No one can speak about long term reliability, it's a gamble at this point. Whichever machine you choose, purchase an extended warranty.

I own the Duet and got a good price on it. My biggest complaint is the control flexibility and lack of understanding of it's operation. Selecting certain options with certain cycles changes the operations of the programs, the heater, and the rinses. There is little documentation to explain what is what. Comparing the two if I had to do it over again I would have purchased the Bosch. It has nice features, a real profile wash, flexible wash programs, a better on board heater with hotter washing temperatures, controlled temperatures in other cycles, (not just a thermistor mixing hot/cold) and a separate bleach program which can be added to the cycle. If your a bleach user as I am, in the Duet the bleach is added at the end of the first cold water rinse, which I HATE!! Overhaul build quality of the Bosch is better than the Duet. It just looks like it's more Heavy Duty. The only reason I didn't choose Bosch is am not convinced there is a strong dealer/parts/service network in place. The profile wash feature is really something over done and over rated in these forums. It's a nice feature for removing protien stains. There are countless posts of poor wash results, hottest water, Euro Detergents. The truth is people that complain about poor wash results are using the wrong detergents or combination of products, need to have water hardness checked, refuse to bleach or use additives of any kind, and have an obsurd misconception you can really get clothes super clean and white clothes in warm water, remove oil by using super hot water alone, etc. For those folks, whichever machine they choose they will never get results! A good lesson in laundry mechanics, stain removal, and wash chemistry will benefit them most. I personally would go with the Bosch but thats my opinion.

I too was deciding between the Bosch and the Whirlpool... I got the Bosch set in early August and do not regret that decision. My wash is great, Options are really easy to pick between... but to be honest, I usually wash on regular and then pick a water temp! I have used the hand wash cycle many times also... it is great for those items you really just don't want to take the time to do by hand and spins then well... vibration on the second floor (tiiing) is NOT a problem in my house.

i bought the ebay closeout of the siemens ultrasense 8400 w/gas d set from airelkin for $1,200. i believe it is a twin to the bosch top of line for that '05 model year. Had the pair set up for about two weeks. Enjoying them very much. I particularly like the door design of the bosch/siemens; easy in, easy out; less reach in than, say, in/out of my old dryer. very quiet too.

capacity and performance of the washer is great, i'm washing the whole house; some clean things just for the pleasure of getting them cleaner....

i bought a bosch premium 6400 floor model set w/elec dryer before the siemens ebay set. the bosch washer was damaged on install, but i used the bosch dryer for awhile before the set went back to the local store...

i found the dryer so much hotter than my old dryer, and less cool-down, more wrinkles; i really was struggling to learn the machine, and didn't much like it. capacity was great though.

Now i have the siemens gas twin, same struggles to learn it; regular cotton dry is a virtual blast furnace!!! Everything dries too fast, wrinkles galore, so i have a lot of learning to do with the dryer. don't love it yet. if you don't need a matched set, or need a new dryer, maybe keep your old dryer for awhile, or could consider a traditional dryer

i liked that the bosch is built in NC; i hoped a few of our dollars ended up in an american paycheck (we're self-employed). i know, coporate ownership, etc,etc, world economy; but we were not sure of the other brands, maybe could have done more research, but tired of the whole decision and went with what we liked...

good luck shopping

capacity and performance of the washer is great, i'm washing the whole house

Wow, that *is* big capacity; aren't you afraid that the bricks will damage the drum?-) - DR

DR- Nope! LOL....DH noticed i was still washing when he came home late, as i had started the washer at 6am; and on my comment that i was redoing our 5-yr's old bed (toddler made a mess); he quipped 'did you wash the whole bed?' "Yep, sure did"..............our 5-yr old burst into tears, weeping that mommy is washing too much stuff; she loves her bed, it was going to be all bent and ruined........no amount of showing her the wash in the washer window would console her. It took a daddy horsey-ride up the stairs and onto the bed to convince her that the bed was still there.

Drat -- I had a chance to buy a pair of the Nexxt washer & dryer as a scratch & dent over the weekend at a fabulous price. I'm not much of a scratch & dent-type, so I waffled too long and then it was gone. Oh well (for the record, the dryer was $499 including an extra year on the warranty and the washer was $739 also including an extra year's warranty).

Thanks for all of the responses. I think I will be going with Bosch.

We bought the Bosch because my wife liked the larger washer tub and door opening.

I wanted the Duet Sport 8500 because of the stackability and the new suspension and the looks.

I also felt more comfortable with the Whirlpool parts availability.

We are very happy with the Bosch washing machine but I have to say the Bosch gas dryer is not near as good as the 12 year old Whirlpool gas dryer it replaced.

wblynch, what about the Bosch dryer isn't as good as the old Whirlpool ( which I have, too, the dropdown door one)?

Our Whirlpool would keep going until the clothes were dry. This Bosch will quit before they're dry and you have to run it again.

Also the Bosch rolls blankets and sheets into big tangled balls and the Whirlpool never did that.

There was nothing wrong with our Whirlpool dryer but it would have looked silly sitting next to the brand new Bosch washer.

These companies know they got you hooked on the matched sets. $850 for a dryer we didn't need and doesn't work as good.

We sold the old dryer for $100.

The Bosch dryer looks beautiful.

