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Anyone Own A Catalina Xl 16000 Spa Or Know Anything About This Company?


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I would like to hear from owner's of Catalina, Sundance, or D1 spas. I'm currently considering the Catalina XL 16000 because of its layout. It has two seats with neck jets, seats 6-7 people and has an open layout that the kids can swim back and fourth in. Is this a good spa? Warranty sounds pretty standard. Any advice from spa owners would be great. I've heard quite a bit from salesmen already and am trying to match apples to apples. :unsure:

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I would like to hear from owner's of Catalina, Sundance, or D1 spas. I'm currently considering the Catalina XL 16000 because of its layout. It has two seats with neck jets, seats 6-7 people and has an open layout that the kids can swim back and fourth in. Is this a good spa? Warranty sounds pretty standard. Any advice from spa owners would be great. I've heard quite a bit from salesmen already and am trying to match apples to apples. :unsure:

If you check consumer reports I think you will find that the sundance has the best rating. If you are looking for an open spa check out the maxxus!

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If you check consumer reports I think you will find that the sundance has the best rating. If you are looking for an open spa check out the maxxus!

I wasn't aware that consumer reports were rating spas yet, I personally would go with sundance or d1

If you check consumer reports I think you will find that the sundance has the best rating. If you are looking for an open spa check out the maxxus!

yep, I just checked and there is no info on spas at consumer reports

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I looked at the footprint. It's smaller than ours and our 2 1/2 year old can't really "swim" across, so I wouldn't count on using it for that. I would strongly suggest you go to a few dealers and wet test, meaning putting on a suit and getting in. D1 and Sundance seem to be well respected in the industry. I know nothing about Catalina other than there is a dealer here but I did not examine them. You mentioned the warranty. You may want to see if they prorate sections that others do not. Enjoy shopping for a spa.

Oh and CR has never reviewed spas. Any rating such as Consumers Digest, Pool and Spa etc is purchased with marketing dollars. Unfortunately I don't believe there are any truly unbiased ratings anywhere.

Wet test. Be comfortable with your local dealer. You'll probably be OK.

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I tried looking up spas at consumer reports and could not find anything either, that is why I joined this forum. You all seem so well informed and give good advice. I see alot of comments on Sundance and D1 spas, but sometimes I think it's a bored salesperson on line.

I'll wet test. The Catalina Salesman said he'd hold my price ($8000.00) for a xl 16000, for a month for good faith while I do my research. (Have to give him credit for that - he's been really patient about the whole thing especially since my spouse bought the spa and I had called to cancel within 3 days.) Their warranty is pro-rated, but aren't most warranties?

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I tried looking up spas at consumer reports and could not find anything either, that is why I joined this forum. You all seem so well informed and give good advice. I see alot of comments on Sundance and D1 spas, but sometimes I think it's a bored salesperson on line.

I'll wet test. The Catalina Salesman said he'd hold my price ($8000.00) for a xl 16000, for a month for good faith while I do my research. (Have to give him credit for that - he's been really patient about the whole thing especially since my spouse bought the spa and I had called to cancel within 3 days.) Their warranty is pro-rated, but aren't most warranties?

Catalina makes a fine product. However there are many fine products out there. It seems that in most cases in the spa industry you get what you pay for, but there is also a price for a name. I like Marquis, I think they product is as good as any manufacturer and better than alot. I do not own one but they are priced better than alot of tubs that are of poorer quality. But there are others that also will be priced better than your "Top Selling Name Brands" yet they will be as good or better tubs. So the advise above to look around at all the available brands in your are is good advice. If your still interested in the Cat after your reasearch by all means negotiate the price down. If your still interested in the Cat call the dealer after your research and tell him your still interested but his number was a bit high. Seems to me like a negotiating opportunity.

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Unfortunately, I cannot negotiate this price down. He's standing firm on this price and won't budge. It drives me crazy that I cannot find anything on them. I think my next step is to call the spa repair people and see what they have to say. I'll let you guys know if I find out more info on the Catalina. Couldn't find them on ripoff.com, bbb doesn't really give any relavent info, and e-opinions have nothing on them either. This company was originally from the Catalina Boat company. Its components are from Balboa Instruments. The background Catalina yachts and Balboa Instruments are well know, but I can not find anything on the spas and they supposedly have been around for over 20 years. Does this sound a bit fishy to any of you?

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Unfortunately, I cannot negotiate this price down. He's standing firm on this price and won't budge. It drives me crazy that I cannot find anything on them. I think my next step is to call the spa repair people and see what they have to say. I'll let you guys know if I find out more info on the Catalina. Couldn't find them on ripoff.com, bbb doesn't really give any relavent info, and e-opinions have nothing on them either. This company was originally from the Catalina Boat company. Its components are from Balboa Instruments. The background Catalina yachts and Balboa Instruments are well know, but I can not find anything on the spas and they supposedly have been around for over 20 years. Does this sound a bit fishy to any of you?

Catalina spas are on my list of good values and that list is really short. They have been around for a long time, and make excellent shells. They use decent equipment. The parts I don't like are the foot wells seem to be missing on many models. Not enough room for all the feet and too many bullet jets. The mahogony cabinets are not as nice as good redwood or cedar, but seem to be adequate.

The spa industry has gone "bullet jet crazy" in that they use cheaper smaller jets to get the number of jets in the catalog to be higher. A spa with 100 bullet jets is not as good as a spa with 20 large rotational powerful real jets. Bullet jets just do not do the job on the human back. There are some parts of the body that bullet jets are appropriate, but not on large muscles in my opinion. Bullet jets cost about 1/7 the cost of a real jet.

Balboa is fine.

The only issues I hear about Catalina is the warranty is not as good as other brands, but they are not as expensive as other brands either.

I can't recommend D-1 or Sundance over other better valued brands.

The brands I like that seem to have value are Haven, Emerald, Catalina, Arctic, LA, Phoenix.

There are no independent companies who give evaluations on spas. They are all paid (misleading) advertising. It is something that needs to go away so that consumers are not filled with confusing nonsense.

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Thank you Jim. Your information has been helpful. I like the Catalina Spa, but do not like the warranty as well - I guess it does all come down to the dealer and how helpful they are. I'm getting ready to wet test one this week - Wish me luck.

If you can get a list of customers at least twenty who that dealer has sold. Ask for a random list, so you get

owners with and without problems. It is important to see how the dealer handles problems. If you can't get a list, then there is something wrong. One of the good things about Catalina is they use pretty standard parts, so you can buy parts from most any spa service company.

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