I did not get to test my range but these are some things that I see might be a problem in hindsight. Before you go- I would first prioritize your needs. For me the oven is important. Others want high heat for the burners or have other priorities. Take a hard look at your cookware if you haven't already. Understand the properties of the metal it is made of. Cookware is the interface of the food to heat and will extend the capabilities of any burner. Cookware with poor heat conduction will limit the function of any range. Most burners in prostyle ranges are wider so consider the shape of the cookware as well. It is also helpful to understand in buying bakeware. If you are testing high heat, you really can't use nonstick except maybe the newer ceramics that withstand high heat. Understanding Stovetop Cookware Materials-of-Cookware For the oven, maybe take some cookie batter and put several pans in at once. Cookie sheets should be shiny and aluminum. Cookies can burn or cook unevenly in the best oven if you use dark or steel cookie sheets. If baking is your thing you might want to see how it bakes other things. Check how the convection works. If you haven't had it before, it is different brand to brand and a learning curve. There is a difference between just a fan and third element convection. Turn the oven on and check the door temp after one hour. Observe how much heat is put into the kitchen or on you if you are standing in front of it cooking. Check out the lighting in the oven. Does it glare and can you see what is cooking. If you have rolling racks, take them in and out. I change my racks around a lot so leave a rolling rack in the bottom but don't like them for the upper rack(s). Check out the broiler. Some infrared broilers are very narrow. I use my broiler for half sheets and it is not what I would choose. If you are grilling a couple of steaks or small amount of fish mostly it might be great. For the burners, check how quickly the pan recovers when you add food*. Check how the pans fit the burners, especially a consideration if you use cast iron or steel or have small pans that allow the flame on high to wrap around the pan. This can be on open or sealed burners. Bring something starchy like a can of spaghettios and see if the burner will hold them on low without scorching. This can also be affected by the type of pan. A small LeCreuset being cast iron will hold the heat and be hotter than an aluminum or copper pan. Check the sensitivity of the knob in controlling the heat. Look at the grates and lift them. Check how the range is cleaned. This is very subjective. Write a list ahead of time starting with looking over the range while it is cold and starting with things like putting your starchy item on to hold and preheating your oven. If you have a written list you won't forget anything and you can keep notes. also bring a camera.

I would test drive another 3 or 4 trucks and see which one I liked the best. Just remember every vehicle feels different. Some people can feel the difference some people can't. So don't let a salesman tell you they are all the same. Good Luck Bob

I am in the middle of my husband's family genealogy, have been since December. I have found out alot of information and made contact with a number of descendants of his GGGGrandfathers siblings through Ancestry.com's family trees and research. We are still at a roadblock for finding where his GGGGGrandfather's family came from. I thought I could link them back to the Eastern Shore of MD/VA but recently found a book on those Boston people and there doesn't seem to be a common ancestor. I gave my husband the ancestry.com website as a gift for Christmas with my doing the research as well. Then for his birthday in Jan. I gave him the DNA kit - well its still sitting on his desk! Not that he doesn't want to do it but as someone said - just forgets. We were also contacted by someone who thinks they may be related back to the GGGGrandfather's generation. They want him to do a more detailed DNA test, one which I found online. Just waiting for them to send it to us - again that was several months ago that we were contacted. For those of you who are into genealogy - check Facebook for groups related to the area you are interested in and/or family member groups. I found one for my mother's family, a group for Southern Maryland Families and one for the Eastern Shore of Virginia. All three have been helpful in finding information and I even met up with a gal who I went to church with when I was a teenager when my brother and I made a sibling trip home to Maryland this summer. She gave me a booklet from the bicentennial celebration of the church we attended. It meant so much to me because my GGGGrandfather had donated the land and lumber for the church, which was 100 years old in 1959 and is still an active Catholic parish. We all attended mass there that Sunday and I will treasure the memories forever.

When I bought my house, the realtor drove me around. But then again I met her through an organization we were both part of, even though we weren't especially friends. I was glad we drove around together because it enabled more frank conversation and spontaneous questions. (And some laughter after the House with The Indiana Jones stairway down into the basement, or after escaping the House with the Severely Bowed Roof, which we hadn't noticed until we had crossed through it and were out on the deck.) She was willing to show me the neighborhoods, too. When I hunted for the land I'm currently building on, the realtor just gave me the address and I went on my own - she never showed up at all. (I met her when I first signed up with her, and just once after. She hadn't indicated at our first meeting that she'd not actually be walking these properties with me.)