I don't have any personal experience with any of these machines (yet).
However, I can tell you that you are not wasting your money by getting a FL with internal heater i.e. the Nexxt 500 or the LG. It is not just the temperature boost or sanitary cycle that you'd be missing, you'd also not be able to get a truely hot wash with the Nexxt 100.

As far as reliability goes, it is tough to predict the life expectancy of the fairly new, large capacity FLs. Both of the washers you consider should be good quality machines. Just make sure that parts and service would be readily available in your area. You mentioned that the salesman steers you towards the Bosch. I think I would go with his advice then. He probably has some experience dealing with both manufacturers.

My local Lowe's has the Bosch 500 on a scratch/dent sale for 25% off. However, they could not find the warranty card today in the store to verify that they could cover the warranty. The sales person and I copied the serial number down and he told me I could probably verify any repair history to the appliance on the Bosch site. They are willing to do that Monday am when they can call Bosch but I was trying to speed up the process so I could decide tomorrow if I wanted the scratched one or full price one and have it delivered Monday (the laundry is piling up and I am anxious). Anyone know where I might find the info and is it a mistake to purchase a scratch/dent? I certainly don't mind the scratch as that side will be against the wall.

Do a forum search for LG and read the posts that describe LG service nightmares. I don't think I want one.

I personally think that a lot of the vendors producing these washers, including the "high end" ones, may have service issues.

In this day and age, we all take a gamble when purchasing these products and hope that the respective company will faithfully support their offerings.

We have an LG Steamwasher. We like our a quite a bit. At first, my wife didn't like the fact that the Sanitary wash took so long. She used the Sanitary wash for everything. She's used to not having so many options with a washer. I informed her that you don't need to use the Sanitary option for all the washes. Now, she uses a combo of the Sanitary, Speed and Cotton washes. She REALLY like the Speed wash when appropriate.

With knowledge gained from this forum, I understood that there could be service issues if my washer needed to be serviced. Something I understood and appreciated when we purchased the product.

Getting burned on the original Maytag "Neptune" fiasco, I learned the hard way that company reputations are not what they were 20 years ago. Too bad.

To the OP, understand this. On the net, you will rarely see as many positive posts about a product than negative. People come on these forums to post questions about their machines. Some come in to complain about their service. With Internet forums like these, I wonder sometimes, of the total sales of a product, how many are satisfied and how many are not?

Sometimes, the net is a good thing...sometimes not.

I'll tell you one thing about this forum - it has a WEALTH of info and more positive posts that I have seen on other forums.

"It's not 'Buyer beware'....it's 'buyer BE AWARE!' :)

I have the LG set, but I have only had it 3 weeks or so. So far, I think it's working. I like that sanitary cycle, but I am confused about whether the hot works properly. I can open the door, and it doesn't feel that warm or hot. I don't know if it's pulling off the hot water heater, or if it's trying to heat cold with the heater. But the sanitary cycle works really well, and everything else seems to be clean. Sorry I can't be more help.

I've hade the bosch 300 series and bosch 500 dryer for over 6 months now and they are both great. I have them on the second floor and I can barely hear them working. I have to say that the washer is fenomenal(and I've only used the hot setting, never used the kids care). Clothes come out almost dry and I've notice my whites getting whiter. It is my first front loader and I'm loving it.

I actually purchased the Bosch 500 yesterday at Lowe's and am anxiously awaiting it's arrival later today. I have to work this evening and have made my husband promise me that he will leave me all the wash for tomorrow (his 2 attempts at laundry over 20 years of marriage has been disasters!).
I decided to go with the Bosch over the LG since they have been making FL for over 40 years and the majority of the negative comments I have heard about them have been the length of the wash cycle. If that is the biggest problem people are having I can certainly live with that-the clothes will be CLEAN. I chose the 500 over the 100 series to get the sanitary cycle. As a nurse I am all too aware of the need to sanitize certain items. My son contracted MRSA twice last year from either karate or football (not sure which) and after consulting with the infectious disease doctor at the hospital I work at I realize I need to do everything I can to keep towels clean and sanitized. I also intend to do all my bedding on that cycle. Cannot wait to try it out :)

Had the Bosch 500 nearly one year now. It has been flawless. The clothes get very clean and the whites are pure white.

We love the xxsanitary cycle on bed linens and whites. It's nice to know all the dust mites are gone. The 25 minute quick wash works perfectly on lightly soiled permanent-press type clothes.

My daughter uses the Quickwash 25 exclusively on all her clothes because she's always in such a hurry. They still get way cleaner than with the old top loaders.

Oh, and careful measuring of our water and electrical usage shows both down over 25%. Our gas bill for the dryer went down too.

My only complaint is that we spent extra for the pedestals which, while cool, lift the machines too high for the counter top above to be comfortably used. If done over I would lose the pedestals.

I am washing my second of many loads to be done today. I LOVE this machine. It is so much quieter than my previous Kenmore FL which was beginning to sound like a jet taking off in my house. Two things I noticed right off the bat that I love. First, the door is much bigger and opens all the way (180 degrees) making it much easier to load and unload. My washer sits on the right against a wall in a fairly small room so I had to do aerobics with my old FL and wondered if I would be able to do that in a few years ;) Second, the drum seems to sit higher than my old one. I don't have to squat down to get to it. I had no idea just how inconvenient if was to use my old washer until the Bosch arrived.
The drum looks huge to me. I would imagine I could easily put my queen comforter in there. We plan on going to a king soon and that my even fit.
I am in LOVE with my Bosch!!!