Hi Sorry about your fire - that sounds awful. And sorry for long response. I'm in similar appliance hunting mode and trying to pick the best appliance package for under $14K. We could probably pay more but already feel like our kitchen project is out of financial control and costing more than i ever thought! So what i did is that i really like the advantium and i like the bosch dw (thermador is same). Really all i want is the culinary rack (3rd) in DW so that limits the model #s. KA offers this as well. Miele - i just don't love for the price. The thermador package didn't work for me because i really wanted the advantium as my second oven (and thermador doesn't have equivalent). Plus the free DW isn't the one with the third rack. (you can pay $500 to upgrade to that one though) Bosch is offering 15% rebate by mail if you buy at least 3 800 series appliances. And monogram is offering $1000 instant rebate if you buy a cook/rangetop, oven, and hood. With my current quote that i am considering, I'm getting about $2300 off total by combining those 2 offers for 6 pieces (mg rangetop, mg advantium, mg hood, bs dw, bs fridge, bs single oven). Looking at your appliances here are my immediate thoughts: if price is no object subzero makes the best fridges if not antiquated stylewise. They are so solid. i have one that 23 years old and it runs great and still looks good. the service has been good. but i can't spend 2/3 of my budget on one appliance! wolf is good and stylish but i found the specs to be better other places: monogram then thermador - and cheaper. don't do downdraft ventilation if you can avoid it. look at hood companies - vent a hood, best hood. they are nice. my friend has a samsung fridge and its beautiful but the plastic is breaking and she doesnt recommend it. i like the electrolux ovens. very cool. but no package options. bosch and thermador are very similar if not the same for some products. i'm trying to figure out if the bosch 800 series oven i'm looking at is the same as the massterpiece thermador oven at a lower price. thermador is higher end brand than bosch. gaggenau is even higher end. rangetops are really nice - more burners and higher output and in monogram all are the same. but you lose a drawer underneath. i'm coming to the conclusion that the oven problems that some are reporting is due to fancy electronics being destroyed by self clean. thermador and monogram get terrible reviews here for ovens. with equal price and specs i would go with the subzero and wolf (i know this isn't true - sorry!). I would doubecheck what you are getting for free. it may be low end compared to everything else you are getting.

Sorry, just took a look at this thread again and noticed your question...by the time I got to Miele, I had decided on induction, so I didn't give the Miele an actual test drive. I did give it a pretty thorough inspection at the Miele place, though, and thought it was a very sexy range -- and the performance seemed very similar to the Wolf dual fuel. I say that b/c the Miele also has the stacked burners, which I really liked, but the BTUs are higher than Wolf (which top out at around 16k, I believe -- Miele was closer to 20k or so -- I can't quite remember). The Miele ovens on the 48" range were very nice -- the smaller one is a speed oven, and the bigger one is a regular convection. The speed oven wasn't a big plus for me personally, since I really wanted a steam oven as a second oven, but there are people on this forum who love their speed ovens. One thing I really liked about the Miele oven, which Wolf doesn't have, is the burst of steam option, which is great for baking (you can program up to 3 bursts of steam for up to 6 min. each during cooking). I didn't care that much about the MasterChef options on Miele, but again, others love these. At any rate, the Miele seemed very similar to the Wolf, I liked the steam option on the oven better and liked the Miele burners better (also, if you're interested in a grill, theirs was excellent and seemed very similar to the Wolf, which I think is the best in the business). If I had stuck with a range, I would have been very tempted by the Miele.

Hi, I was surprised too! Thermador came out with a new line of appliances in May and we found one of their “old” 36” range still in box, never opened on a blowout sale... $6,200 range we picked up for $1,700! So we have a piecemeal kitchen—Thermador fridge/freezer (also on blowout sale), Bosch dw, Sharp microwave. We bought from Best Buy and they offered many incentives. Good luck to your son!

@Patricia Colwell and any other opinionated readers - I really appreciate your advice. I am about to remodel my kitchen and am struggling with being pinned in by a 42 in built in KitchenAid SBS that I detest. I want to do the Frigidaire columns but they are off the market for now (I did email 5 minutes ago to see when they are returning to market and might hold on remodel until they are back). On the same wall is a Kitchenaid Microwave/oven combo that is near death. I am planning to steal that space to free up refrigerator space. I will then convert the cooktop area (other side of the kitchen) into a dual fuel range in one space. This will reduce the number of new cabinet boxes I need so I can reface and do new countertops. My only appliance requirement is the longest possible life followed by good service and available parts. I do not care what brand anything is. The first bid for a Subzero 48 in fridge and a Wolf dual fuel range is $25k. Again, I do not care about brands and I just can't get to needing to spend this much. Appliance guy just rebid with Dakor professional duel fuel range and built in 48 in fridge for $18k. This is crazy to me as I am reading that Dakor is owned by Samsung, many people get lemons, service before AND after Samsung purchase is non-existent with 3rd year warranties not being honored in year 3. I will give him his chance Monday to sell this but I would probably rather spend $25k as I have the impression this purchase (based on internet reviews) is roughly equivalent to lighting $18k on fire. I don't enjoy cooking but with 4 kids, require 6 burners to cook the typical combo of pressure cooker, multiple pasta pots due to Gluten Free and non-GF along with a few other items - generally 5 pots on the stove at once for dinner. Sorry for being so long winded and hijacking this thread but like Amanda Paulson, I will find the money to buy the appliance that is proven to work the best and last the longest. I do not care what brand anything is so I really appreciate Patricia's feedback with mixed brands. The Betazzoni has some pretty awful reviews also, so can share how long you have had it? Questions for readers: 1. I believe (after many dying appliances) that I never want an appliance again with shared functionality. I really want to separate the fridge and freezer, maintain counter depth/built in look and not spent 5 figures. Any known options? 2. I am breaking my rule in #1 and combining the oven and cooktop into one unit (due to kitchen layout that is not affordable to change) - what is the best dual fuel range and the 2nd best give $10k for Wolf is just not working for me? Reliability is #1 and I do not care about brand names or resale. I care about not messing with the appliance for the next 15 years and it working every time. Thank you, thank you in advance for thoughts, opinions or facts destroying any of my beliefs. I am open to rethinking everything. One last comment: I know the world loves Bosch dishwashers but I have had 2 in the last 12 years and both died around the 5 year mark (household of 6 and we run 1-2x per day but Whirlpool and KitchenAid have lasted longer). I am back with a KitchenAid dishwasher. The first one leaked and messed up my wood floors. Was purchased through Costco so ultimately, dishwasher 3 (yes, there was a problem with #2 but service was great) has worked beautifully and Whirlpool was easy to work with and settled at $5k for repairs to floors. I would buy Whirlpool/KitchenAid again in a heartbeat as a brand and especially through Costco for what it's worth as the problem was dealt with and once I got a unit that didn't leak, it has been perfect for 2 years now.