I don't blame you. I've read on appliance repair forums where Miele's have their fair share of problems. I think all FL washers do. My next purchase when I move is going to be a FL that has been on the market for years like the Frigemore. I rarely see complaints of control board issues with those machines. Usually its the spider problem but even that is suspect to wrong detergent and some owners report theirs being 10 to 12 years old and still going with no repairs.

Hello bestefar, I have similar concerns about venting and space and will soon be getting a Miele. A few things I have learned: 1. When you vent a Miele from the sides, your available length of venting is shortened by quite a bit. So, if you are planning a circuitous/long run to vent your dryer keep this in mind (the downloadable pdf specs from Miele detail all of this). However, there is good news in that in venting from the back you are not limited to requiring 4 inches of space for a 4" diameter vent conduit. Go to Lowes or some hardware store and you can find rectangular vents that will hook up to the back of your dryer and only require 2" of space in depth. They are also expandable in length. Man, it is so hard to describe this stuff. Here is an image that shows what such a device looks like. My Meile dealer rep says this type of device is fine. http://us.exhausto.com/NewSite/images/products/subduct.jpg Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful:

Is this a build or new install? If there is a way to make room for larger units, I would for resale purposes. If the Miele units are within your budget I would go with those over the Bosch. Asko is another option for the size you need. No matter what models you research there will be negative reviews. I never considered Bosch but you might want to take a look at the user manual. Many of the complaints on this forum come from people upset that their heaters aren't doing their job when in reality the heater is only used for one or two cycles not all.

Congratulation! Should match you by next Monday. Traveling this week, so looked at a W4840 in a store that had power. The interface is a lot better than just looking at manual. Good! Overall, I think I like it better than the W4800 interface now and you get the added functions. It does have a graphic of HS spin and temp- not good as separate LED, but it works. Just need to pony up $200. So I have shifted on this after using both from a interface consideration and missing the functions. Otherwise, the washers are fundamentally the same build quality. Also, bored, had a few minutes and found a store with a Maytag Bravo and WP Duet hooked up to water. Sorry, TL folks, but Maytag Bravo is just FL with drum in wrong direction. LOL. On the Duet, it seemed functionally ok. Miele must have more sound deadening, since it is quieter even with store noises. Per dealer, it was the top Duet FL at $1400. It was ,IMO, noticeably cheaper build quality with no heater except on Sanitary. The dryer seemed to have both plastic on inside/external door and painted interior. Asking price $1100. I paid $1200 for Mile T9800 with solid SS honeycomb with not moving back and two glass doors. What I really was interested was the water levels- a concern on the W4800, as noted in prior post. Both on wash and rinse about the same as the Mile W4800. Welcome to the 2007 new EPA washers. So Miele was no worst on water level. Miele quality/heater is important, IMO. Noticed the Duet took over 10 minutes trying to balance a load- towels where stuck on drum, so nothing would change. It just gave up and went into a a HS spin with stuck towels and make some knocking noise for a few seconds. It was on concrete floor with pedestals. Vibration about the same as my 2nd flood with no pedestal on 1 1/2 plywood. This was encouraging also. HS spin noise about the same- i.e. neither has any jet sounds. So let us know your experience. So unless my new Miele W4840 has issues like the other machine I had, I really see Mile as the clear quality leader. If you have inclination/ability to spend about $600 more for the Mile, it seem you get the value back in quality. Oh, also saw the new Whirlpool steam dryer and got a brochure.