from reading on here it seems even the very expensive ones have lots of problems. that's one thing that changed me from getting a DW drawer to a KA 18". If I put that much money into a drawer and it has problems I'll be stuck w/o one. If I don't sink top dollar into it I'll have some put back to replace it and I also won't feel near as bad about it. Mine will probably break down from lack of use - lol! I don't imagine I'll run it more than twice a week. i've rethought going for an induction burner or 2 w/ wall oven also. for what little cooking I do that's way too much money to spend. even tho those you listed are in the lower range pricewise it's still a bunch of money to sink into an appliance to have it be a crappy unit or not last very long. I guess those making them are preplanning for future sales... but think of our landfills. ugh - it's so wasteful!

About the servicing, I live in a medium-sized city (my hometown) about 1 hour from the closest major city (Syracuse, NY). There are several small to medium sized local appliance stores in my immediate area which will order anything and service what they sell, as well as the major big box stores L...s, HD, BB, and also a smaller sears in a local shopping mall. So, I have always gotten my appliances serviced in this way (through the stores or local appliance repair shops) in the past w/ no problems. I will, however, be sure to ask specifically about servicing Bosch when I make the purchase. About the induction-I have heard of induction, read up on it a little to at least know how it works, read rave reviews (especially on GW) but do not know anyone personally that has one, and frankly have had my hands full researching all of the other modern features common on ranges today. I make a heck of a lot of cookies at the holidays and am told put on a terrific Thanksgiving spread, too! I am really looking forward to using all of the bells and whistles that come on the new ranges. I am not really a trailblazer, and I would be making a huge step up with the purchase of this Bosch range (or Cafe) as my current stove is a 27 year old Hardwick "Classic 100" electric coil top (one of the best in the day, never had a service call except a burnt out baking coil which we replaced ourselves in about 2 minutes for $40 about 3 years ago). It is still going strong otherwise but looks the worse for wear and does not have any of the newer modern features such as convection, smoothtop, probes, baking drawers, instant buttons, self cleaning, etc.,etc., so getting this Bosch model would be a big step for me, which I am really looking foward to. I actually am hesitant about even going with convection, but at least know people who have this, including relatives, and it seems tried and true and very helpful. Not to say that induction is not tried and true and would not be helpful--I am sure it is a wonderful advancement in cooking and probably will be the way of the average cooking world in the not so distant future. It makes sense and I sort of equate it to the new "microwave oven of the 2000's" in cooking advancement, but at this point I am not willing to take that leap just yet. (Actually the saleswoman at sears threw the idea past me, stating that it would be her next dream stove.) But for one thing, I am not willing to give up my old pots and pans which I know will work on the smoothtop just fine. I guess you could say I am just a good old home-cookin gal and I don't want to overwhelm myself with all of that at this point, especially at the price it comes at. I am not new to change as I was brought up with gas cooking with my mother (and grandmother) and would prefer gas, but gas was not available to us until about 10 years after we built our house, so had no choice then. I also have run into a sticking point with my husband on that issue as well. He is used to electric and fears fumes from the gas since we do not have the ability to vent to outside w/o a huge renovation project bigger than we are planning at this point, even though we do have other gas appliances, including a gas furnace, hw weater and dryer, and I realize that gas stoves today do not have pilot lights anymore (like Mom's did). It is just something he cannot get his head around, and since I am used to electric now and has done me well, I will continue down that road and not have to deal with his ultra-sensitive sense of smell! I actually do like the baking part of electric ovens better, and I am sure that the advancement in electric cooktops has been great compared to 25+ years ago, so I think I will be very satisfied with this. So there, I have now bared my soul on why I have chosen electric over gas or induction! All I ask is for a good quality stove with a good track record and some nice features to make my life a little easier. Hope you can understand my reasoning, but thank you for bringing it to my attention :)!! Oh, and also about the knobs, yes I agree, it is not a deal-breaker and I'm sure I could live with not having solid metal knobs, just don't want to have to keep replacing them, tho.

Thanks for the reply chickadee4: I understand that the oven is 240 volts as most are, but my question is related to the amerage. Does this model range require 40 amps or 50 amps. As for the four prong, that's usually needed when it's 120/240V which is the case in both dryers and stove. 120V is for the controls and the 240V is for the heating eliments.

Dunno if you are getting this inspected, but over food prep area fluorescent tubes must be encased in shatterproof housings. Keeps the glass shards out of the porridge. 22" above cooking surface is sort of low, but likely permissible. Casey