Purchase advice? First timer here

Jump to latest Follow Reply
B

BellaBuggy

LifeTime Supporter
Feb 24, 2015
151
Bardstown KY
We are considering purchasing a hot tub. There is a local dealer who sells new Viking and Four Winds products, but they also sell refurbished units and service all brands. So no matter what we buy, we do have access to servicemen that have been highly recommended to us.
This would be our first hot tub. I’m the one that wanted it, convinced my husband, and now that he’s picked one out I’m having second thoughts. It’s an awful lot of money and I don’t want to regret it. I’m wondering if we would be better off tiptoeing in with a low priced refurb and then seeing how often we use it and maybe buying a larger or nicer one down the road. I’m not looking for anything fancy - no smaller than 4 person, need good jets and heat. I don’t care about any other features.
Every dealer has told us why their brand is the best. Reviews we’ve read online have been mixed. I’m struggling to find clear direction on what brand might be best. And, again, really tempted by the idea of buying a used one for $2500-3500 and seeing how that goes. ?‍♀️ Thoughts?
 
Here's our $250,000 hot tub:
full


While joking a bit (it came with our house, so we didn't purchase it outright), it's a 2008 model. There's a leaking pump drain adapter I'm fixing now that the weather is warming up, so it's down for a few days, but otherwise seems to be in great shape still, with the exception of the cover that needs to be replaced.

We used it almost daily when we first bought the house in late January. We got a puppy a month and a half ago and our usage has slowed way down since then, but we still enjoy it. My wife loves the jets and can sit in front of them for an hour straight. I like limited usage of the jets, mostly I prefer just soaking in the hot water. When we get in were often in there for at least an hour, if not 2-3 hours.

While we didn't buy this tub, I would plunk down $10k to replace it if it had some sort of non-repairable issue, just got too old, or we moved. Though buying new I'd look for a his/hers lounger, as the lounger in ours is a bit small for my 6'5" frame, and a model with adjustable height neck/shoulder jets. Even my 5'6" wife has to slouch a little in the two corner seats.

BellaBuggy said:
no smaller than 4 person, need good jets and heat. I don’t care about any other features.
Click to expand...
Do you expect to have guests in there with you on a regular basis? Note that while ours is a 6 person tub, and we have had 6 people in there, there's two things of note with this:
  1. It's snug. You want to be really friendly with the people you're in the tub with if you're filling to capacity. You could have two sets of couples in our 6 seat tub though without needing to be super friendly with them.
  2. With 6 people in our tub, we overflowed it and I had to refill it once we all got out as the water was then too low for the filter intake. Depending on design and the size of the people in the tub, a 4 person model with 4 people might have a similar issue, and so 4 people on a regular basis may get annoying.
I think my summary is that if you haven't had an experience with a hot tub and knew you'd enjoy it a lot (we also had an Intex inflatable tub before this and knew we wanted to upgrade, so we wouldn't have bought a spa if it didn't happen to come with the house we liked), I don't see an issue buying a refurb spa given the age of ours, especially if they offer some sort of warranty in addition to those service people. The second part is if you expect to regularly have 4 people, I'd probably consider a 6 person tub for a little extra space, otherwise for two people with occasional guests I see a 4 person tub as okay.

Whatever you get for refurbished, don't get one that's 120 V. Ensure it's a 240 V model as these will almost certainly have bigger heaters (you WILL want to use in the winter) and more powerful jets (each one my two pumps draws roughly twice the power that a 120 V spa can draw for pump and heater combined).
 
Thank you! Very good points. We have 5 kids and I’m sure they will want to use it also. Mostly it will just be my husband and myself, or the kids - not everyone! I need more personal space than that. ?

I wasn’t interested in loungers because I’ve heard so many people say they weren’t designed properly in one way or another. (They float, they don’t work for varying heights, etc) We aren’t opposed necessarily, just not willing to pay extra for it.
 
First spa? Buy used.
I can't tell you how many times in 25 years I have heard customers say "we hardly ever use it anymore". I call it "new toy syndrome". Everyone loves their new spa at first. But after a year or two, it may lose it's appeal and become that time and money eating thing in the back yard. Better to find out the cheap way. If you love it, you can always plunk down the $ next year for that 500 jet 4 pump swimspa with stereo, flat-screen, and built-in kegerator. They will still sell you one, I promise.
Glad you found a good dealer/ service company. That is always my first advice to spa shoppers.
 
A few thoughts....
As long as the spa has a good warranty, i see no problem going used, especially since you're not sure if this is something you will regularly use.

Unless you are going with a plug-in model (I too do not recommend them), you will most likely need to run an electric line and cutoff switch to the spa's location. This is usually an additional expense above installation.

As was already noted, going bigger is better. Manufacturers can be quite creative in "people-sizing" their spas. Just because you can fit 6 people in a spa doesnt mean they will be comfortable. A bigger tub doesnt cost much more to own than a smaller model, so why not have the space when you need it, and the extra comfort when you dont?

If the dealer has empty displays on the floor, I strongly recommend getting in and sitting down in them. Dont be embarrased. There was a model that i thought I was sold on, but when the dealer suggested i get in, I found the seats sat too low for my liking and was not comfortable. Even a used tub is expensive, make sure you're comfortable in it, or you wont use it much. They're all different.

Loungers are personal preference. As one dealer told me, everyone wants one on their first spa, very few want one on their second. I am in that group. First spa had one, second one, no thanks. It wasnt quite the experience i thought it would be, and it ate up too much space inside the spa that would normally be used for more seating. Again, purely personal preference....some people really like them.

One of the most overlooked, but most important considerations of a spa is how well it's insulated. This is where many budget and mass market mfr's save money....skimmpy insulation. How well your tub is insulated will affect the efficiency, operating costs (especially in the colder months,) and overall noise level. It can be anything from full blown-in foam insulation (though in some cases can make repairs difficult) to a few 1/2" styrofoam sheets glued to the inside walls. Every dealer will tell you why their tubs are the best insulated in the industry. Ask him or her to pull the access panel so you can take a look at how well its lnsulated. If its very skimmpy, the tub will be annoyingly loud and cost more to own long term. By the way, that includes a good quality cover. Cheap, "thrown-in-the-deal" covers usually dont last long or insulate well. Negotiate an upgraded cover.

With spas, you usually get what you pay for. They are not created equal...by any stretch. If quality, comfort and value are higher on your priority list than the lowest price, you wont be disappointed. Happy shopping!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Arizonarob
The best way to NOT regret the purchase is to wet test as many tubs as you can. I spent two months wet testing different spas from Bullfrog's to Artasian"s. It wasnt easy but it was so worth it in the end. Surprisingly the one I loved and bought I would've never considered because it didnt look like the one I thought I would love. Very deceiving process, your body in relationship to the jets location, size, adjustment, and seating position/height are more crucial than you would think. I remember stepping into a tub and was thinking wow, look at all those jets, this one is going to be good. Turned out it wasnt that good and I felt way better in a different tub that had half the jets. All this will be apparent when you get into the right tub for you. Then you avoid buying a 2500 or 10k tub you wont use after the newness wears off. Yes it's a little weird driving to a store, changing into a bathing suit while people are shopping but screw that, I'm happy and love my tub. Good luck.
 
Oh, and you will see if the lounge is worth it for you. I personally like my lounge because it hits under my thighs, knees, calfs, and my feet get hit by the seat jets in the corner. There were other lounges where I was immediately uncomfortable.

Also, one of the best features I never knew I wanted was the waterfall for my neck. Go figure. Wet test and you wont ever regret the $.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply