Never have I posted anything anywhere to discredit anyone but today will be the first. This is in hopes of saving others from the frustrating experience I have had for the last year. If you ever need buying a new appliance DO NOT consider (even if it sounds amazingly innovative and promising) from THERMADOR-BOSCH-GAGGENAU. This company, their inexistent customer support and even their reps have done nothing to honour their products even under warranty. I bought the THERMADOR INDUCTION FREEDOM cooktop a little over a year ago . It started having problems after the first month of use. I had it serviced numerous times but it was never fixed. Finally a month ago the technician came to attempt to change all the boards and left me with a non working unit and a cracked glasstop. BOSCH - THERMADOR refused to replace it or give me my money back. The one year nightmare ended yesterday but not after more than a year of hundreds of emails & frustrating phone calls from both myself and the distributors, not to mention the fact that I could not cook for my family. ON PAPER THIS COOKTOP LOOKS AMAZING but in reality it is a piece of garbage and one of the most expensive ones in the market. The most important thing here is that there is no one to warranty it, BOSCH- THERMADOR is the worst appliance company I have ever ever dealt with. SAVE YOURSELF A HEADACHE- If I were you I'd go with WOLF or MIELE that offer fantastic service- Not sure about the other ones you mentioned.

I have bought several subzero products over the years and never had problems. I just built a new home and bought a combi-steam oven, fridge and freezer as well as double ovens from Miele. So far the Miele appliances have worked great , also I have 10 year service and parts warranty if I ever need it. I did buy the Thermador cooktop because of all the features that the others did not have in spite of it being more than $1000.00 dollars more. For me comparing features as Andrew is suggesting at this point is not even an option. If indeed Thermador has more service shops it is only because they subcontract. I learned that yesterday from the distributor. And even if there were a million technicians available Thermador does not respond for their products. This is exactly why people 'bash" Thermador. Not because they are obsessed with any other products or companies. I wish I had someone to warn me before I made my decision. I now ordered a wolf induction cooktop but need to cut a bigger hole on the Quartz and that will be really really messy. I also have to run 60 amp wires through the walls because the 36" Thermador needs 40 where as all the other comparable units call for 50. All of which expenses have to come out of my pocket. This is how my kitchen looks now. If you choose to go for Thermador I do wish you the best of luck an hope you never have to call their customer service because undoubtedly you will be in for a treat.

I have all Thermador appliances- many of the ones you reference above. I could not be happier with them. We have the 48" steam range, freedom columns both 30", micro drawer, and DW. We did do the one step up upgrade on the dishwasher, but I forget which model it is.

For reference, in my previous home I purchased a wolf 48" dual fuel and 36" subzero.

I am completely thrilled with each and every one of my appliances. The range is awesome. Refrigerator/freezer work perfectly. If I had to do it again I would do it exactly the same way. If you Google ANY brand, there are always people with complaints and issues. Probably the same with any major purchase. But also know for every unsatisfied customer, there are numerous MORE satisfied customers who don't feel the need to write about it.

If you are still looking, I would be happy to answer any specific questions about an individual appliance if necessary. Good luck.

Johnsoro25 , I am not talking about the appliance's features or comparing products. Nor is mine an isolated experience, I am talking about their service which is more important than the appliance ( I now know). I clearly understand that one might experience problems with every product available, no company or product has the warranty of perfection. Having said that, I think one year of hell they gave me with product still under full warranty speaks largely about a company's behaviour towards its customers. And I must say, if you buy Thermador and it ends up working fine you will not be able to have any negative experiences or comments. However, if ever you have recurring problems with their products and find yourself in need to go through their customer "support" system , I assure you: you will ( and I do mean YOU WILL) encounter a wall of frustration.

dorag, just curious, with all your other Miele appliances, whey aren't you getting their induction cooktop?

I did think about it, I liked the fact that the Wolf has the feature where you can "bridge" four of the burners to accommodate a larger pot and read good reviews about it. Also the Miele had a bigger cut out. The flexibility of having larger pots was the main reason why I bought the Thermador freedom in the first place. I really wish it would have worked, because in theory that feature was fantastic...physically it also looks nicer than the wolf or Miele, but really believe me, buying it was the worst appliance nightmare I have ever experienced. But as I said before, you can experience problems with any product you buy. It is the lack of customer service that drove me to such desperation. This is why I am taking the time to write this post.

I am very sorry you're having trouble with customer service. I have had to work with them on a small issue, and they were very responsive, replacing a cosmetic issue (drip pan on the griddle had chipped paint) long after my cosmetic warranty had expired. They even shipped the piece overnight free of charge. So I can't agree with you on the customer service either. I do hope you have better luck with your next product.

dbabrams,

When I first picked up all my appliances there were several features that geared me towards Miele. The kitchen design called for a flush mount, and at that time, Subzero did not offer the flush mount refrigerators, basically their fridge and freezers stuck out a bit from the rest of the cabinets, because of the way their door hinges worked, so I picked Miele instead. Now I believe Subzero offers the flush ones. Also Miele offered any combination of fridge freezer because they sell them separate. I ended up getting a 36" fridge and a 36" freezer and Subzero did not have that option. I appreciate the huge space these units offer but frankly, the ones that are not flush from Subzero are much deeper than the Miele ones. I also thought about the combi steam oven and at the time of purchase the Miele one was the only one that offered it. Wolf had only a steam oven not the combi one. I got the Miele ovens to match all other appliances, but heard great reviews about Wolf as well.

Johnsoro25,

I am glad you had a happy experience, maybe if they would have fixed the cooktop the first time they came I would have not been writing this review :(

Dorag23- Very true.

Thanks, we are in the final stages of installing our all-Miele kitchen, so far, so good, although they overlap mounted our cooktop instead of flush mounting it. Our bottom freezer fridge is back-ordered, have been waiting two months.

I wish you the best of luck, hope your kitchen turns out beautiful.