Buying a used hot tub

No, for every brand we track. The warranty belongs to the first buyer, and a few makers go further: Sundance's warranty ends entirely when the spa is sold, Master Spas' is void if the spa is moved to a new location, and PDC's covers the original purchaser at the original location. So even a nearly new tub is out of warranty the day you buy it, and the seller's price should reflect that. Repairs you pay for yourself are the real cost of a used tub; see hot tub warranty comparison for what a new one would have covered.

The same things you would check on a new one, plus its age and history. Start with the 8 hot tub build checks; the build decides how the next ten years go. Then ask to see it filled and running. Jacuzzi's used-tub advice: look for cracks in the shell, make sure the water heats to its 104°F top setting with no error codes on the panel, check for water pooling under the tub, and treat a loss of more than 2 inches a week as a likely leak. Sundance warns that used tubs may leak after they are moved. Lift the cover: a heavy, sagging cover is waterlogged, and covers average about five years. Jacuzzi's list also goes inside the cabinet, for burnt spots on the circuit board and chewed wires; that is a job for a technician you hire.

• What model and model year is it? The label on the tub or the paperwork should say.
• What has been replaced: heater, pumps, circuit board, cover?
• Has it ever leaked, and how much water does it lose in a week?
• Do you have the service records and the owner's manual?
• Was it covered by a recall, and was the fix done?
• Has it been drained in winter, and how?

With the model name you can look up its original specs on our brand pages, and check it against every CPSC notice on our hot tub recalls list.

Jacuzzi advises against moving one yourself and puts a professional move at about $500 to $1,000; it also notes that most used tubs need a 220-volt GFCI supply. Those costs are yours even on a new tub: Caldera's warranty, for example, leaves crane, shipping and set-up to the owner. Your town may require a permit; Broomfield, Colorado, for one, requires a permit for every hot tub and, for a hard-wired one, a disconnect within sight of it. A licensed electrician sizes the circuit; see hot tub electrical requirements.

Three, from the CPSC. Keep the water at or below 104°F, use a cover that locks, and make sure the drain covers are in place and intact. Drain covers carry an expiration date, and the CPSC tells public pool operators to replace them once it has passed; check the date on a used tub's covers. For how long the tub itself is likely to last, see how long hot tubs last.

Once it is home, start with fresh water: see how to drain and refill a hot tub, biofilm and line flushing and hot tub start-up.