Dacor Vs Thermador Vs Other Brands Packages

13 years ago

Hi All,

I have been researching many of the higher end appliances for a new home. I was on Dacor's and Thermador's website, and both of them are running great specials right now on appliance packages that include free hoods and dishwashers and more.

I am not seeing any consistent good reviews for either of these brands, maybe a few more positives than negatives for Thermador.

Does anybody have any other ideas in looking at a package deal that we could take advantage of. I'm sure this is not the best situation to have all the same manufacturer, but the savings does help us now. KitchenAid would be a choice only if reviews were better than higher end brands.

I have been looking at Wolf and Miele as well.

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

Featured Answer

friedajune

13 years ago

Do not get an appliance package. As has already been said, different manufacturers excel at different appliances. Also, you can save money by deciding which appliances are more important to you and those would be the ones to spend on. If for example, a fridge to you is just a box to keep things cold, then you certainly don't need a Thermador fridge, and a Whirlpool would be fine and save you thousands. I myself was "lusting" after a Subzero fridge, and ended up with a Kitchenaid, saving me about $4000, and my Kitchenaid fridge has performed flawlessly. Or perhaps you feel a DW that'll just clean the dishes is fine, and you don't need to spend thousands for one that has 14 cycles, a self-opening door (one of the Miele DW's has that) and the like. So if you are looking at budget as a reason to get an appliance package, that would be wrong thinking.

Also, the "matchy-matchy" appliance look is considered dated.

Also, you raise your "appliance risk" by buying all one brand. If something goes wrong with more than one appliance, you'll be dealing with the same people for multiple appliances, and if you don't get satisfaction, you will be stuck with that poor customer service for all your appliances, since they're all the same brand. Instead, you should diversify--just like the stock market. You wouldn't put all your money into just one stock would you?

Final point--you may think you are getting all one brand, but many companies just buy appliances from other manufacturers, and rebadge them with their name, and then add a big upcharge. Thermador and Dacor do that on several machines they sell. Some of the Thermador DW's are the same as the Bosch's since they're owned by the same company, BSH. Viking fridges are made by Amana. The Dacor MW's are made by Sharp, look identical to the Sharps except for the badge, and cost double what the Sharps cost. So, buying an appliance package doesn't mean you're actually buying appliances made by the same company. Do some research on this forum, or post here if you have specific appliances you want to know about.

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Comments (23)

Jan Russak
13 years ago
I would absolutely not recommend Dacor.
I have 3 dacor appliances: a dual fuel range, a double wall oven and a hood. Each one of them had one or more components that failed soon after they were installed.
The range's microchip failed. Consequently the igniters do not work and the oven does not work. The gas is fine - as long as we manually light the burners.

One of the lights in the hood failed almost immediately - it is not a bulb issue.

One of double wall ovens slowly failed over the course of several months. The other lasted two years but is also now failing - In fact I was out shopping for a replacement wall overn today. The appliances were installed about 3 years ago.

I have not been able to get these appliances serviced - this despite the fact that I live in suburban North/Central NJ with lots of support theoretically near by. The store I visited today told me they dropped Dacor because they could not get Dacor to adequately service their appliances.

If I were you, I wouldn't consider Dacor a truly viable option.

I can't speak to any of the other brands you mention.
I've had my fill of "high end" that isn't.
antss
13 years ago
The problem with "packages" is no one company makes the best of everything or even a good unit that fills your needs.

At the end of the day you should focus on units that meet your needs for features and aesthetic value. Then weigh the total cost for the best indiv. units versus the "package" .

A free dishwasher is not so free if it doesn't clean very well, catches fire, leaks, or is just a pain in the hooey to use everyday. It's also not free if the cost of 5 appliances indiv. is the same price as 4 + a free whatever.

