In July 2005 we installed a Dacor Epicure cooktop, remote blower and downdraft and Epicure double wall ovens. They get a lot of use since both of us love to cook. The cooktop has been nearly trouble free- we had one minor issue. One ignitor began clicking after 6 months. I called Dacor and they said they had recently improved the ignitors and sent 6 brand new ones to my local authorized repair who installed them at no cost to me. The Epicure oven seemed to have excessive condensation between the glass on the lower oven door. I called Dacor and they sent the same authorized tech who replaced the glass pack and the insulation around it. While some mist like condensation is considered normal it should dissipate during cooking. The condensation on my oven was larger drops of moisture. Changing the glass and insulation didn't correct the problem. I called Dacor and spoke with a very knowledgeable customer service rep. She told me that this has happened to others with the same oven. I thought she'd offer to replace the door itself. I was stunned when she offered to either buy back my 10 month old double wall oven for my purchase price - or - replace them with Dacor's new model - the Dacor Discovery wall ovens which were significantly more expensive than my model. I don't remember the exact price difference but it was close to $2000. And it came with a new one year warranty. The Dacor rep told me that with earlier customers they had simply replaced the ovens with the same model and sometimes that did the trick but not always. So they decided it was easier to buy back the old or replace with the newer model. I went with the new model. I did have an issue with the meat probe not beeping when the meat hit the desired temperature. I was one of the first customers to report this problem to Dacor. They said they'd have their engineers work on new programming to correct it. It took about 6 months until they developed a new control panel which was installed without cost to me. All of this is something I would expect a reputable company to do. But we all know that this is the type of thing that seems to rarely occur. I can't speak for the other posters here who had difficulty with their Dacor purchases. Maybe I was just lucky - I don't know but I have been very pleased with their customer service. As for your appliance store standing behind the product - I wouldn't rely on that too much. Unless they have their own repair techs they're probably just going to call Dacor. The manufacturer only gives a one year warranty and it's doubtful if an appliance store is going to absorb the cost if your appliance needs repairs after the warranty. The cost to repair these new electronic models is high.

The simmer/sear burners had some design problem that made them continuously click from the igniter when turned up high. They were fixed early on with a design upgrade, but the problem has crept back over time, and no amount of cleaning the igniters has helped. Since Dacor admitted from the beginning that the burners had a bad design, I have no confidence a repair call would do any good. The other problem was the grates. The parts that point toward the burners are not all on the same level so pots don't sit flat and will rock back and forth. It drives me crazy. I got two news sets of grates sent by Dacor, and both were just as bad. Finally the people at Dacor looked into the problem and what they ultimately said was "yes, they are not level, but they are within the tolerance limit" given. Since I don't know whether they ever tightened up their standards, I don't know if I'll run into that problem again. Lastly, the burner caps have discolored terribly on two of the burners. I know that can happen with time, but this happened from the very beginning with light use, and I don't know what caused it. We have downloaded specs on other cooktops, but still wondered if anyone had any further input.

Dito what Phil says - why limit yourself to one brand ??? If you must - forget Dacor - they don't have a steam oven or dishwashe and they don't make fridge units in house and have no Fully Integrated options at all. Theramdor's rangetops aren't as robust as WOlf's and their ranges have had serious trouble over the last decade - a quick google will return you a month's reading if you fancy. I have had trouble with every single Tdor oven that I had to specify into a job for a client. Fixed under warranty but who needs the hassle ? Column fridges are very nice and no issues, steam oven is too new to get a real read on, but I suspect they borrowed heavily from their sister Gaggenau who has lead the steam oven market along with Miele for about a decade. Wolf/ Sub Zero has robust products and the network in place to service problems should they arise. Their steam oven is new and is made for them by an Italian outfit. Warming drawer is $$$ and a bit large so it doesn't blend well with Euro cabinets if that matters to you.

I'm considering the Bosch, Wolf, but also now the Wolf rangetop. I'm concerned about the simmer burner so would love to hear any reviews on these.