Spa Shopping, & Local Prices Too High!

[sker]

I'm looking for a spa in the 84" size, probably without lounger. Foot massage is a priority for the wife. For me, I have a problem back, so good back therapy is necessary. Don't need a stereo...although the Spaudio looks really cool...but way to pricey. I'm a fan of the lighting, but not a huge priority. My local dealers carry Marquis, Hot Springs, Nordic, Garden Leisure, Coleman, D1 and Sundance. A Caldera dealer is 70 miles away, and if I go 100 miles away there are a few more choices.

I have a quote for a Tiger Caspian as follows: $8630 includes cover, delivery, setup, chems, ground fault breakers, plus $299 for cover lift (CoverMateII), plus $399 for purification, inc...total of $9,228. Same items in Vangaurd would be $10,196 (ozone is included on Vanguard, though). Does this sound like too much? It's a local dealer, good rep for having service techs who know what they are doing, but they are a little "slow to respond" in some other areas, and looks like they are not very price competitive, and didn't really want to haggle at all...kind of "this is our price, take it or leave it" attitude. What's a guy to do who wants a Hot Springs, but the local dealer is too pricey? Next Hot Springs dealer is 100 miles away.

Hot Springs has rebates right now that would bring it down a bit, but I'd like to start at a decent price and THEN get the rebate.

I've yet to visit the D1 dealer, who also has Coleman. It looks like a D1 Wayfarer or Sojourn would be ones to consider...the other D1s might be too large.

The Sundance dealer is a one-person operation who doesn't keep very friendly store hours and only has one spa on display.

I'm probably going to avoid Garden Leisure and the Nordics all look too plain-jane for me.

I've also been to the local Marquis dealer. I've actually been a customer for some pool related things and feel pretty comfortable with them. But again, pricing seems to be at the high end...much more than most of the prices quoted on this forum (by a $1,000 or more).

By the way, I'm in a market where I don't think there should be any reason that prices are higher. Overhead for doing business here is a lot less than most other parts of the country. I know you get what you pay for generally, but I don't want to overpay, either.

I haven't wet tested any yet...I'm trying to get a handle on price, first. I don't want to get my heart set on a model during wet testing knowing that I can't wrangle a good price out of the dealer.

What to do? Should I call the Hot Springs/Marquis dealer in the next closest city to me to see if they can do better on price?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Rod

[Trigger]

Where are you located?

The Tiger River is a good tub, but that price is....nuts.

[sker]

Where are you located?

The Tiger River is a good tub, but that price is....nuts.

That's what I thought.

I just visited the local D1 dealer.

Sojourn/Wayfarer $6,399.

The only D1 spa I could fit in my space without a lot of hassle is the Aurora II. They have it for $7,999.

The Coleman C-470 is around $7,000 (I can't be sure because they were at the local fair and took this model with them...they person watching the store didn't know the price exactly). It sound like on all of these I might be able to work a slightly better price.

Do these sound better? I think this particular local dealer can be trusted in the are of service after the sale.

By the way, I also talked to the HS dealer in the next closest city. My suspicions were correct: he has the Caspian for $7,400 delivered, including ozone, lift, steps, cover, set up, chemicals. $8,500 for similarly equipped Vanguard. The salesman there didn't seem to know anything about any HS rebates. Are they for real? So these are the normal, everyday price without any "rebates" and they beat my local dealer substantially.

So the question is: go with a D1 or Coleman from local dealer, if the price is right. Or with a HS from a dealer 80 miles away (the price does seem right, and from talking to them, they WILL back me up with service...I'd just have to pay a bit of mileage for service visits).

I'm in a smaller city in the Midwest, pop 100,000. Things are wide open out here:) So the next closest HS dealers are about 80 and 100 miles away.

I think I'll wet test the Tiger Caspian, HS Vanguard, Coleman 470, D1 Sojourn. Even though I'm leaning against a lounger, I might also try the Coleman 471, and the D1 Aurora II. Once decided on the tub, then I'll study the best price/performance/service bang for the buck.

Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

Rod

[Spamaster101]

I would get the Marquis or the Hot Springs much better spas all around.

[Brulan1]

I'm looking for a spa in the 84" size, probably without lounger. Foot massage is a priority for the wife. For me, I have a problem back, so good back therapy is necessary. Don't need a stereo...although the Spaudio looks really cool...but way to pricey. I'm a fan of the lighting, but not a huge priority. My local dealers carry Marquis, Hot Springs, Nordic, Garden Leisure, Coleman, D1 and Sundance. A Caldera dealer is 70 miles away, and if I go 100 miles away there are a few more choices.

I have a quote for a Tiger Caspian as follows: $8630 includes cover, delivery, setup, chems, ground fault breakers, plus $299 for cover lift (CoverMateII), plus $399 for purification, inc...total of $9,228. Same items in Vangaurd would be $10,196 (ozone is included on Vanguard, though). Does this sound like too much? It's a local dealer, good rep for having service techs who know what they are doing, but they are a little "slow to respond" in some other areas, and looks like they are not very price competitive, and didn't really want to haggle at all...kind of "this is our price, take it or leave it" attitude. What's a guy to do who wants a Hot Springs, but the local dealer is too pricey? Next Hot Springs dealer is 100 miles away.

Hot Springs has rebates right now that would bring it down a bit, but I'd like to start at a decent price and THEN get the rebate.

