Hi

Sorry about your fire - that sounds awful. And sorry for long response.

I'm in similar appliance hunting mode and trying to pick the best appliance package for under $14K. We could probably pay more but already feel like our kitchen project is out of financial control and costing more than i ever thought!

So what i did is that i really like the advantium and i like the bosch dw (thermador is same). Really all i want is the culinary rack (3rd) in DW so that limits the model #s. KA offers this as well. Miele - i just don't love for the price.

The thermador package didn't work for me because i really wanted the advantium as my second oven (and thermador doesn't have equivalent). Plus the free DW isn't the one with the third rack. (you can pay $500 to upgrade to that one though)

Bosch is offering 15% rebate by mail if you buy at least 3 800 series appliances. And monogram is offering $1000 instant rebate if you buy a cook/rangetop, oven, and hood. With my current quote that i am considering, I'm getting about $2300 off total by combining those 2 offers for 6 pieces (mg rangetop, mg advantium, mg hood, bs dw, bs fridge, bs single oven).

Looking at your appliances here are my immediate thoughts:

if price is no object subzero makes the best fridges if not antiquated stylewise. They are so solid. i have one that 23 years old and it runs great and still looks good. the service has been good. but i can't spend 2/3 of my budget on one appliance!

wolf is good and stylish but i found the specs to be better other places: monogram then thermador - and cheaper.

don't do downdraft ventilation if you can avoid it. look at hood companies - vent a hood, best hood. they are nice.

my friend has a samsung fridge and its beautiful but the plastic is breaking and she doesnt recommend it.

i like the electrolux ovens. very cool. but no package options.

bosch and thermador are very similar if not the same for some products. i'm trying to figure out if the bosch 800 series oven i'm looking at is the same as the massterpiece thermador oven at a lower price. thermador is higher end brand than bosch. gaggenau is even higher end.

rangetops are really nice - more burners and higher output and in monogram all are the same. but you lose a drawer underneath.

i'm coming to the conclusion that the oven problems that some are reporting is due to fancy electronics being destroyed by self clean. thermador and monogram get terrible reviews here for ovens.

with equal price and specs i would go with the subzero and wolf (i know this isn't true - sorry!). I would doubecheck what you are getting for free. it may be low end compared to everything else you are getting.

The general advice given on this forum is to not buy packages but to research and buy individual appliances but of your choices I'd definitely go with the Wolf/Subzero package - better appliances and service.

Sophie, thanks for all the info. We LOVED the ge monogram appliances but I heard so many negative things after a while that we gave up on them. From what I've read the fridges are prone to locking up and flooding the kitchen. We are installing 3,500 of new hardwood floors, so it'd be a nightmare. We liked the standard ball bearing pull outs and individual grills on the gm, but just heard one to many stories. My neighbor installed a complete package in hers and she LOVES it. Anyways, we went to the appliance store again today and decided to get the 36" wolf range, pro island hood, 36" SZ, Asko dishwasher, samsung laundry, and a panasonic micro.

The appliance salesmen was telling me that the wolf low profile hood has a panel that folds down and creates a "wall" behind the range to help direct air upwards. Has anyone seen this in action? It seems a little odd, but will probably end up with a Best anyways.

We did look at the thermadors again today, but the shelving is too shallow compared to the SZ and I tested one of the freedom columns electronic shelving at the ABT store here in chicago and after the use there in the store it barely moved. Stuck in my mind as a tell tale forecast of what would happen eventually.

Oh and for the record, we really dislike the look of the Wolf double oven, hence the decision to go with the range. Thermador's simple dials and symmetry were much more appealing, but as tempting as it was to go on aesthetics alone, we couldn't pull the trigger.

Personally I'd be inclined to walk away from the totally matching package deal. I don't think there's a big design advantage to it, and some elements of these large packages might end up being less than you want for a whole lot more money than you'd care to spend. Or offer similar function to competing pieces that are priced way, way lower.

Of course one thing that makes either full package dear is the built-in panel ready fridge & freezer thing. These things look nice, but I've never been tempted to spend the extra money to go there. Toss in a "free" dishwasher and you've still not come close to making up the difference. But you're talking to somebody who, like his wife, has never gone for the complete, let's make the kitchen beautiful, redo thing.

If I had to choose one, I'd go with the Wolf option.