Well, here is what we decided to do. Gaggenau gave me the choice of the new 24" or the new 30" combi. I ordered the new Gaggenau combi in the 24 inch width. The 30" would not fit in my 27" cabinet and would be of no benefit even if it would fit since the 24" and the 30" are both 1.7 cubic ft in the inside. My cabinet cutout is for the 27" oven--the height of the cutout is the same but the width will leave a hole on each side of the oven. So I will have to have a trim kit (as gizmonike above suggested). It is really my only solution. I am replacing it with the Stainless Steel instead of the Aluminum (which is what I have) because I feel certain that I can't find a trim kit to match the aluminum. My microwave is aluminum, but I figure microwaves are cheap and this one won't last forever so not so big of a deal. When this one goes, I will replace it with a SS microwave. DH made a good point. Even if I could find a discontinued model of my 27" combi oven (which I can't), will it eventually be hard to get parts for that oven?. I hope not for the sake of those of you that still have this oven. I do love my oven, and have sorely missed it. Kaye--To answer your question. My oven started leaking steam out of the top of the oven. The gasket was bad. The repair person ordered a new one. It took 3 1/2 months to receive and then it was IMPOSSIBLE to get it replaced properly, which basically ruined the oven. But, I do have to give Gaggenau credit. We wrote them a long letter detailing the history of the oven and with detailed pictures. They agreed to replace the oven and were very good to work with. After the oven is in and installed I will post a picture for you guys. Any suggestions for trim kit ideas will be appreciated. Especially websites. TIA.

Christie, I have one of the older models of the Gagg combi-steam that I bought for about $2500 US as a showroom sample in the summer of 2008. (That was a lot of money on our budget!) It stayed in the showroom for six months, then in the garage for another six months until we were ready to install in the kitchen reno. I was pretty intimidated by it at first so procrastinated on actually using it, happy just to admire how pretty it looked! I finally got brave a few weeks ago, dug out that little paper wheel cooking guide from my box of appliance manuals, took a wild guess as to the settings, and cooked brown rice in it. WOW! Great texture and no boilover gunk on the stove! Then a few days later reheated half a quiche that had been sitting in my fridge for a few days. AMAZING! Crust was crisp, filling piping hot and still moist, like I had just baked it (maybe better!) I have also reheated dinner plates full of various leftovers, and each item comes out great with no stirring. Now, every time I think about popping something in my microwave, I consider the steam oven. I am not a gourmet cook but this unit is really interesting and inspires me to experiment. The neatest thing for me is my husband's enthusiasm about this unit. He actually has very little sense of taste and substantially reduced saliva due to radiation treatments 3 years ago. His enjoyment of food is based mostly on its texture and whether it "goes down easy." He has complimented me on every item I have prepared using the combi-steam and that made it worth every penny! Have fun deciding!

fpmom - I will try to answer the various questions. The machine is a completely different animal than the top load. There is straight wash on various cycles each of which is sort of named for their task (emphasis on sort of) and each has a specific fill level, temperature choices and agitator action. But there are a lot of them which is why the cheat sheet was done. Easier to figure out what to use for what with that. Some cycles (not all) have a cold prewash called heavy soil. I use that with less than a tbsp of Oxiclean for stain removal followed by a warm, very warm or hot wash. If you check the cheat sheet link you will see the job it did with DH's espresso-stained pants which is quite dramatic. That same prewash-wash removes blood without a trace and when our friends' little guy had an accident at night there was no worry at all about getting it out of the sheets or the bedpad. If you absolutely need a soak, Handwash is the closest and it's a 40 to 60 minute cold water cycle with occasional agitation. One cycle called Custom allows you to basically set whatever you want. With kids clothes this washer should be a dream. Mindstorm has a 3037 although she bought hers a few months after I bought my 3035. It said in some technical docs that it has an extra drum bearing. Alex may know more about any other differences. My impression is that it's not a major change. I use Persil megaperls and Caldrea (love sweet pea!) for most of my loads. I generally use no more than 1 TB per load of Persil or I get too much suds but we have a whole house softener. I use about 1 TB Caldrea. So a box of Persil lasts me a year (it rocks white loads). I generally go with Caldrea for underwear and colored clothing. With the Oxiclean booster in the prewash, I can go down to 2 tsps Persil. (Vaska was way too sudsy for my water). Most cycles have 3 rinses and there is a setting to enable more called "Sensitive". So things rinse out really well. No worries there. And if there is a question, I run the load through the separate 18-minute rinse cycle which is my backstop. For dark loads I like the Perwoll Dark Wash which does a nice job in cold water. I use that for the stretchy yoga clothes and fleece also. Our DD discovered Cal Ben pure soap which she uses for her family's laundry because the little guy has allergies. She has three, 7, 5 and 2 so there a ton of laundry. Very nice soap, relatively inexpensive, works in the Miele and rinses well. Another option. Here is a link that might be useful: Cal Ben

I haven't ventured too far from the recipe book I received with my Thermador pro steam range. I have made a variety of meals and have not had a bad one. A favorite repeat is the Mexican chicken and vegetable wraps. Steaming a variety of vegetables and making hard boiled eggs are wonderfully simple. The steam oven capacity is perfect- I honestly would never need anything larger. And I have yet to have to refill the reservoir during cooking- a total non issue. Unless someone is trying to sell you a Wolf or Miele ;)