Have had a 27" 500 series Bosch wall oven for almost three years and have been pleased in all respects. Quiet fan and large oven capacity for the size. The oven light goes off each time the door is closed so it has to be turned back on if you want it to stay on during baking. That is a pain, but not a major issue. I do have to rotate items once for even baking. If you want items to brown, convection must be used. For convection, Bosch says to reduce temp by 25 degrees and that has worked for me. Overall, the oven has the feel of a quality product. Although not metal, knobs still look like new. I think they'll hold up nicely long term. I don't tempt fate by using the self-clean feature. The interior walls seem to clean easily so I'm OK with that. I had planned to special order an easy glide rack, but the standard racks are hefty and glide nicely so have decided to stay with standard. You might search online to see if you can still special order. Compare prices through different vendors. Of course this review does not speak to possible issues with current models. I've known a few people who have had durability problems with KA ovens and would not go with them again. I feel your pain going through that headache of appliance shopping. Good luck.

I have had a similar model for 2 years. I believe it works fine both as convection oven and as a microwave. KA doesn't give the specs. I have kept a regular microwave oven in the garage for those times when something else is in the oven and I noted that potatos cook faster in the KA. In any case, I can't imagine that an extra 30 seconds for popcorn would be that terrible. I really like the short pre-heat time and energy savings. I cook muffins and biscuits successfully. I had a little problem with pies but now believe that it may have simply been that either the temp was off 10 degrees, or the automatic 25 degree convection decrease that the oven uses is not appropriate for such a small oven. Anyway I now increase temperatures in my oven by 10 degrees and get very good results.

I have decided on these appliances 1. Vent Hood: Zephyr AK2136BS Stainless Steel 850 CFM Under Cabinet Vent Hood 2. Cooktop: Bosch 800 Series NGM8056UC Stainless Steel 5-Burner Gas Cooktop 3. Dishwasher: Bosch 800 Series SHXM98W75N Stainless Steel Dishwasher 4. Wall Oven: Bosch 800 Series 30" Single Wall oven HBL8451UC, Stainless Steel 5. Microwave: Whirlpool unbranded 2.2 Cu Ft Countertop Microwave Oven 6. Microwave Trim Kit: Whirlpool Stainless Steel 30" trim Kit for the counter top microwave oven

I have one of the 500 series - a single oven version though. I love it. I wasn't aware of any heat around it when it was operating. It vents at the bottom, so there's no discomfort from warm air at waist or face height. The controls are simple and intuitive. The cooling fan is really, really quiet - you can hardly notice it (and I was worried, after stuff I'd read at GW). The racks are currently a little stiffer than my old oven (which was ancient) but I suspect they'll loosen up soon. I hadn't actually come across any negative stuff here about Bosch ovens, so I'm surprised that we have such different impressions. I also have, at varying ages, a Bosch washer, and dishwasher. All have performed excellently. I'm very happy with my oven.