.

All of the brands mentioned are made on the west coast, so you pay for shipping on top of the price of the spa regardless.

http://www.marquisspas.com/storelocator/

COLLEY'S POOLS & SPAS

4953 CAMP ROAD

HAMBURG, NY 14075

Phone:(716) 649-7640

NATURE'S CREATIONS, INC.

853 SR 6 W

TUNHANNOCK, PA 18657

Phone:(570) 836-7604

[yukiginger]

Thanks, Spa Guru. I forgot to mention that I had searched for a Marquis dealer and there isn't one in my area.

[Spa_Guru]

Thanks, Spa Guru. I forgot to mention that I had searched for a Marquis dealer and there isn't one in my area.

Yes, dealers are not reimbursed by factories for travel costs "trip fees" are usually charged by dealers or 3rd pary repairmen and can be pretty steep.

When you sign off on your dream spa, have the dealer waive all trip fees for the duration of the warranty IN WRITING.

[spatech (the unreal one)]

All of the brands mentioned are made on the west coast, so you pay for shipping on top of the price of the spa regardless.

I love how you ignore his comments/questions about the other brands (and good ones at that) and once again shill for Marquis but I'm puzzled by this statement from you above.

I looked that his original post and he didn't ask anything that would elicit this response about where the spas are shipped from or shipping costs or... Furthermore, the fact that the Marquis brand is also made on the West Coast (unless Oregon has moved since I last looked) really makes me scratch my head as to why you even posted this.

Oh well, at least your post about trip fees was well said and wasn't even a "buy Marquis" ad.

[Tubber McGee]

Sounds like your set on the Jacuzzi - which is fine! But if you go with the Hot Spring, I would not recommend the Prodigy. It is a nice little tub, but I am 6'3' and was way too small. The seat are more upright so alot of your body would be out of the water The sovereign would be fine as the seats are reclined more - but west test. We ended up with the Vanguard but the we really liked the Sovereign would have worked. Good luck!

[Spa_Guru]

All of the brands mentioned are made on the west coast, so you pay for shipping on top of the price of the spa regardless.

I love how you ignore his comments/questions about the other brands (and good ones at that) and once again shill for Marquis but I'm puzzled by this statement from you above.

I looked that his original post and he didn't ask anything that would elicit this response about where the spas are shipped from or shipping costs or... Furthermore, the fact that the Marquis brand is also made on the West Coast (unless Oregon has moved since I last looked) really makes me scratch my head as to why you even posted this.

Oh well, at least your post about trip fees was well said and wasn't even a "buy Marquis" ad.

When I said "All of the brands mentioned", that meant all brands, including the one I mentioned. Simple, no? I advised against buying any brand sold at a dealer too far from him, regardless of my opinon on it.

If my response is inaccurate, tell me what is. Better yet, ask me why my avatar isn't an advertisement as some here are.

This forum if for posting, amongst other things, opinions. Based on my experience I have them.

[spawn]

yukiginger - It sounds like you have gone through a good process of finding a spa and wet testing the Jacuzzi confirmed that you don't have issues with comfort, depth etc.. Wet testing the other tubs would give you a bit of perspective, but I find wet testing is more likely to reveal problems or concerns and that apparently did not happen with the Jacuzzi.

Regarding Jacuzzi, I like their 300 series. The 400 series tubs are very nice but come at a premium price - some people really like them but I think you get a bettter value with the 300 series. Actually, the 345 and 365 are my two favorite tubs from jacuzzi although I don't own either (different pricing in my area).

It seems to me that you have found a good dealer, near to you with a couple of tubs that will meet you needs well. I think the foot jets in the 345 are more effective but on the other hand you can access foot jets from all seats in the 365. You can't make a wrong choice between the two, i am sure you will be happy with either one.

[spawn]

All of the brands mentioned are made on the west coast, so you pay for shipping on top of the price of the spa regardless.

I love how you ignore his comments/questions about the other brands (and good ones at that) and once again shill for Marquis but I'm puzzled by this statement from you above.

I looked that his original post and he didn't ask anything that would elicit this response about where the spas are shipped from or shipping costs or... Furthermore, the fact that the Marquis brand is also made on the West Coast (unless Oregon has moved since I last looked) really makes me scratch my head as to why you even posted this.

Oh well, at least your post about trip fees was well said and wasn't even a "buy Marquis" ad.

When I said "All of the brands mentioned", that meant all brands, including the one I mentioned. Simple, no? I advised against buying any brand sold at a dealer too far from him, regardless of my opinon on it.

If my response is inaccurate, tell me what is. Better yet, ask me why my avatar isn't an advertisement as some here are.

This forum if for posting, amongst other things, opinions. Based on my experience I have them.

Spa Guru - I know we have something of a debate going in another thread and I sincerely offer these comments with no hard feelings.

I think that spatech was confused why you would raise the issue of the spas being shipped from the west coast because it seems to be completely irrelevant. I don't think it is inaccurate, but what is the point? How does it help the OP in any way?

