If you want responses would X-post this on the Appliance Forum, where DW discussions are rampant. There is a fair amount of Bosch-bashing going on recently, though I think it's overstated. Miele's, which we own, are the darlings of the App Forum, and IMHO for very good reason. I'd head over there and do some perusing of recent DW posts.

Here is a link that might be useful: Appliance Forum

No. My parents have a Miele and the only advantage it has over my Whirlpool Gold model and the current Frigidaire are that it is SILENT. Cool feature, but I expect a low whooshing background noise with a DW. Frankly, the DW is usually run at night after the day's messes.

All of the newish DWs that I have used (see above, all of which are I'd spend the extra money here on a better fridge or prettier tile/counter in a heartbeat.

Oh well, here we go. I've owned a series of DWs, including low end GE and Whirlpool units, three Bosch DW's, and now two Miele Excellas. I would differ with lithigin's opinion, based on my own experiences.

Unlike lighigin, we run DW's at all times of day or night, as we cook a lot. Even with two DW's in the kitchen, not to mention a Bosch in the basement, we will often fill two loads a day. Thus, the noise issue for us is huge, as there is often one running as we eat dinner, 5 feet from our DW--and with the Miele, you can't hear it running. Nice.

The other advantages of the Mieles are numerous and well enumerated in other threads, esp on the Appliance forum. Here are a few to start with:

Bosch vs Miele dishwasher

Dishwashers: Miele vs Bosch

Dishwashers: asko, bosch or miele

There is no doubt that many would indeed agree with lithigin and be perfectly happy with a Frigidaire or WP. Still, the difference in price, as a percentage of total kitchen renovation costs, is tiny, and the $700 you save on a low end DW would hardly do much towards upgrading countertops in a typical kitchen.

As antss and many others have observed, it's a very personal question. Lots of people can't imagine spending $75 on a bottle of Cliff Lede Cinnamon Stardust cab, let alone $2000 for that Vogne Romanee. Ditto for Martin Logan Spire speakers at $8500/pair.

Same for dishwashers. No doubt that the Clos du Bois cab, or the Boston Acoustic speakers will do the job just fine. But the Cliff Lede and Martin Logans are better :-)

I just got my dishwasher installed today. It's a Frigidaire professional - it looks nice. I ran it and I expected it to be quiet, and it is, but it's nowhere close to a Bosch and is nowhere in the league of a Miele.

I really really really wished I had gotten a Miele. Not sure if I helped or not...

I agree with lithigin. I have a Whirlpool one step below their highest model (mine does not have a stainless interior because I have read many times over the years that stainless is an unnecessary expense), I've had it 1 1/2 yrs, and I love it! I hardly hear it running, it has adjustable racks, the silverware is in the door (I like that feature), and it cleans great!

As far as looking at the cost of one item being a small percentage of the total renovation, that's true. But if you do that with every item, it's really going to add up. If you want the Bosch and can afford it, go for it. But just because you don't get a top of the line Bosch or Miele doesn't mean you're getting a low end dishwasher, either.

I have to say that I think the Miele is over-rated. I have the Miele Optima and judging by how the appliance forum went ga-ga over it, I have to say it annoys me to no end to have to manually turn off the the power when the dang thing has finished--that plus the fact that it takes over 2 hours to do the dishes! Truth be told, I miss my old Maytag that had the one push start button and it automatically turned off.

I do enjoy the cutlery tray, which I didn't know if I would care for and the fact that it has the crystal setting. I think some of the other dishwashers are catching up, though with respect to the crystal setting.

Miele Excellas, which we have, certainly power off after completing cycle. Don't know about the Optimas. Is it just the red light that stays on, or are you saying that the machine is actually consuming power until you hit the off button?

As to cycle time, it is true that newer DW's, esp Euro, have longer cycles, but over 2 hours is long even for a Miele. What cycle are you using?

I recently bought a Bosch. I was very disappointed the first time I used it, the dishes did not come out clean, not all of them but a couple of glasses that had orange juice in them, and a couple of forks were not clean. Since then I have had problems with a film. I am obviously doing something wrong but I don't know what. The Bosch is extremely quiet, I actually have to put my ear down close to listen if it is running. I am not sold on the Bosch, yet.

I've said it before on other threads and I must say it again here: Do Not Buy a Bosch. Maybe I am "Bosch Bashing", but I have been very unhappy with mine. Just paid $200 for a repair and it's only three years old. Customer service stinks. Go with another brand. I will never buy another Bosch appliance.

