We've had a 36" Dacor Epicure gas cooktop for nearly 7 years and absolutely love it. We have the pop up vent with a remote blower motor. After a few months one of the igniters started clicking and when I called Dacor they sent 6 new ones and had a factory authorized tech replace them without charge. It's worked flawlessly since. We also had an Epicure double wall oven that developed excessive moisture between the glass. Dacor replaced the glass pack and when that didn't solve the problem they offered to either buy back the ovens or replace them with the new Millennium model which was much more expensive. I don't think this is an everyday event but the CR rep told me that they were aware that several ovens had this problem and Dacor replaced them or bought them back.

I researched my single oven purchase until my eyes were cross eyed. Purchased a Gaggenau. Miele was #2. Thermador gets horrible reliability reviews from CR and reviews here and over the net are pretty bad for Dacor. I have read several places were people were upset about such an expensive oven's major parts only lasting 10 years while some mainstreem brands last 20+ years. Allegedly Dacor customer service says these ovens were designed to last 10 years so customers should be happy they lasted their full lifespan. Here is a link that might be useful: Miele Outlet

Thermador is extremeley reliable. I had a Thermador 36" electric coil cooktop for 18 years, 4 burners and griddle in the middle, not one problem, still works, but we did a big house reno including the kitchen, so went with new appliances. I now have the Thermador built in oven, very good unit, largest capacity out there too. It is pure convection, pure convention or combo of the two. The only small negative I have is the spacings of bars on the oven racks themselves are a bit wide, only time I notice it is if I do a large batch of banana loaves and instead of doing 2 large loaves, I make 6 mini loaves. Then you have to space the mini loaf pans exactly right so they dont keel a bit. I went with a Viking 6 burner induction cooktop. I had a Dacor built in oven previously, same type of model, either pure convection, pure convention or a combo, worked great, but had a few issues at the end, ie: sensor went (they dont have thermometers) and was fairly expensive to replace. Also, Dacor does not seem to keep parts in supply for as long. If I kept it much longer and would need parts, some would not be available. My friend has a Thermador star burner gas cooktop, she likes it a lot and has no problem with simmering. I would buy Thermador again in the blink of an eye, they are extremely reliable from my experience.

Note that except for a slight difference in appearance, the Samsung NZ36K7880US ($2200) and Dacor DTI36P876BB ($2800) are identical. The Samsung also has the useful "virtual flame" feature which the Dacor lacks. Likewise, the Samsung NQ70M7770DS ($3865) and Dacor DOC30P977DS ($6699) appear to be nearly identical.