You eat raviolis in bed?

I KNEW someone would ask that! Yes, I did. LOL

I have the 500 and it dries very, very well. Regular dry is slightly, slightly damp, very dry is dry and warm and extra dry is dry and hot, always faster than the washer.

Thanks aliceinwonderland. I appreciate the info. If anyone has the 700, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

raviloi--Completly satisfied manufactured-in-New-Bern-NC 500 owner here. If you do a 500 v. 700 compare at the Bosch site, you'll notice there is no difference between their capacity to dry. The 700 has 3 more cycles than the 500 and some extended timed dry durations, but the drum size and air flow (CFM) for both machines is the same. The only other variable would be the heat rate (BTU or watts), but I didn't find that anywhere. I bet they have identical heat rates anyway. So, I think the user's experience with the 500 would carry forward to the 700. If you're truly unhappy with the LuckyGoldstar, my vote is the 500 (or 700 if you need to do a 2.5 hr timed dry).

Bosch Laundry Prod. Manager here, and I would say that the 500 and 700 will probably both serve your needs equally well. The 500 and 700 have the same watt/BTU rating. One cool feature in the 700 that you will not see in the 500, on the 700 dryer you can actually program in the final spin speed of the washer for a dry cycle perfectly matched the wash cycle you did.

The 700 will dry much better than the old 3510. The 3510 is actually pretty old technology from Europe (replaced by the 4410 last year) and the 700 is the latest and great from our factory in the U.S. in New Bern.

Thanks speedmaster and bsh chris. What you said, along with aliceinwonderland, puts my mind to rest about the dryer. And that's a cool feature I didn't know about - matching the spin speed to the dry cycle.

bsh chris, the 700 will wash as well as or better than the 2460, won't it? I'd hate to go backward from what the little one can do. My spouse is disappointed that the LG isn't working out because of the cool factor (lights, etc.), but I can't handle having to wash things twice to get them clean. I'd rather stick with the little Bosch.

I have friends who went from top loaders to LG non-steam washers and think they're awesome, but having had the Bosch experience first, I can see the difference. The heater in every cycle just does a better job I think.

Also Chris, I talked to a dealer a couple of months back about the 700. He had info and said they were available, but didn't have them on the floor. I still haven't been able to see a set in person. Does that seem unusual to you?

As far as the cleaning of Boach 700 Series: You can rest assured that you will get results worthy of our brand. We have tested it to clean well, it has been rated very good by independent research groups, and we have lots of anecdotal evidence that it cleans extremely well (this forum included). The 2460 is a great machine for sure, but the 700 Series heats even higher, has more specialized cycles, and great options like a "quick" option you apply to any cycle.

Hmmmm... as for seeign the unit, I do think it strange that you have not seen one yet. Where are you? Maybe I can suggest a place that you can at least see one in person.

Thanks for your help. We're in Nashville, Tennessee.

Several people have mentioned that the 500 and 700 are made in New Bern, NC. Is there some significance to this other than that they are American made?

The machines say they're made of American and imported parts. Do the imported parts come from Germany? And are the machines still designed/engineered in Germany?

latsabre--The refs to New Bern are significant because there are only two (AFAIK) washer/dryer manufacturers actually employing Americans to build them--Bosch and Electrolux (Frigidaire). I believe if the engineering and build quality are worthy, we should always tip our wallet to the corporation who has a worker committment here. We cannot expect these unusual corporations to hang around unless consumers support them.

As an aside, I wonder if it was an easy committment for Bosch/Electrolux to build here since the workers standard of living/wages are comparable in the respective headquarters country.

And today we hear that Ford lost the cash equivalent of a new Mustang ($24K) every minute in 2006; that is one corporation whose management stupidity should not be rewarded by consumer support. Paying workers to sit idle!