I agree you can't go wrong with a Hot Spring, I bought a used 1998 Hot Spring Jet Setter off ebay a couple of years ago still going good today, and no one would guess it is nearly 20 years old, of course 1998 was the first year of this style of the IQ digital control panel that went cosmetically unchanged until 2008, 1998 was also the last year they had real redwood on the cabinets, the newer ones are all fake synthetic imitation wood. Also mine has likely spent most of its life indoors, and the previous owner who had bought it from the original owner had it in storage for a number of years and never put water in the tub. My only complaint is since buying it I have replaced the circulation pump twice, once right after buying it (which I can't complain about) but then again this last winter, at $170 each hopefully this one will last a bit more than a couple of years.
Anyway the point I am trying to get to is you can save a bundle if you are reasonably handy and shop around on the used market, just be aware there are a lot of people selling junk, and lots of it was junk when it was new. In between buying new and buying used from an individual, there are also dealers out there that sell used or refurbished hot tubs. In my case I paid about $1,200 for my Jetsetter, probably another $150 or so in pick up expense (had to drive 100 miles to get it) plus another $350 in freshening (new circulation pump, new ozonator, a couple of valve rebuild kits, new attached pillow, new spinner jet insert, etc.) plus about 8 hours of my time including the pickup. So lets say $2,000 assuming my time is worth $25 per hour or so. At the time I bought mine a couple of years ago a brand new Jetsetter was selling for $8,990 from the local Hot Spring dealer, sure it is one body style newer, has color changing LED lights, top mounted instead of side mounted controls and is a couple of inches bigger all around, but is basically the same tub. The new tub would also come with a 5 year warranty, but I can buy a lot of circulation pumps even at $170 each for a nearly $7,000 savings. For a comparison point I have seen listings for refurbished similar model Jetsetters in the $2,500 - $3,000 range, many of these dealers that sell refurbished hot tubs get them in for free on trade, so they can invest in going through and replacing the common wear items and still make a profit, of course there are others that clean the tub up a little and call it refurbished, so as always buyer be ware.
