figuring out prices and value cal spas, caldera, jacuzzi

[Delph]

Hello,

We recently started looking for a 5-6 persons hot tub. We have no experience and no idea what we're talking about but we're learning. We looked at jacuzzi, Caldera and Cal spas tubs. A sale person told us that Caldera was the best, and that we would not find any complaints about any model....we quickly find that to be wrong, even though it does seem to be a good brand.He then told us we could get the Geneva floor model for 10000, tax included, with cover, steps, delivery and so on...We went home trying to find what this spa goes for, but it's so hard to find prices anywhere!!!! It didn't seem like it would be an amazing deal from what we saw. 

Any opinion on that matter? and out of these 3 brands, which one would be the most reliable?

Thanks

Edited February 16, 2017 by Delph
mistake

[Jersey Hot Tub Repair]

They're all good tubs.  Reliability is a combination of how well you take care of it and luck of the draw.  Just so you know, the motors and pumps in all hot tubs are made by one of four companies, and it's common to see different pump manufacturers within the same model and brand.   The point being, if someone tells you the pump in their Jacuzzi died after 4 months, it's not because Jacuzzi isn't reliable.  It's because the pump happened to be a lemon.

Luck of the draw also depends on when the tub was made, which is something you'll never know, what happens on a factory floor at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon.  If the guy who glues the pipes is rushing out for the weekend and puts too little glue on a joint, you'll have a leak a year later.

Finally, if you pour half a pound of chlorine into it once a week, you're going to have problems as the chlorine eats away the tub.  If you don't do anything, the filters will clog and give you lots of flow errors and no heat situations.  You'll be cursing the tub when the problem is your lack of care.

Once again, the point being that all three brands you mentioned are good brands.  I'd be more concerned about the reputation of the dealer you buy it from.  That way if you have a problem, it would be nice to have a dealer who will stand behind his product and take care of his customers.