Appliance Mania!

9 years ago

Hi All,

It's nice to meet you. I've been reading many of your posts for a while, and finally registered myself to ask a question and see what your opinions are. My husband and I are remodeling our home (first home, first remodel), and are trying to make some decisions on appliances. We want a modern aesthetic, good performance, but we don't want to spend too much. We use the range daily and oven a few times a week.

We have narrowed our choices down to 3 "suites" if you will:

Suite 1:
- Bertazzoni 48" rangetop (just the top!) with griddle
- Kitchen Aid architect series II 30" double wall ovens
- Kitchen Aid 36" counter depth free standing fridge
- Kitchen Aid architect series II KDTE204DSS dishwasher (3 kitchenaid products gets you a rebate)

Suite 2:
- Bertazzoni 48" rangetop with griddle
- Bosch 800 series 30" double ovens
- Bosch 36" counter depth freestanding fridge
- some kind of mid-range bosh dishwasher

Suite 3/ thermador offer:
- Thermador 48" rangetop with griddle
- 30" double ovens
- 36" freedom built in fridge
- free dishwasher and vent

Additionally we would like to buy a under the counter wine fridge/ beverage center.

Who out there has used these products? What have your experiences been? Your anecdotes would be useful!

-RR

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Comments (7)

schicksal
9 years ago
Playing devil's advocate...

Are you sure all of this isn't totally overdoing it for one's first home?
xedos
9 years ago
Are you going to stay in this home long?

Where do you place $$$ in your decision ? Suite 3 is a LOT more money ! And, not necessarily better, especially when Value is considered.

I wouldn't touch a KA oven with a ten foot pole. And, after how they treated everyone that had trouble with the last generation ones failing to work after a self clean cycle - I'd be leery of doing business with them on any level !

I wouldn't get the Thermador rangetops either. To achieve simmer they cycle on and off and the click is annoying to me. It's also a waaaaaay to complex solution to a problem that doesn't exist on any other manufacturer's product.

We have also seen too many service calls on their ovens in the first year too.
Their fridges are some of the best in the market, and their vents are competent as are the dishwashers - which are made by and mechanically identical to BOSCH models.

As for the wine unit - get what fits your budget and eye for style. None of them are what you need for storing a collection or aging wines, so you are getting one for snob appeal and maintaining drinking temperature in the short term.
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hvtech42
9 years ago
I touch a Kitchenaid oven with my hands, almost every day, no need for a pole of any length. :) It is nearly 8 years old, and supposedly from the era with the self clean issue. I've had absolutely no problems and it cooks great. At one of my rental properties, I have another KitchenAid double wall oven. Once the tenant ran self clean, it stopped working. I went and checked it out and replaced the part. It was a very quick and easy job. Then I talked to my appliance tech friend about it, since I didn't want it to happen again. Turns out Whirlpool had a service bulletin on it. He forwarded it to me, and I followed the instructions. Boom, no problems 5 years and many self clean cycles later.

Now, if I'd called the Whirlpool consumer support line? Yeah chances are I would have just ended up talking to a clueless underpaid rep. But I've found inconsistent service to be an issue with most companies of that size... if you really want excellent customer support, you're going to have to spend extra on the niche brands/smaller companies. And even their customers' experiences have varied.
weedmeister
9 years ago
From your list, I'd pick the Bosch double ovens, the Kitchen Aid fridge, and then flip a coin over the Bosch and Kitchen Aid dishwashers.

The Bosch DW is probably smaller on the inside and uses convective(?) drying. The KA has heated drying. Whichever, bring your dishes and pans to the store and see which one fits best.
xedos
9 years ago
"I went and checked it out and replaced the part. It was a very quick and easy job. "

yea - if you consider pulling out the unit and opening up the oven body and working around high amperage 220volt power easy .

99% of consumers won't agree with you.

Further, Whirlpool and KA still maintain officially that there is not a problem with those ovens, and that TSB took a looooooooong time to manifest itself.

I don't consider a 50% failure rate (your experience) too reassuring . Given whirlpool's attitude, their price and no compelling features, or aesthetic edge - these ovens don't represent a good bet in the marketplace. And what if you don't have a "tech friend" to lean on for advice ?

If you want a cabinet panel on your dishwasher , the Bosch is the way to go. The KA stinks for doing that, It CAN be done, but is a royal PIA.
Chacha Lamacha
9 years ago
I have a Bertazzoni range highly recommend their gas burners -Love my range!
Had a top of the line KA dishwasher and hated it. Had many service calls and it never did a good job from Day 1. Finally ditched it after about 5 years of washing dishes through 2 or three cycles or by hand.
Sounds like a dream kitchen. I disagree that it's $ overkill for a first home - imo if you can make it work financially, now is the time to invest. I limped along with my original kitchen for all the busy parenting years (replacing and repairing mediocre appliances as they failed) Today with fewer reasons to cook for crowds, kids are off to college, etc., we are finally doing a reno and appliance overhaul - 25 years after buying my first home! Invest now for years of quality use! Enjoy!
hvtech42
9 years ago
Pulling out the oven was the hard part, but doable. And of course I turned the breaker off first, so I didn't have to worry about working around 220v power. And yeah, it seems like you can get more oven for your money with brands other than KitchenAid. The only reason I bought it for my own house was because I wanted the steam assist (which btw is great). I wasn't recommending that the OP choose KA over other brands, just saying the problem has been fixed for a while now.

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