Miele makes first-rate, durable appliances, but this is their first large-drum home machine in the US, and has only been on the market for a few weeks, so it is really hard to judge the machine. We also don't know what your particular laundry needs or wants are.

The Bosch is a known-excellent machine, but Bosch build quality is generally a clear step below that of the Miele (though at or above that of most of the other competition). The Miele is nearly twice the price of the Bosch, with some superior and some inferior program options. Is the extra build quality enough worth it? That's a question only you can answer. - DR

Thanks for the response.

My husband and I are building a new house. Our laundry room is essentially on the 3rd floor. First floor is garage, 2nd floor is kitchen, great room and the third floor is bedrooms and laundry room.

We are concerned about vibrations. The dryer will be installed on the left and will be in the corner of the room (which I think will help).

It is just the 2 of us for forseeable future so we do not necessarily need the largest washer on the market. What I liked about the Miele was that it had an automatic shutoff valve built in. Since the washer is on the third floor I thought that was important. I know there are other options for a shutoff valve as well.

Does anyone know if it is possible to wash a down comforter in Miele? I thought I read some where that it had a special setting for that. Of course, with down, the real key is making sure it dries so that also a consideration.

I will post in a bit with more requirements. Thanks again for all your help!

I agree with dross, but will add some small details. Both have apparent advantages and disadvantages, and although the Miele does seem very interesting it is quite a bit more expensive and doesn't have a track record yet. I'm also deciding between the two, but I'm leaning towards the Miele (80% sure at this point) right now. I need to do some renovation to the laundry room to fit either machine and given my slow pace in doing these kind of projects I'm hoping some more history on the Miele comes to light before needing to order either machine. To be fair the W4840 is the top of the line big capacity whereas Bosch 500 is their mid level. It's probably more fair to compare the Bosch 500 with the Miele W4800 or the Bosch 700 with the Miele W4840 at some level. Some of the things I've noticed as differences between the W4840 and 500 are:

Spin speed: Miele 1400 rpm vs. Bosch 1100 rpm. This equates with a g-force difference of 370 g for the Bosch and 600 g for the Miele. At some point you can't spin much more water out of clothing regardless of g-force, but I'd expect the Miele to have a noticable difference.

Temperatures:

-----------------Bosch----------------------Miele
xxtra-----------150F + 3 min @ 170F----------N/A
Sanitary/Boost----150F-----------------------158F
Hot---------------125F-----------------------140F
Very Warm---------N/A------------------------122F
Warm--------------95F------------------------104F
Cold--------------60F------------------------86F

Maybe it's just how we are use to doing laudry with our Asko and now Danby, but more often than not we do cotton whites at 140F and colors at 104F so the Miele's temps line up with our past experience and comfort level. Also don't some emzynes activate around 104F? If so, it's nice to have that as your "warm" wash option.

Profile Wash:

The Bosch does this directly, whereas the Miele you need to plumb your washer to allow this. It appears the Miele will do a profile wash but you need a way of either filling it with cold water only, or having the cold go to both the hot and cold inlets or maybe start the machine in one setting and then changing it within 6 minutes. If you need to do a lot of profile washes, the Bosch is a better choice.

Hinges:

The Bosch washer has the hinge on the left (like most all big american FLers) whereas the Miele it's on the right. Since your dealing with new construction it's not a big issue. Down the line if you want to replace your washer with another brand your choices are VERY limited regarding other large washers which are also right hinged.

Weight:

The Bosch weighs around 220 lbs whereas the Miele is about 290 lbs. Manufacturers don't add weight for fun and to increase manufacturing costs, shipping costs and installation hassle. This added heft is not doubt heavier duty components and I'm guessing a much heavier and more stable outer tank. As dross said, there isn't a track record yet, and the Miele might even experience some new product hiccups, but the Miele appears to be built like a tank.

The Miele does have their waterproof system as you mentioned. It is not as extensive as seen on their dishwashers with inner/outer concentric hoses and a valve at the water take off. I believe it will pump the water out if a leak occurs internal to the machine. I don't view this as an acceptable level of protection (particularly for upper floors) to justify not installing a simple manual shutoff and a drain pan. If a supply hose bursts it won't protect you and if the power goes out it can't work. Given it's limitations I don't view it as providing enough to be viewed as an advantage vs. Bosch.

Dryer:

My pair aren't going to sit side-by-side so matching equipment isn't an issue. For a lot less money than the Miele you can get a very good dryer with more capability. If you buy the Miele dryer have the venting designed so another dryer would work there as well. The Miele puts the vent outlet out the back on the lower left corner (as viewed from the front). Every other dryer I know of has their rear outlet more or less centered in the back. A very bizarre design decision on their part. However, if I end up going with the Bosch, I would consider their dryer.

gordonr - what an informative post, thank you!

So, what machine did you decide on? And if you bought the Miele, what dryer did you buy? (I'm interested to know what dryer may be the same height as the Miele, since if I want to install w/out pedestal and have a counter installed on top of the washer and dryer for folding.)

smarge,

Was all set to get the Miele but then a bunch more info about the Miele came to light on this board. The participant named crooks101 showed that it didn't use it's internal heater on the normal cycle, and there were some other issues that made me believe it was a fine machine but would rather wait until it's internal software matured a bit, so am holding off on the Miele. For that kind of money I expect near perfection, not having to use work arounds.

Our laundry room remodel got delayed over the summer because we had to spend lots of $$$ to have our house repainted/wood trim repaired. However I just got the ducting installed for the new dryer location so this project has now bubbled to the top (nice straight 5 foot vent rather than 40 feet with 7 x 90 degree bends). Anyways, we purchased a yet to be delivered HE5t (plain - no steam) for almost 1/2 the cost of the Miele. Will most likely keep using our Maytag electric dryer, but hope to plumb for a gas one during the remodel.

Just went through the same debate! I have a Miele dishwasher and a Bosch cooktop in my kitchen and have loved both. Had been leaning towards the Miele, however a few factors led me to purchasing the Bosch unit instead. First was that this is the first year that the 4840 has been out. The Bosch 500 has been out since around 2004. According the the Bosch rep, a lot of kinks have been worked out since then. Secondly, I felt that the Bosch was going to do a good enough job. None of the front loaders in the 2006 Consumer Reports got the highest rating anyway. A smaller issue was that I preferred a silver colored unit the the 4840 only came in white. Lastly, I was the price. I was able to get a silver Bosch 500 set close to cost (due to a dealer oversight) so that the Bosch set would ended up being half of the Miele. However, if money was not a issue, probably would have gotten the Miele.