There has been a spate of "Bosch-bashing" posts recently on Appliances. It may reflect a true change in their products, as this appears to apply mainly to newer machines.

We have owned four Bosch DW's, and still have two, newest about 4 years old, and have had no problems with any of them, outside of a circuit board replacement caused by me spilling apple juice into the door panel vents. Most recent interaction with service was a c.board replacement under their recent recall, which was smooth.

So, perhaps their quality has dropped or on the other hand, that it's an isolated phenomenon. Certainly wouldn't trade our Mieles for the Bosch, but they have been solid, reliable machines at a more reasonable price point for us.

karena - the power does turn off to the mieles after a cycle. sort of.

power is constantly comming into the machine as long as you have it connected to electricity. even if you have an older electro mechanical DW power is still comming into the unit. when the mechanical timer stops on those - power is no longer flowing to the heater and pump. Same on the miele it's just that switching is electronic instead of mechanical.

if the little lights bother you on the mieles I dunno what to tell you, piece of tape? glass of wine? therapy?

an added advantage of the "visible" power to the mieles is it allows them to constantly monitor for leaks and then shut off the water supply at your house connection to prevent real trouble.

The problem I found with Bosch was the interior size and rack configuration. I set out to buy the Bosch SHX68 for it's energy rating, quietness and reputation for clean dishes. What I found was that it was 1/2" smaller in width and 2" smaller in depth than my old (and current) dw, racks and (lack of) tine configuration that was not compatible with my larger items (I brought them with me to the store). My KA noise rating is just one dB louder (not noticable), incredibly flexible, the energy rating is a little more on the KA but that's using the heated dry option. Bosch doesn't offer a heated dry option and I don't use it so the energy usage is probably about the same. My KA has a third rack for cutlery. I've removed my silverware basket, putting all my silverware on the third rack and creating even more space on bottom. It was about $300 less than the Bosch. After I bought my KA, it seemed like the majority the comments on Bosch turned negative :o
Monica

I use the "Normal" wash setting most of the time. It's two hours and 36 minutes long. At the end of the cycle, the display shows 0 minutes left to let me know that it is finished, so it's probably not consuming any additional electricity, but then I have to push the power button.

It does a great job of washing the dishes and I do have hard water and I can fit a lot of dishes in it. It does have a shorter cycle, but I would think that most of the time it is appropriate to use the "normal" cycle. The short cycle is 48 minutes long. The other gripe I have with it is the latch is rather hard, too, one really has to push it in.

I went back and forth over dishwashers and considered the Bosch, Asko, etc. The Miele I bought was on a closeout at the local appliance store, who decided not to carry them because they were so high priced that customers just didn't buy them, so they closed out their inventory.

I would take a look at the racks to make sure that you can get the configuration that you like. I can't comment on the Bosch because I don't have any experience with it. About the time that I getting ready to buy a dishwasher I do remember that a particular Bosch model had a recall or some serious problem associated with it.

Gosh, I just found this cite, and all the Bosch vs. Miele threads. I too am trying to decide between a new Bosch or Miele DW. Today I'm favoring the Bosch (probably SHX65P05UC) over the Miele simply because Sears is offering them at a pretty good discount. As part of my research I went down to one of the local, independent repair shops and asked them about the service/repair track records of the two brands. They have repair contracts for both lines -- they install and service (do warranty work) on both. According to the guy I spoke with, they're equally reliable. He told me they get very few calls for either.

I love my Bosch dishwasher. It is not the very top of the line, but not too far off. The very top of the line ones added features that i really didnt need.
It washes great, is incredibly quiet, and it's one of the newer ones because i bought it less than 6 months ago. My parents have always had Miele dishwashers, and they are great too, but i would buy the Bosch all over again. I am glad i did not pay double for the Miele. I need the money to spend elsewhere in the kitchen renovation :)

Like ir_boston, I have a near-top-of-the-line Bosch and it is relatively noisy. I have always assumed is is because of poor installation. (I like to blame everything on the builder, you see! ;-) ) We have gotten used to it, but the other two Bosch machines I have owned were far quieter.

