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Appliances Design Dilemma

Thermador appliances

2 years ago

I was planning on ordering all Thermador appliances for my new kitchen. The salesman at the applicance store raved about their service, plus we save $ and time (6 month lead time vs 12) by not getting wolf and sub zero. However with all the negative reviews on houzz about thermador i am starting to reconsider.

we are getting the all gas 36” range standard depth, a 30” refrigerator column, an undercounter wine fridge, a dishwasher (sapphire with $500 upgrade), fan and blower for built in vent, and 30” undercounter freezer drawers (these are sub zero bc thermador doesnt have any). no microwave (we dont use one).

my fear is that the thermador range is a mistake. should we get wolf? it is deeper and we dont have a lot of space (only 36” aisles around island but bumping out 10”). is the service really bad with thermador? we are only saving about $1,000 by getting thermador but we do get the free dishwasher.

help! am i freaking out over nothing?

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Comments (4)

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Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago
IMO there is no reason to gat all matching appliances you buy appliances for how you cook all plain old stainless they will all go together and any decent appliance store will negotiate a pkg deal no matter how you choose the appliance. IMO still the best DW is a Bosch hands down. 36" walkways are not large enough and I am not sure what the 10" bump out is. IMO Wolf and Sub Zero are both over priced and over rated . IMO a free DW is not worth having other appliances that are not what you want. IMO you are spending money for things that might not be the perfect choices sine an under the counter freezer drawer is very expensive for what IMO is too small for storage. Why not go Electrolux all fridge all freezer columns with built in kit and both for less than 4K all in .I have the Fridgedaire ones they are 15 yrs old not one service call and honestly if they die tomorrow and I get them again for another 15 yrs I will still have spent less than a Subzero fridge .If you post your plan here maybe you will get some help tweeaking what you are doing in the space just make sure the plan is to scale and all measurements clearly marked
apb0
2 years ago
If all your appliances are the same brand, then likely you do not have the best DW or range or fridge. After 3 decades, I can say Bosch has been our best DW several times---the reviews are correct.
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Cpartist, I love your contributions around here but to you and everyone else commenting that way- how in the world is that helpful to this particular person? It comes off as snooty, (personally speaking only). Some people like the idea of saving money if they purchase a few appliances together- if it still suits their needs. Nothing wrong with that. It’s not your money being spent. It was not snooty at all. It was frank and to the point. There are other ways to save money on appliances. Some of the smaller appliance stores are only too happy to get your business and will give you a nice discount if you buy the full suite of mismatched appliances from them. We did that in our condo several years ago. Even some of the big box stores will do that. You can bargain with them. It doesn't hurt to ask. I actually bought 3 of my appliances together (Bosch) and would have gotten the buy 3 and get a 12% discount if my ^*!@%&*$# builder didn't wait too long to get us the receipts. (And yes we kept asking but that's another story. We have lots of issues with him). But I bought the 3 appliances because they were the best for my needs. I bought the Bosch induction cooktop which is highly rated (And I LOVE it!), the Bosch integrated fridge because the salesman let me know it's basically the same fridge as the Thermador integrated fridge and I bought a Bosch convection oven because I had one in my old condo and was happy with the quality. However, I got a Miele dishwasher, LG washer/dryer, Sharp drawer microwave and a Zephyr range hood because those all worked better for my needs. And yes, I asked and I did get a discount on the rest since I bought all at the same store.
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In Consumer Reports Appliance Brand Reliability Rankings*, so-called "pro" ranges do not do well. Only Cafe "pro" ranges received a Very Good rating; all others were Good (including Thermador) or worse. Considering the brand's unspectacular reliability ranking for this product type, getting a service plan for the appliance might be wise if its price is reasonable and the warranty period isn't largely duplicating the product's standard, two-year warranty. *hover your mouse over the Range icons.
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wdccruise
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
@apb0: "After 3 decades, I can say Bosch has been our best DW several times"

Remember that Bosch, Thermador, and Gaggenau are all BSH brands. Many products are similar across brands, some are nearly identical (e.g., refrigerators), and some are unique to a brand. For example:
- The Bosch SHEM78WH5N (still expensive for a dishwasher at $1,350) is very similar to the Thermador DWHD770WFP ($2,300) except for appearance.
- The 30" Bosch Benchmark B30IR905SP ($6300) refrigerator is identical to the Thermador T30IR905SP ($7500) except for a different color interior.
Careful comparison shopping saves $$$ in the appliance world.
apb0
2 years ago
@wdccruise You're breathing rarefied air from my perspective. lol. I've only bought Maytag and Bosch ($800-900) DWs. My range is a GE Cafe. Those prices you mention blow my mind frankly.

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