Don't get caught up in the marketing or hype. As a general rule it's for products or services that can't sell themselves on the merits.
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First, what has led you to consider these three ovens? I am not a big fan of the Dacor Discovery. I had the range and the wall oven and they did make improvements since I had mine but there are still reasons I would not buy. Read the use and care manual of any oven you are considering because it may have little quirks that you may or may not consider important. Dacor Discovery IQ use and care manual One thing is that this oven has a very intense preheat. You cannot put food in until the oven is preheated per the manual. After the oven preheats, it goes to a maintenance mode that oscillates the element on and off. In theory this is to keep a very even temperature but if you open the oven frequently or put a big load of cold food, you can trigger the fast preheat again so you have to take your food back out. If the preheat does not come back on the temperature can drift down about 5OF because it continues to oscillate to "maintain". Most ovens would only allow about 25F swing on either side of the set temperature and many ovens now only allow 5-10F swing. This may also preclude a delay bake in some ovens designed like this or in some the delay bake stops the fast preheat and then it can take 45 minutes to come to temperature using the maintenance cycling which might not be a very good thing. They talk about being able to control the oven with your phone but if it has to preheat, who is there to take the food in and out? My current oven has a fast preheat that is optional but even if you use it, you can still put some foods in without burning. For any baking of cakes, etc, you need to preheat any oven for at least 20-30 minutes after the oven indicates it is at temperature so that it can stabilize. from the manual "The preheat cycle rapidly brings the oven chamber up to the proper cooking temperature. Wait for the oven to finish preheating (Insert Food appears on the display) before placing the food in the oven. Excessive browning will occur if you put the food in the oven while it is preheating." "If you increase the temperature by more than 50°F (28°C), to reach the new temperature, the oven needs to preheat. Remove the food from the oven to prevent excessive browning." The same would occur if you allow the heat to drop by 50F by opening the door frequently as in cookie baking. A couple other things would be that there are vent holes on the inside of the door facing up that are positioned so that crude can easily get into those holes pulling food in and out. See page 7. I did not like the lighting at all. It was too dark. The Dacor wall oven I had put out much more heat than the one I have now.
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We noticed the depth of the dacor was deeper too but keep in mind that that the thermador door bins are much bigger as well. The dacor door bins were very thin, i don't even think a half gallon milk would fit. They probably have similar space, just differently utilized. With pizza's i usually just separate them and wrap each with aluminum foil to save space. I can't say i made the right decision since i won't get the thermador until April (my kitchen is being renovated). I forgot to mention I also didn't like where the meat/vegetable/fruit bins handles were on the dacor. They were on the bottom whereas the thermador's were on the top. I love Dacor's hidden controls, kind of like the Miele. The thermadors was OK but not as fancy. Dacor might have a better food preservation system/filter. Stainless steel might keep the food a bit colder but not sure. Another plus for me is that the Thermador HQ is 15 min. from where i live so I should be able to get faster service if i have problems. I don't think you'll regret it since thermador has been around for a while. Dacor has not been a reliable brand but since the takeover from Samsung no one really knows...should be better though.
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home4shore
13 years ago
We just started looking at appliances for our new house today and really liked the Electrolux wall oven and fridge.

Likewise we haven't seen any packages for them.

We are open to other brands for a Slide-In Cooktop and DW.
antss
13 years ago
just to keep the facts straight:

Dacor's core appliances - ovens/tops/ranges/DW/warmer drws are made inhouse.
Their micro control panel is diff. than the Sharp so check it out before you get one. The # pad is not like a caculator/phone but just 2 rows of 5 numbers. Not very intuative IMO.

Viking's stand alone fridge is made by a 3rd party. Their built in line which is the bulk of sales is totally done in house.

Home- ELux is not a great brand for fridges, look nice but a big crap shoot in terms of performance and reliability.
59 Dodge
13 years ago
"ELux is not a great brand for fridges." Another reason, as the posters here mentioned, "Diversify" We have the Electrolux 30" Convection oven and their speed oven. Both perform Flawlessly and are a joy to use. The ball bearings racks that glide way out, the door with the big glass that stays cool and we really like the "Intuitive controls on both ovens.We have had them for over 3 years now. We also have the Electrolux 30" induction cooktop, which replaced a "Fancy" Electric cooktop that started giving trouble after the 1st year and did a "Decor" Died within 2 years.
We bought a Jenn-air 48" SxS Paneled fridge and it has been trouble free and quiet, since 2006(it was rated #1 for reliability by CR in 2006).
We have the Miele Optima Dishwasher since 2006--bought that cause of the silverware tray on top and we just toss the silverware up their "willy Nily" and they all come out clean--Ya dont needs to line them all up in neat rows (everything in it's place) as some may lead you to believe, Here.
Anyway, long way of saying, stay away from pkg deals, use this site as well as others--to find the best appliance for the job!!!!
Good luck with your shopping, sorry You had to find out the hard way that these expensive ones are built more for impressing the neighbors and friends that for cooking and cleaning! Chances are some of your neighbors or friends "might" (Note the "MIGHT") just look at a kitchen with all that Expensive and showy stuff and just quietly and silently think, "hmmmmmmm MMTB"
Gary
59 Dodge
13 years ago
Ooooops shudda said "Cooking and Cooling" ---CRS "Kicked in again"

Gary
friedajune
13 years ago
Antss - sorry, I stand corrected (I can't keep all the rebadges straight as they're a moving target from year to year). But my point still stands - people who buy appliance packages thinking they're getting all one manufacturer and paying more to have all one manufacturer should be aware that their package likely contains one or two pieces that are rebadges. Those rebadged appliances can have upcharges of 50%-100% more than the original manufacturer's price. Of course, many people are willing to pay an upcharge so they can have the Dacor/Thermador/Wolf badge on everything, and that's their choice. But people should at least be aware of it.

