When looking to buy a hot tub, there are three main places you can go to purchase your hot tub: a dealer, a hot tub expo, or you can order a hot tub from a big box store such as Home depot. While the low prices of big box stores and hot tub expos may be enticing, all other aspects of the hot tub and buying experience fall flat. This is because the most trusted and popular hot tub brands only sell through their own network of dealers spread around the nation.
The brands you find at hot tub expos and big box stores, are often Chinese knock-off hot tubs, or cheap brands. The issue with buying these hot tubs is that there is no dealer network available to service these hot tubs, and spare parts for these hot tubs are difficult to acquire let alone install.
Water care is another important quality to be mindful of. Cheaper hot tub brands do not have good filters, or heaters, and usually have not worked out an easy way to routinely keep your spa water in balance. This usually means sticking to old methods of keeping your hot tub water clean that involve more chemicals, and more work from you.