Not sure how to answer the Q since I haven't ever owned anything comparable, but the pros and cons of my new Bosch (the top of the line one)

Pros: seamless integration with my inset cabinets
easy to operate
so quiet you can't hear
washes dishes beautifully
like the cutlery to be in a stand up type container for ease of transporting back to cutlery drawer
nice features and controls

Cons: Top rack is not as easy to configure dishes as my older top of the line Bosch, especially for bowls (but I've been adapting)
Old Bosch blew circuit board after seven years - service dept misdiagnosed.
Cutlery holder on new Bosch is not as roomy as on my old Bosch.
Does not use a heater for drying - plastic doesnt' always dry all the way (not a big deal for me)
Smaller than some other American brand DWs (not an issue for me, but might be for a large family)
Expensive

I have a paneled Bosch. It is not the most expensive one, it is one down from that. I've never had an issue with it, it always cleans great, and I really load the dishwasher up and don't rinse. There are complaints about water collecting on inset items (like coffee cups that have concave bottoms), but all I do is take too paper towels and dab that water off. I almost always use the normal wash, maybe 1 out of 20 times I use the power scrub. All the other settings are wasted on me. I've used the china setting once in 3 years. We also have horrible water, and it still does a great job.

I was very underwhelmed with the Bosch DW that I had. When we redid our kitchen, there was no way I'd get another Bosch. I know that others have been happy with them (my cousin who recommenede it to me sure has been happy with hers) and so I have wondered if I just got a lemon. Then when I read here that others are very unhappy with their Bosch DWs, it makes me wonder if they are just not consistently well made. That could account for the many thumbs up and thumbs down reviews.

karena- "shows 0 minutes left to let me know that it is finished, so it's probably not consuming any additional electricity, but then I have to push the power button. "

You aren't listening. You DO NOT have to push the "o" button at the end of a cycle on your optima. You MAY CHOOSE to do so , but it's not a requirement. Leaving it on is preferred as it allows the machine to monitor for leaks : no power = no diagnostics. The amount of energy it uses in this mode is less than a dollar a year so Al Gore won't be visiting you anytime soon to harangue you.

Your latch is either defective or more like just needs adjustment. Those units don't really need much pressure to close and latch. Just enough to get a "click" is all it takes, slamming a properly adjusted unit doesn't make it any more watertight. If the unit is not properly sealed it won't run by design so this is a case where more is definitely not better.

ma_bookreader, I feel similarly to you. We've had our Bosch Integra (next-to-top of line) for 1 1/2 years now, and it's never performed as well as we'd wish -- just doesn't get the dishes terribly clean despite the long normal cycle runtime. We generally wind up re-washing at least one item. We've been through every variation of loading dishes, detergent/rinse, food on/food off, with no luck. (And I spend long amounts of time in Germany and am very familiar with Euro appliances.) Now the electronics panel is malfunctioning (you have to turn it completely off and on again to be able to switch cycle buttons) and we are doubly annoyed. The thing is very silent, though, I'll give it that. I wanted to love it, I really did.

I think Bosch manufacturing must be very inconsistent. It would be instructive some time to collect data on when the lemon models were manufactured/purchased, in order to try to assess what's going on. I too am sad when others rave about theirs while I just wish I had my cheap old Maytag back. :-/

I purchased the SHX68E05UC which is very close to the same model in specifications and saved $300.00 (list price of $1799.00 vs $2099.00). It has the same "Lowest in America Energy Usage" at 180 KW and uses about 2-gallons of water to wash a load - Miele is much higher in energy usage and uses about 3x more water.
I have found the dishes to be Very Clean and at 42 DB vs the 40 DB of the 15uc model to be very close and not worth the nearly $300.00 more in my opnion, there is a difference in the door consoles in the hidden button appearance but not a deciding factor for me. Both models shine a red light on the floor to indicate that it is running. Dishes Dry nice without water spots using Jet Dry without the use of added heating element. The Yellow Energy label noted an annual $$ Energy usage at $19.00/year. Both of these models are high quality - I am very happy with my purchase. My wife's only input was she she wish they offered White and Black as options.

My Bosch is the best member of my family.
She works hard, is quiet, doesn't waste much energy,
or water and wow do my dishes look amazing.

I have the 500 not the 800.
My SIL has the 800 and having spent time in her home
with all our kids, husbands, dogs; I can honestly
say I don't think it is THAT much quieter than the 500.
Keep in mind we are busy homes. Perhaps a silent home
would be able to note a pin drop with an 500.
Both are super quiet.

Gardenweb's lesliebrooklyn had the same question check out
the link.
~boxerpups

Here is a link that might be useful: Should we get the Bosch 800 dishwasher?