Never judge the condition of a hot tub by how good the shell looks. People wanting to sell us their hot tub often say, “the shell’s in great condition”, but that means nothing. Shells that are decades old can still look good. Nobody knows how long shells last because modern hot tubs have only been around since the 1970s. I joke that in 20 thousand years from now, aliens will find these perfect-looking shells when they do archeological excavations on our planet, and wonder what the heck. It’s everything else (frame/cabinet, plastics/plumbing, pumps/electronics) that will break and come apart over time. We’ve cut up and scrapped hundreds of beautiful-looking shells because the rest of the hot tub was too far gone to attempt refurbishing.

Just because a shell looks good doesn’t mean the hot tub is in good condition. However, that doesn’t mean that shells never fail. See 4-R: Shell and 6-Q: Tub Warp and Sag to learn more.