Results of my trip to Sears to see the Kenmore slide in induction: Kenmore v Electrolux: warming drawer instead of 2nd oven, smooth cooktop without trim, porcelain racks but not slide out. I will probably go with the Electrolux. However I would really like to know what anyone thinks about the self clean porcelain racks that do not extend (can be self cleaned with the oven) vs the roll out wire racks and attachments to the oven that need to be removed and cleaned manually. The dishwasher now the main issue: Was certain I was going to get the Miele but brought my dishes in and they do not fit the racks. So now I am deciding between the Bosch, Asko or Kitchen Aid E. Any recommendations?

Well, I got that out of the way. I went against the grain and got white appliances as opposed to stainless. I think it will ultimately look better in our kitchen. Here's what I ended up doing. Samsung FD Counter Depth Kitchenaid Slide-in gas range (floor model) Kitchenaid Microwave/Hood Bosch 800 Series Panel Ready (discontinued floor model) The two floor models are basically in perfect condition. However the range is missing the burner caps which I will order online. I priced them out today. Holy cow! In black they will cost $150. In the gray that matches the grill colors, they add up to over $300. How is that possible! I went with the discontinued Bosch 800 series since the store gave it to me for less than a current model 500 series unit. Overall I thinkg I did well. I dropped the name of our contractor and the the salesperson basically gave me employee pricing. Thanks to everyone for the help and advice.

Maggie, nine years ago I bought the totally untested Thermador Freedom Series Columns. I picked them over the SubZero because they were the first to lift the interior and get rid of the ventilation panel overhead -- something I really hated about the old built-ins, but it also meant the bottom drawer wasn't nearly on the ground and in the freezer the ice was at a convenient height (had two kids in marching band -- we went through at least 2-3 gallons of ice every day during marcing season. Nine trouble free years later, I have no hesitation recommending Thermador (which includes Bosch, Miele and Gaggenau). And I got one of the first ones -- before the bugs were worked out. SubZero is the other top name for full size built in refrigeration with KA being a not to distant 2nd (but chek the opening of the drawers - required a more than 90 deggree open door back then - don't know if it's better now). For undercounter, it's SubZero, Perlick and maybe Uline.

Thank you SO much everyone! It seems most of you are for the CD fridge. We have a small fridge - the kind found in dorm rooms (not tall and skinny but short) which we could also use but there's no practical space to put that in besides the basement. But our kids aren't allowed to drink soda, my husband keeps only a few beers in the fridge at a time, and I keep my diet cokes in room-temp storage so I don't even know what would go in the small fridge. I'm certainly not willing to keep food down there or regular drinks like juice/milk so I really do think we'd be stuck w/ the CD fridge for most of it. I could keep our old fridge in the basement for holiday meals as well as all the drinks we presently keep in room-temp storage, however I was upgrading to an energy-efficient fridge! why would I want to have the new fridge AND the old fridge, considering that?! Going up in 3 cubic feet in size on for the fridge portion (free food), when I picture gigantic dice of a cubic foot each in size, that seems like a decent (not great, but decent) improvement... (I hope)! Here's what I'm too dumb to figure out: if the fresh food portion of a fridge includes the space in the door/doors - regardless of whether it's a 1990 standard fridge or the new french door kinds - how does that translate based on the new layout? In other words my current old fridge has very little door space; it has only one door and its shelves for condiments and butter. The new fridges have space for at least 2 gallons of milk in the door, but less space for condiments and yet still some space for them. So if the milk will no longer be on the main shelves but in the door, does that mean I'll get all that added space on the main shelves + the additional 3 cubic feet of fridge space? Anyway...thanks for helping me figure all this stuff out!