The OP also mentioned hoods. Do Dacor and Thermador make their hoods in-house? To me, the classic story is Wolf and Independent. Independent makes wonderful hoods, and used to make them for Wolf. People caught on, and simply bought the Independent hood for hundreds less than the same hood with the Wolf badge. Now, Wolf makes their own hoods inhouse. I'd still buy an Independent hood, and not worry about matching the label.
antss
13 years ago
Wasn't scolding , just clarifing.

Think Wolf's cases are done in house with BEST motors??? could be wrong on this though. Pretty certain all Dacor's are third party, don't know re downdrafts and powerpacks.
dsesis
Original Author
13 years ago
I feel likes I've researched all weekend, and I know packages are not to my advantage now. But all reviews seem to lead to Miele for everything. Of course, if that's within my budget which I won't know till I price it out.

Is Miele really that good for cooktop, oven, and Refrigerator??? I know for DW, it is loved.

I love the sizes of refrigerator. If I can have my dream kitchen, I would have anything larger than a 48" or two separate units, 30" freezer, 30" refrigerator.
inter_alia
13 years ago
I love the looks and features of the Thermador Oven (sub $4000 double 30" model). My salesman at a major seller said "if you have trouble good luck getting it fixed". Not that they won't try to fix it, just can't seem to. Also they have a high problem rate per CR. Bosch oven is basically identical (but IMO not as good looking) at lower price. Most Bosch products have had reliability problems, but great performance.

Salesman at another store pointed out all the features of the Dacor and noted that almost every part could be replaced without removing the oven from the wall. I thought cool, but later wondered if it is because they have so many repairs to make.

My main salesman loves Miele for the quality and design and customer service. Said they will replace a failed appliance out of warranty. Guy I work with just got his 2yo dryer replaced with the new model as 2 repairs. I thought their induction cooktops had a great design with large burners and gooding spacing, and lots of features. The Yale Appliance blog says their repair history for their customers shows Miele is best, LG is worst.

I bought Jenn Air's new design oven with the 4.2" LCD. I have a 10 year-old JA convection oven that I have been very pleased with and just one $120 LED repair I did myself. JA is not known for reliability.

Originally considered the KitchenAid 30" dbl ovens but consumer reports just rated them good at baking (Thermador was best). The JA oven is a new design with much more powerful elements, so hoping its better, will see. I have 45 days to return the new one and would probably get the Wolf oven (at 2X the price). Might get the Miele.
antss
13 years ago
Said they will replace a failed appliance out of warranty

Who is they in this case? Meile or the dealer?

This happens but it is not a rule ,it depends on the history of the unit and the problem and how old it is.

A 7 year old dishwasher is not going to get replace or even repaired on Miele's dime if a powersurge blows the computer board.

Their are better options for cooktops than Miele out there.

Ovens are very good, fridge is really good too though there are several options that are very similar in the market. Thermador/Gaggenau and Bosch if still in a dealer's display make similar configurations to the Miele fridge offerings.

Miele will be one of the more expensive options across the board. This doesn't mean every unit is more expensive than "x" brand, but a good generalization.
inter_alia
13 years ago
> Said they will replace a failed appliance out of warranty

Ok, I should have qualified that as "I am aware of cases..." and not make it sound like they always do.

> Who is they in this case? Meile or the dealer?

My salesman said recent customer came in to replace 3 year-old broken Miele DW and he called service and got it fixed or replaced. Right now a coworker has $2000 Miele dryer that is 2 YO and broken showing an error code, they are replacing it with a new model. It is taking 3 days to process paperwork and laundry is piling up so he's not totally happy. These problems should not be occuring, but at least the fix attemp if great. YMMV

> This happens but it is not a rule ,it depends on the history of the unit and the problem and how old it is. A 7 year old dishwasher is not going to get replace or even repaired on Miele's dime if a powersurge blows the computer board.