Thanks Again folks - I bought the Bosch set last night. They said it comes with 3 years of free Tide detergent, any idea how much they actually give you? Also I have a question about installation. My laundry room floor is on the 1st floor of our house, but our house is built on a crawl space. The floor consists of floor joists with osb on top, then 1.5 inches of Gypcrete (lightweight concrete), followed by ceramic tile. I am considering cutting a piece of 1/2 to 3/4 plywood to put under the washer and dryer. My concern is one of the legs may end up in between tiles on the grout, and would not be a perfectly flat area. Please tell me you thoughts - is the plywood overkill? Thanks again for your time!

I installed the washer last night, and ran two loads. The first load was perfectly quiet even during spin. The second load was noticeably louder and produced more vibration during the final spin. It wasn't bad, but I am not sure if I will like it. I plan on putting 3/4 inch plywood under the washer and dryer the full length of the laundry room, I hope it helps. I also could not seem to load as much as my old speed queen top loader, but once everything got wet, it seemed like a very small load. So how do you load a front loader? How full?

Make sure the machine is properly levelled, with weight evenly distributed among the legs, and the leg locknuts tight against the machine.
The machine should hold much more than your old toploader. The default instructions for FLs is fill until you have about a fist's worth of space free at the top. However, there is a card that came with your Bosch with recommended load amounts for various cycles, and following these recommendations will usually give somewhat better cleaning results. - DR

i'm bumping to avoid creating a new thread on a similar subject...I'm having a difficult time making a decision on a FL w/ heater.

(1) The ebay siemens ultrasense WFXD8400UC can be purchased for $599 + $100 shipping. I can get a $100 rebate from the utility company and it will cost $50 to remove the old washer. We'd have to do the install ourselves (level and water supply, seems easy). Total cost $650

(2) Local store will deliver/install/service Bosch 500 (and remove old washer) for $685 (including rebates).

(3) Same local store will deliver/install/service Affinity 7000 (and remove old washer) for $685 (including rebates).

We like size and stacking ability of the Affinity, not sure of its track record. We like the reputation/reliability of Bosch/Seimens units. The affinity would fit a little better in the laundry area.

Q1: How comparable are the Bosch and Siemens units? Does the feature difference warrant the hassle of buying through ebay and installing ourselves?

Q2: How comparable are the Bosch and Affinity units? Is the Bosch quality *that* much better?

If Bosch's were stackable it be a no-brainer.

thanks

Unless you absolutely need the stackability, get the Bosch/Siemens over the Affinity. the latter is a fine machine, but the Bosch machines are a class higher.

Bosch and Siemens are the same company, and the washers will be essentially the same in practice. In your shoes I would buy the Bosch from the local dealer. - DR

Has anyone else experienced the problem wblynch mentioned about the dryer stopping before the clothes are dry? Is there a way around it? That would make this a non-starter for me (I also have an old Whirlpool, which doesn't stop until the clothes are dry).

janedibber, whether you do the Bosch or the Affinity, the price all-in is only $35 more locally than the Siemens through ebay? I wouldn't even consider the ebay purchase if that were the difference!

DMLove, I cleaned the sensor bars with a cloth soaked in vinegar and all is well now.

I had heard that the Bounce sheets my dear wife loves to use leave a film on the sensor bars.

We are now very happy with the performance of the Bosch dryer.

Thanks, Bill

wb, thanks so much for replying! Lowe's has them on sale right now - 10% off, so that, plus the $110 rebate from Bosch, and maybe a Lowe's coupon, plus free delivery, seems like it's too good to pass up!

I had the Bosch 500 dryer for a few months, never used a dryer sheet in it and it never dried any load completely. I always had to add more time to the cycle. Another thing it did was, it would roll & wrap the sheets into the blankets while tumbling. I have the 8500 whirlpool sport dryer now and it when the cycle is done the clothes are perfectly dry, doesn't roll & wrap the sheets and such into a ball either. It's too bad that Bosch can't make a quality dryer to match their washers. I like the whirlpool dryer much better, matter of fact I like the 8500 washer much better than the Bosch 500 too.

You're not the first person to report problems with their Bosch dryer, which is why I find the latest JD Powers report, which ranks the Bosch dryer as #1 in customer satisfaction, rather puzzling. - DR

thanks for your recommendations.

dross - what are the approx dimensions of the Bosch 500 control panel (i couldn't find it online)? Do you think a shallower dryer could be rigged to be stacked on the 500?

if there's a will, there's a way....

Do you think a shallower dryer could be rigged to be stacked on the 500?

No no no, this is a terrible idea. First, the new Bosch models have plastic tops (I think), and even the old ones did not have tops that could support the weight of a dryer. Second, even machines that are meant to be stacked should only be stacked with a matched unit.

If you really want to put a small dryer over the Nexxt, what you should do is build a very solid support structure which supports the dryer separately above the washer.

If you are only a little short of lateral space, look for a thin dryer (possibly the Fisher-Paykel top-loading dryer will fit where the Bosch dryer might not). - DR

The folks who service our appliances are a Bosch, LG, and Whirlpool authorized service center. When I asked about front-loading washers, they recommended Whirlpool.

svcmgr returns with yet another new ID...

"svcmgr returns with yet another new ID..."

If you're referring to my posting, lynch, you're full of beans.