I recently had a similar dilemma. They were very similarly priced. I ended up going with WOLF (before I started researching appliances, I distinctly did NOT want WOLF - i guess that didn't exactly work out). It just seemed to be a bit better. I don't really think you can go wrong with either one. Are you purchasing any other appliances?

There have been a lot of posts here over the last 4 or so years I've been reading this forum, and a lot of people who have emailed me privately when I've been researching appliances, telling stories of nightmare dealings with Viking ranges, their customer service, and parts availability and price. There are a few bad stories about Wolf out there, too, but mostly good stories about quality and customer service. I have a Wolf rangetop and find the quality to be excellent and have had nothing but good response from customer service. My issue that led me to contact them was nothing serious, just that the grates that came with our rangetop had rubber feet that didn't hold up to high heat. They had redesigned the grates, so sent me a new set, and also sent new underpans. Just in case the new grates wouldn't fit the old pans, they didn't want me to have to call and wait to get the pans, so they sent both to make sure. They did fit the old ones, though. I had to do the same because of similar rubber feet on my wok grate...They sent a new one immediately.

Both brands are pretty well-known because of their marketing, especially those Wolf red knobs, and should show well to potential buyers. It depends on where you live, sometimes, which brand is better known and 'expected.' In fact, there is a thread on the kitchen forum showing kitchens in million dollar homes and not all of them have high end ranges, so if it's not suitable for you, it may not be necessary for resale either.

I am puchasing other appliances, now I am focusing on the range as that is most important to me.

Looks-I like Wolf
The saleman raved about Viking

i have a new bluestar but if the choice were between wolf and viking, i'd go for wolf every time. better made and better customer service. as far as i know, viking doesn't even service their own units.

The reason I asked about other appliances, is that often a company will offer discounts if you purchase a certain number of their appliances. Where I live, this was the case for both viking and wolf. The reason that I chose wolf over viking is that their ovens and sub zero fridges got much better reviews. If I included the wolf cooktop then I received an additional discount. I have friends with viking and they are very happy with their appliances...I over-research everything (research queen is actually a name my friends call me) and from all the information I gathered, wolf was simply more reliable.

You can't go wrong with either, really. For all-gas ranges, the internals are extremely alike, and the failure rate of all parts on both units should be practically the same. All-gas ranges are very simple devices. The only thing better about the Viking over the wolf is that it uses Electric Ignition for the oven, which allows it to heat up about 30 seconds faster (but now we're splitting hairs)

It's when you get into Dual Fuel ranges that each brand has more distinct differences.

Anthony
Appliance Buyer's Guide

The resale value will not be affected by the choice of Wolf or Viking.

All gas won't make cooking difficult at all.

We had a similar dilemma but went with Wolf based on reputation for after-sales service. We ended up with a DF366 that we've been using for 3 months now and have never regretted our decision - it is THAT good. Can't say it'd be better than a Viking range because we've never owned one...

I have a bluestar, which I love, but have one sister with a Wolf range and one with Viking cooktop and double ovens. I've cooked at both of their houses and much prefer the Wolf (still like my Bluestar the best but it's not dual fuel).

The one with Wolf is very happy. The one with the Viking products has had nothing but problems and Viking has been horrible with servicing.

If it's between Wolf or Viking, I'd go Wolf.

Best of luck to you.

I'm not sure what you mean by "will all gas make cooking difficult". Is that something one of the sales people told you? There are things that bake better in an electric oven and things that bake better in a gas oven. Mostly meats and roasts do better in a gas oven due to higher moisture while pastry and such are easier with electric. Frankly, it's all personal preference. My wife does the baking in our house and she hated our last oven mainly because it was electric. She had always used gas until then and was more comfortable with it. She still baked some wonderful stuff but she was just frustrated by having to adjust her baking style to the oven.

IMHO, given the quality of most gas ovens today, you will probably not have issues of temperature control and excessive cycling with either gas or electric. The main reason sales people tend to push dual fuel is that there is a premium in price and there has been lots of marketing around the "advantages" of dual fuel.

I would suggest that you don't discount all gas unless you are dead set on getting an electric oven. Some brands, other than Wolf and Viking, to look at are Capital and Bluestar. Both offer a fully open burner range that will perform better than either Wolf or Viking IMHO. If you really want an electric oven, you should consider a range top with open burners and a separate wall oven.

Now if you're really set on Wolf or Viking, I personally prefer Wolf over Viking after cooking on both.

Finally, if you do look into other brands, do a search on "Culinarian" which is the new Capital open burner range. For Bluestar, just search "bluestar" and you'll get more threads then you know what to do with. For Bluestar, there have been complaints about the oven door sticking so read up on that and make up your own decision on whether their "V1" range has it fixed.

Good Luck.

You have probably already made your purchase but I hope you did not choose Viking. I unfortunately did about 8 months ago. My cook top is pitted and discolored. The high burner BTU is no better than my old jennair. I have contacted Viking with no response. I do not know if I got a poor quality one which is a fluke or others have had the problem but I can tell you Viking is not responding to my complaint

I'm a professional baker. At work I bake in electric ovens. At home, I have an all gas 30" Wolf. Before this new Wolf I had an all gas extremely basic Maytag. The Maytag always turned out excellent bakes goods. So far, I am very very happy with the Wolf all gas. At work we have very old and crappy electric ovens that are 50 - 75 degress off what the dial says the temp is set at, and they cook unevenly. I've also worked with new, properly working electric ovens. I guess they're good? But I'm used to gas and I've never had a problem baking in a gas oven. I really do think salespeople have been trained to convince people electric ovens are necessary for baking, just to sell their products. From my personal and professional experience, I don't believe for a second electric ovens are necessary for good baking.

In short, I am a huge fan of gas ovens, for cooking AND baking. I love my Wolf so far. I don't know anything about Viking as I have never cooked on one.