I've yet to visit the D1 dealer, who also has Coleman. It looks like a D1 Wayfarer or Sojourn would be ones to consider...the other D1s might be too large.

The Sundance dealer is a one-person operation who doesn't keep very friendly store hours and only has one spa on display.

I'm probably going to avoid Garden Leisure and the Nordics all look too plain-jane for me.

I've also been to the local Marquis dealer. I've actually been a customer for some pool related things and feel pretty comfortable with them. But again, pricing seems to be at the high end...much more than most of the prices quoted on this forum (by a $1,000 or more).

By the way, I'm in a market where I don't think there should be any reason that prices are higher. Overhead for doing business here is a lot less than most other parts of the country. I know you get what you pay for generally, but I don't want to overpay, either.

I haven't wet tested any yet...I'm trying to get a handle on price, first. I don't want to get my heart set on a model during wet testing knowing that I can't wrangle a good price out of the dealer.

What to do? Should I call the Hot Springs/Marquis dealer in the next closest city to me to see if they can do better on price?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

When you go back to Marquis dealer tell them that they are selling a Coleman spa with just as many jets and everything for 1,000 dollars less and they will drop the price 1,000 bucks. Marquis is notorious for knocking prices at least in my area. Give it a try it might suprise you. Tell them you really like them and that you will buy the spa if you meet Coleman's price because the tubs are similar in alot of aspects.

Rod

[queenwench]

No stranger to Hot Tub/Spa's (I had a Hot Springs Classic for many years and loved it!); had to leave it behind when I moved from Ohio. Now that my yard is ready for another spa, I've been lurking( ) on this forum and a few others for 1 1/2 years; reading and learning what others have to say about what is out there; the good, the bad, and the not so good (COSTCO for example [that thread get's a little toooo back biting for me]).

I have a limited space...very limited....A few of my friends here have Marqiuis Spa's and I find them a better fit and have a great company policy....I decided I wanted a Marquis Rendezvous, and again, I have a very limted space allotment. The Marquis dealer has since chosen to handle only pools, NO MORE SPA'S!!!! The Marquis CS departemnt told me to go with the Hot Springs as they had no dealer in my area anymore, he also said they were a very good company. Now, How Many Dealers DO NOT diss the competition???. The good thing here is that Marquis is honoring ALL the previous purchases of this former dealer. They send a tech, from parts distant, to do repairs that are still under contract w/o charging the spa owners.

For me, I'm out of luck, they told me they would NOT recommend me purchasing a spa from them as they would have to charge me the tech time distance travel which is east, west, and, south a very long treck.

So, yes, I'm getting the Hot Springs....the dealer is well established and has a very good product...I'm just not as happy with what I am having to buy as I would have been with the Marquis model.

Please, test out the Marquis spa of your choice, before going with the Coleman....Not that Coleman is a bad spa...but, I do believe that you may find the Marquis a better company to deal with in the long run. Just My opinion....

Regards,

Queenwench

[Newbie4Now]

Personally [and this is a completely subjective observation], I was not impressed with the actual layout of the Marquis tubs -- I am going back for a wet test, though (and will report on the experience...).

What I did notice was the warranty language -- It seems Very Good in this industry, especially (for anyone putting a tub in a "permanent" location who may sell their property) the fact that it's transferable.

Here's the document on their site...

[sker]

Personally [and this is a completely subjective observation], I was not impressed with the actual layout of the Marquis tubs -- I am going back for a wet test, though (and will report on the experience...).

What I did notice was the warranty language -- It seems Very Good in this industry, especially (for anyone putting a tub in a "permanent" location who may sell their property) the fact that it's transferable.

Here's the document on their site...

The Marquis seems a little plain-jane to me. No pillows (not that it is a deal-breaker). And the cabinet seemed a little "cheap" to me compared to, say a D1 where you can "feel" the thickness. Their filtration philosophy is a bit different...the pumps run occasionally, but when they do it is a more "vigorous" filtration. They think it does a better job of filtering WHEN it actually filters. I'm kinda partial to the models that have their own circulation pump...makes more sense to me to have a pump that is inteded just for filtration running at a low speed, rather than having one pump pull double duty. One salesmen said that he didn't think the Marquis stacks up with the D1, Sundance or Hot Springs in overall quality, but to each his own, I guess. I do know that I just don't see the "premium" price tag my local Marquis dealer has attached to his tubs.

The warranty does seem good. A HS dealer I talked to also talked up the fact that HS is very, very good at handling warranty claims and issues...unlike some other companies which will try to weasel their way out and use excuses to not fix an issue.

Rod

[TravelingSpaGuy]

Get the Aurora II...wet test it if you can afford the 7999...thats a very good price if it includes cover lift and steps. How tall are you, the Aurora II is great for people 6 feet and under but even my 6'2 co-worker loves that tub. Thing I like about the Aurora is the big jets, every jet in the tub is the larger faces jet and its the strongest performing tub in the reflection line of D1. The wayfarer for some reason is kinda weak and Sojourn outperforms it by leaps and bounds. Get the Ultra Life with the Aurora, get an led color changing light, it is awesome at night reflecting off white shell. Since Marquis was bought out 5ish years ago I don't like Marquis as much because they have become more generic, even though circ pumps are prone to failure they do make spas opporate at less cost. The difference in your electric will make up for replacing your circ pump every 4 to 5 years. The Tiger River price is stupid, Watkins makes Tiger River to have a cheap tub for the people who cant afford the hot springs.