As for the avatar, I appreciate it when someone who promotes a specific brand of spa is upfront about it. When I consider his comments I can consider his biases. If an arctic dealer posts that one should never buy a full foam spa I can say to myself - he may have a point, but he pushes arctic. If a Hot Springs dealer says that one should make sure that all water is filtered I can similarly think - there may be advantages but he pushes Hot Springs. I have seen enough of your posts to know that you will always pick the Marquis. However, some newbie, who comes on here to learn and get opinions may not know of your strong bias. Maybe it would be more ethical if you did have an avatar that clearly expressed this strong bias you have. Here's a text version that you may consider "I don't sell Hot tubs, I just repair them when they break and I believe that Marquis makes the best tub out there."

[spatech (the unreal one)]

Dealer 1:

Jacuzzi J-345 $7200, J-365 $7800 (a little larger at 91x84x38 inches deep to include the foot massage mound). Like this dealer a lot and is local – just a few miles from our house. Looked at the 400 series that they had – larger than we can handle and well out of the price range. Don’t think we need the extra bells and whistles of the 400 series. Dealer suggested that I go with a 60 amp breaker if we do purchase.

Dealer 2:

Sundance Altamar for $8000 floor model

Paragon (Sunrise) Spas – Genesis $9000 Removable insulation, plastic base and supports

Dealer 3:

Dimension1 dealer. Dealer pushed Maax spas, which seemed as expensive as the premium brands we had looked at; only had one D1 that wasn’t our size and didn’t seem interested in selling D1.

Dealer 4:

Hot Spring: can only afford the Prodigy or Sovereign and too shallow for me (I’m 6’4”). Next model up that the dealer had was the Vanguard and that was out of our price range. Liked the salesman and dealership generally. Showed us the HotSpot brand which seemed okay.

#1) I prefer the 300 series to the 400 series as well, much better value IMO (and 400 series requires a pricey cover). Not sure of need for 60A, find out price difference over 50A first.

#2) Altamar is a good option. Not sure of pricing.

#3) Maxx is ok. He doesn't sound like he's long for having D1 in house.

#4) If pricing of the premium spas sends you toward Hot Spot that’is not a bad option if you want to skip bells/whistles and your budget has limits. Forget the "B" brand bash made earlier. Every brand has multiple brand levels. One way to keep price down is to lower warranty length so that is not a dierct indicator of quality in reality. Its like Sundance having the Burlington as an option instead of the Altimar, similar size/layout, just a lower price point (you might look at that one too since you like the Altimar).

[Spa_Guru]

Where a tub is built is a consideration in case he wishes to compare with one manufactured in his state, if any, it is part of what he will pay for with any spa purchased from 3,000 miles away.

The point being, he may get a better value with something manufactured closer to him.

He won't get the protection he gets from a national brand, but that is for the customer to decide.

Oh, and I took your advice.

[spawn]

Cool!

[yukiginger]

Sounds like your set on the Jacuzzi - which is fine! But if you go with the Hot Spring, I would not recommend the Prodigy. It is a nice little tub, but I am 6'3' and was way too small. The seat are more upright so alot of your body would be out of the water The sovereign would be fine as the seats are reclined more - but west test. We ended up with the Vanguard but the we really liked the Sovereign would have worked. Good luck!

Tubber, thanks. Yes, the Sovereign and Prodigy were too shallow for me and like I said, the next model they had was the Vanguard, which is just too far out of the price range to even consider.

[yukiginger]

Thanks for all the discussion. This does help. Again, we are looking hard at the Jacuzzis. I just need to decide if I can fit the 365 well in the space and convince the wife to spend the extra dollars on it.

Does anyone have opinions on the utility/use of footjets? The 365 has a "foot mound" containing foot jets for all seating positions.

http://www.jacuzzihottubs.com/j-300/j-365.html

The 345, at 84x84x36 does not have the foot mound and has just two "calf-level" jets in one position.

http://www.jacuzzihottubs.com/j-300/j-345.html

Thank you.

[spawn]

yukiginger - Footjets are interesting. Some people don't seem to give them much thought or care about them while for others the foot jets are a very high prioity. Personally, my wife and I like useful foot jets a lot. In fact, she doesn't use the typical back etc jets that much unless she has a sore spot - back or shoulders from working in the yard, legs from bike riding, etc and prefers to just sit where she is not in front of the jets but with all the jets on high and the water swirling, but she always uses the foot jetting. On the other hand, I go though a routine and move around the tub in front of different jets and pretty much hit every part of the body. I always start with the foot jets and go back from time to time while hitting another area.

I have found that on some tubs, the pressure in the foot jets is not very significant, which may be fine for some people. We like powerful foot jets. Our tub has a single, very powerful volcano type jet that is great for us. The downside is that there is only one jet, but we just take turns and it works very well for us.

The J345 actually does have foot jets. When you sit across the tub from those two jets below the filter you can hit both feet with the powerful foot jets at the same time. Sitting in the corners, two people could each use one of the foot jets.

My opinion, and it may not be right for you, and others may see it differently is as follows. Get the j-365 if there are more than two people in your household or if you are absolutely certain that you will often have others over to use the tub with you. Get the j-345 if there are just two of you or if powerful foot jetting is important for you and instead of convincing your wife to spend the extra $600 use the cash to buy a couple of plane tickets for a nice trip out of town.

[yukiginger]

Spawn, thanks. I like your advice.