We have owned three Bosch DW's to date, the oldest of which we have had for perhaps 10 years now. Regarding capacity, I have not seen any significant loss of capacity versus the generic GE we had prior to buying the most recent Bosch. We have a family of four with two teenagers, so our use is probably less than a family with small kids using sippy cups etc but it's more than adequate for daily use. We do have a second Bosch currently in the basement which we use for spillover, mainly after entertaining.

The comment about "drying overnight" is ridiculous. Yes, Bosch like other European manufacturers uses residual heat rather than an electric heating element to dry. It works well for glassware and silverware. Tupperware and other plastics are often still damp to wet, and we will sometimes put them on a drying rack before storing. The typical length of a cycle, including drying, is about 90-100 minutes. If you take dishes out as soon as the cycle is over, everything is dry except the plastic ware. Certainly there is absolutely no need to wait "overnight" to get things dry.

Reliability has been generally good. We had to replace one circuit board but it was my fault (spilled a glass of apple juice directly down the vent in the door). The soap dispenser is somewhat fragile--on the 10 year old model it pops off the track if you push it too hard, so I'm careful to close them correctly (push door til closed, then push DOWN on the back of the door to lock the door--don't just keep pushing harder and harder to get it to lock).

Overall they are very nice machines. Quite quiet, although interestingly the newer ones are a bit louder than the oldest one. Confession--for our ongoing renovation, we are actually getting two Miele Excellas--but that's mainly for the crystal capability and the fully integrated look.

We are a family of four, and we started using our Bosch Integra 800 for three months now. I previously had Maytag and GE DWs. The dishes are spotless, they come out bone dry (plastic is wet, just like prev DWs), and I LOVE how quiet it is!!! My biggest problem with the Bosch is the dishes I use...or to be exact, the BOWLS I use. I've used Fiesta Ware over the years, and the bowls take up about three or four spaces. So, depending if we are using alot of bowls that day (cereal, fruit, soups, etc), I may have to run the DW prior to supper. Overall, I'd recommend Bosch on all other counts.

We are a family of 4 people adn 4 pets. Every dishwasher loads differently, but I don't notice a significant difference in capacity over the Whirlpool of KA that I had before iin this house or the last one.

My dishes generally come out dry -- even some of the plastic. The plastic is also no different than any other washer I've had. It cleans well, is quiet and I'm happy.

We are a retired couple who occasionally are "invaded" by a son, his wife, and two grandchildren. Our top of the line Bosch holds up well against the demands of the six of us, doing two loads per day. There may be better machines out there, because the appliance business is competitive, and they keep improving things. But our Bosch is the best dishwasher we've ever had. It is absolutely the quietest, which is important for us because we live in a small house. I can listen to the radio, talk on the phone, do whatever I want to while the dishwasher is running.

About capacity: we never really paid close attention, but we've never had a problem fitting everything. With six people in the house, we do have to run two loads if we eat in everyday. Since we're a small family, I don't know if that normal or not.

We are a very busy family of 10 and we have 2 of the 500 Series Bosch dw's. We had a Bosch before and liked it enough to buy Bosch again. (We added a 2nd dishwasher in our last house...A top-of-the-line Maytag. BIG mistake. The Bosch cleaned and dried much better, even though the Maytag had a food grinder and heated dry. The Maytag fit less, too.) I have a problem with our cereal bowls taking up a lot of room in the racks, like deedee reported above, but I honestly think it's the shape of the bowls, not the dishwasher.

I also don't notice any less capacity than other dishwashers I've owned or used.

Dry overnight? That's ridiculous. We put things away as soon as the timer sounds.

You're all the best! Thank you so much for your input. I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear your positive feedback on the Bosch-I really have my heart set on it.

Thanks again!
Nancy

My neighbor has 7 children (and a husband). They have a Bosch DW and love it. Since it doesn't have heating coils, you can also put plastic on the bottom rack. I've cleaned up at her house before and have not noticed it to be small.