They say they build it to last 20 years, but I agree I doubt they would replace it for 20 years, maybe 3 years. Mfgr warranties officially only cover defects, so a powersurge falls outside that. An extended warranty offers more coverage.

> Their are better options for induction cooktops than Miele out there.

Like ?

I found many that I liked the design but I would not buy because they are so small in the US, like Fagor. I don't care if they supply parts for many, if it breaks I want a service guy that can fix it.

And many induction tops (KA for sure, GE I think) have a design where the elements are too small (like 7" vs M's 8" to 9"), and too close together (
bloganchuk
13 years ago
I purchased the "thermador package" back in september, delivered in october, and installed in november.

ovens - PODC302
cooktop - SGSX305FS
washer - DWHD64EP (free 2010 model)
fridge - T24IR70NSP (freedom column)
freezer - T18IF70NSP (freedom column)
vent - HDDW36FS (free)
plus free stainless steel door panels and toe kicks

absolutely no complaints, everything works great.
great double ovens and broiler.
totally separate fridge & freezer compartments,
no air sharing, no compressor sharing.
5-burner cooktop with star burners, very powerful.
dishwasher is very quiet and works great, although we tend to almost clean everything before it goes in.

with the package and "one, two, free" deal I think I got high-end thermador merchandise at kitchen aid or electrolux pricing.

charged it all to my visa and extended the warranty from 2-years to 3-years for no extra charge.

HTH
Diane Clayton
13 years ago
I've had no trouble with my Thermador 6 burner stove. It's 13 years old. We are now into the 2nd week of a major remodel of the kitchen knocking out the old mudroom laundry room to make a bigger kitchen. I will keep the Thermador. I am looking at an ASKO Dishwasher. I had nixed the Miele because I want to throw silverware into the DW. But if Gary is right, then I could reconsider the Miele. It looked like the ASKO has the silverware tray on top too but without the annoying slotted utensil tray. (The difference seems to be the difference between Rome's airport and Frankfort).
I want an all refrigerator column so I am looking at the Thermador. I have a full freezer in our shed 10 feet away from the kitchen . (We are cattle ranchers). So all I need inside is an ice cube maker for my smoothies. But maybe a small freezer drawer for frozen fruit for said smoothies, a couple frozen pizzas, and of course the Ketel One Vodka.
(No more kids at home). Could put the 18" Thermador freezer someplace though. Other columns are Lebherr, Viking. So advice on columns?
And what about beverage centers? I looked at Marvel and Viking. Yikes.
My biggest problem is a separate convection/microwave. Every 10 years, it seems, we are warned of the dangers of microwaves and cancer. Is a combo convection microwave good for making that extra dish for Thanksgiving and parties?
Politically I'm trying to buy as much American and local as I can (local guy making our stainless steel sink), but the next best thing are European manufacturers who have union workers who make decent salaries, not slave labor.
I have to decide by tomorrow and I'm still a tad confused.
antss
13 years ago
Inter alia-

what are you looking for -

gas?

grill, griddle? - a serious one?

wok? - a ring or a real deal flame thrower? or maybe an induction wok?

electric?

induction?

separates?

Is down drafting a requirement?
diamondoaks
12 years ago
inter alia:
'Am considering a Jenn Air double wall oven (with 4.2" display); but not without trepidation due to the number of negative Jenn Air reviews. I understand, however, that Jenn Air is attempting to recreate itself with their new lines. What's your experience so far?
Jan Russak
7 years ago
I've also personally had my fill of Dacor appliances - though I've never owned one of their dishwashers. I have suffered through a double oven and a range. Sames issues and never fixed. Worst company out there I think Thanks for your comments. I still have the stove, which we light manually (it's become so automatic that it's not a chore) but the double oven is long gone.
hvtech42
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
LOL, you're replying to yourself.
jraimondo55
7 years ago
Hate Dacor appliances
DJ P
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
why? what is the problem with dacor and what state do you live in?
wekick
6 years ago
I would avoid the ovens that have the discovery controller. There is a lot written on Dacor if you search.
Violette Barasch
6 years ago
I am thinking about replacing my 30" electric range with an induction range. After looking at several models in the three thousand dollar and upward price range, I'm still uncertain whether the added cost of some models is worth it. I have read many complaints about the JennAir, and one report of a Samsung with a major safety issue, and that the KitchenAid has been difficult to obtain. The Wolf is new and unproven. Consumers Reports doesnt seem to rate the more upscale models. Any advice?

Dacor Vs Thermador Vs Other Brands Packages

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