Hi Jud,

Sounds like you've got to make yourself some more friends! :-)

Oh boy, not sure what else to suggest, other than hit all the
manufacturer's web sites, do the prerequisite Google searches and
check out www.epinions.com (keyword: spas) to see what others have to
say about their ownership experience.

When visiting a dealership, you should be able to pick up on various
visual clues. For example, is the place spotlessly clean and are the
products well presented? Do they have a proper service department?
Are their service trucks clean and in good repair? Is the sales staff
professional, courteous and genuinely interested in helping me find
the right product? Can I do a "wet test"?

I mentioned warranties earlier on. Let me repeat, pay particular
attention to the fine print. I read through the warranty coverage for
one spa and it was a true eye opener. Basically, it said if there is
a problem with the spa that cannot be repaired onsite, the
manufacturer reserves the right to replace the spa with one of equal
or better value. OK, I'm thinking at this point.... "I can live with
that!". Then I read the next sentence, which tells me I'm responsible
for the full cost of shipping the defective product back to the
manufacturer, as well as that of its replacement. So now I'm asking
myself, just how much does it cost to ship an eight hundred pound spa
half way across the country and another one to take its place? A
thousand dollars? Two thousand dollars? Oh, and who's going to help
me get that spa properly packed, protected and ready for pickup?

This is precisely the reason why you must due your due diligence.

Cheers,
Paul

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 22:35:56 -0400, Jud McCranie
wrote:

On Sun, 16 Apr 2006 00:13:22 GMT, Paul M. Eldridge
wrote:

I'm delighted I could help, but it sounds like you've already got a
pretty good handle on this

Well, not exactly. I've been in a few hot tubs, but the only owner of
one I know has one of the round wood ones that is heated by burning
wood, which is completely different. We looked at a store last
November, but more seriously in the last month.
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