easman61 Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 My wife and I have narrowed down our spa search to Caldera - primarily from what I've read here and a very reputable dealer being just down the road from where we live. We made an offer on what we thought was a 2005 leftover Aspire with a sound system. When I went in to pay a deposit to hold the spa until our patio can be constructed, I noticed that the spa did not have an auxilary control panel like the 2005 and 2006 catalogue showed the unit having as standard. Everything else seems to be the same. I asked if this could be a 2004. The manager (very nice/very helpful/no pressure/no bad mouthing competition) said she didn't think so but would check. Several hours later she called and said that it was in fact a 2004 model. I asked what kind of discount she could offer up on the tub. She said make her an offer. I had made an offer which was accepted of $6395 including wood steps and a cover lifter when I believed I was getting a 2005 tub. Assuming we get comfotable with the fact that there is not an auxillary control panel (seems like a cool feature to me - to be able to adjust jets from both sides of the tub) would I be crazy to buy a 2004 model? To you sales people out there, how much of a discount should I expect? Are there any watchouts to buying a tub that has been sitting on a sales floor since December 2004? The tub has some very fine scratches on the seats that the manager told me would rub out before I took delivery. I doubt you could see them once there was water in the tub. I know it has had water in it before as there is some down in the volcano jet. I would definitely want a wet test given the age of the tub. Thanks for any advice you can give me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 My wife and I have narrowed down our spa search to Caldera - primarily from what I've read here and a very reputable dealer being just down the road from where we live. We made an offer on what we thought was a 2005 leftover Aspire with a sound system. When I went in to pay a deposit to hold the spa until our patio can be constructed, I noticed that the spa did not have an auxilary control panel like the 2005 and 2006 catalogue showed the unit having as standard. Everything else seems to be the same. I asked if this could be a 2004. The manager (very nice/very helpful/no pressure/no bad mouthing competition) said she didn't think so but would check. Several hours later she called and said that it was in fact a 2004 model. I asked what kind of discount she could offer up on the tub. She said make her an offer. I had made an offer which was accepted of $6395 including wood steps and a cover lifter when I believed I was getting a 2005 tub. Assuming we get comfotable with the fact that there is not an auxillary control panel (seems like a cool feature to me - to be able to adjust jets from both sides of the tub) would I be crazy to buy a 2004 model? To you sales people out there, how much of a discount should I expect? Are there any watchouts to buying a tub that has been sitting on a sales floor since December 2004? The tub has some very fine scratches on the seats that the manager told me would rub out before I took delivery. I doubt you could see them once there was water in the tub. I know it has had water in it before as there is some down in the volcano jet. I would definitely want a wet test given the age of the tub. Thanks for any advice you can give me. Make sure the warranty is still complete and if there is no aux panel make sure you have a remote for the stereo as that would be a pain to have to lean out of the spa to contol it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easman61 Posted May 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 The warranty is for a new spa and is from date of delivery. There is a remote for the stereo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Hi Easeman61! Good question. If it was me, I would want to find out if the spa had actually been used. If it was a running model on the showroom, you can double check the condition of the jets... make sure you are getting new filters and such while double cheking that the scratches being rubbed out as part of the deal on the order form. Where the spa has been would be a big deciding factor on the offer you may want to make. If it is just a"dry" floor model that was just recently tested... I wouldn't expect to save a lot more. Plus you may want to ask specifically about any changes in the years. Sometimes the new spas have a better quality control panel with better features... or improvements have been made in the materials used in maufacturing. A lot can change in a couple of years with a company. Parts accessability would be good to take a note of as well if suppliers have changed. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brulan1 Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Hi Easeman61! Good question. If it was me, I would want to find out if the spa had actually been used. If it was a running model on the showroom, you can double check the condition of the jets... make sure you are getting new filters and such while double cheking that the scratches being rubbed out as part of the deal on the order form. Where the spa has been would be a big deciding factor on the offer you may want to make. If it is just a"dry" floor model that was just recently tested... I wouldn't expect to save a lot more. Plus you may want to ask specifically about any changes in the years. Sometimes the new spas have a better quality control panel with better features... or improvements have been made in the materials used in maufacturing. A lot can change in a couple of years with a company. Parts accessability would be good to take a note of as well if suppliers have changed. Good luck! You know that is funny you mention about a 2004 that is new because we had a 2003 cal coop spa that had been paid for in full back in 03 and we never heard anything from him since. We ended up selling it and if he contacts us we will order him a new one. There is a good chance that tub is just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deestruhart Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 My wife and I have narrowed down our spa search to Caldera - primarily from what I've read here and a very reputable dealer being just down the road from where we live. We made an offer on what we thought was a 2005 leftover Aspire with a sound system. When I went in to pay a deposit to hold the spa until our patio can be constructed, I noticed that the spa did not have an auxilary control panel like the 2005 and 2006 catalogue showed the unit having as standard. Everything else seems to be the same. I asked if this could be a 2004. The manager (very nice/very helpful/no pressure/no bad mouthing competition) said she didn't think so but would check. Several hours later she called and said that it was in fact a 2004 model. I asked what kind of discount she could offer up on the tub. She said make her an offer. I had made an offer which was accepted of $6395 including wood steps and a cover lifter when I believed I was getting a 2005 tub. Assuming we get comfotable with the fact that there is not an auxillary control panel (seems like a cool feature to me - to be able to adjust jets from both sides of the tub) would I be crazy to buy a 2004 model? To you sales people out there, how much of a discount should I expect? Are there any watchouts to buying a tub that has been sitting on a sales floor since December 2004? The tub has some very fine scratches on the seats that the manager told me would rub out before I took delivery. I doubt you could see them once there was water in the tub. I know it has had water in it before as there is some down in the volcano jet. I would definitely want a wet test given the age of the tub. Thanks for any advice you can give me. I don't think there's going to be a problem with the tub, we have a caldera we held onto longer than we should have, when we were ready to sell that particular one people were ordering different spas or colors, so it got left on the floor. The warranty will begin the date of delivery so if you were to have any problems, the dealer will take care of it. You can ask them to have it running for you for a wet test so you can make sure everything works ok. That price sound like a great deal to me for an Aspire. Ask the dealer if it was used before and where. We used some of our tubs at shows etc... but haven't had any complaints from the customers who bought them. We did scratch one but we buffed it out a little, and discounted it. Good luck what ever you choose, if you want a newer tub, don't rush into buying this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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