Please for the sake of everyone on GW and for the sake of the person selling it to you DO NOT BUY THAT VIKING. Nothing against them as a company but we have never had anything but issues with a very large portion of the viking refrigerators we sold. So much so that we actually removed the from display and replaced them with Kitchenaid and Monogram units.

The other things are fine. The prices seem high but your in Canada so I have no idea how things work up there.

We had a Bosch dishwasher in our previous home and loved it. The new home was also outfitted with a Bosch. Unfortunately, the newer Bosch dishwasher we have does not have an exposed air heating element. I'm sure this is because the manufacturer wants to be more energy efficient. Unfortunately, the lack of the air heating element has resulted in many hours of hand drying the dishes after the washing cycle completes. In addition, we are no longer able to warm plates prior to serving at a dinner party.

A friend at my office loved the Miele she bought...for a few weeks. Then she, too, got tired of hand drying the dishes after the washing cycle was complete. So she returned the Miele and got a Kitchen Aid (I think) with a built-in heating element. It was significantly less expensive, too.

So consider when selecting a dishwasher if the air heating element is a dishwasher is important to you... do you want more energy efficiency or more work.

I will just comment on your MW choice. You don't say which Dacor MW you are looking at, but given the price you cite, I am assuming it's the MW/convection, 1.5 cu.ft., 900 watts, #DCM24. Please note that Dacor MW is a re-badged Sharp R-930CS. That Dacor model and that Sharp model are identical except for the Dacor badge. Oh, and except for the price. I realize you are in Canada, but just so you can be aware of relative cost, in the U.S. the Dacor DCM24 sells for about US$800. The identical Sharp R-930CS sells for US$460-500. The trim kit for the Sharp R-930CS is about $150-180 depending on whether you get the 27" or 30" trim kit (be careful to get the right one).

I am linking below to eCost.com which has the Sharp R-930CS MW, so you can see it's identical to the Dacor, in appearance and features. Also that website allows you to click for Canadian pricing and Canadian shipping. They sell the trim kit too.

P.S. To be honest, I am not a fan of MW's with trim kits. It locks you in too much to a MW, and MW's these days tend to have lives of just 3-4 years (not like the old ones which lasted many years). When you want to replace the MW in a few years, it'll be a PITA to find one that fits into that precise space. Better just to have the MW on an open shelf. I understand though if you want the built-in trim kit look, many people do, but I wanted to give my $.02, FWIW.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sharp R-930CS at eCost.com

I, also, would just make an opening for the microwave so any reasonably priced and sized unit will fit. I've gone through too many, myself, to buy an expensive one, or spend that much for trim.

We have Bosch dishwashers and had one in our last house...which had the same evaporation system of drying. The dishes dry from the heat of the water in the cycle. Our dishes come out dryer than with the top of the line Maytag we also had in our last house (added it to our buffet/butler's pantry type of area..Big mistake). It had heated dry but didn't dry (or clean) as well as the Bosch in the kitchen. We also found this to be true of the dishwashers we had with heated dry in the temporary quarters we lived in while we built our house. The only thing the heated element provided was melted plastic for anything that fell down through the lower rack. :-\

There have been other discussions on this forum and the kitchen forum about the drying system of Miele and Bosch. Most have good experiences with it, so it might be worth a search if it's an issue that concerns you.

I'm not positive about prices, but for a fridge in that kind of price ballpark and width, I'd also look at Monogram and LiebHerr.

As far as fridges go, I would look at the Jenn-air's too.
They are usually highly rated for reliability by CR, alto this could be data that was taken before they were bought by Whirlpool---although the wirlpool fridges (as a group_ have about a one -in -Twelve failure--compared to a lot more expensive brand that has a 4 - 12 failure rate.
Price of the Fridge seems a bit much , I paid $4588 for a 48 inch, built in (which are usually the most expensive), in June of 2006. Completely trouble free as have been all my appliances cept for a fancy smancy cooktop---that now resides in the local reclamation center (I was gonna say "Dump") but really dont wanna interupt any Tree Huggin going on (LOL)

Gary

My only comment is about your range hood. Have you factored in installation costs? If you require make-up air (and many Canadian municipalities now insist) you could be in for a HUGE surprise.

Thank you to all the people above that have responded. I'm new to GW and the information i've rec'd from this forum has been outstanding, not to mention responsiveness.

Scratch the aforementioned Viking built in. I think we are just going with a counter depth fridge, any thoughts/first hand experience with any of the following contenders? We have to go with CD as FD just won't work in our kitchen so i'm trying to get the largest capacity in a CD variety:
Ge Monogram ZICS360NX (36",built in)- $5700
Samsung RSG257AARS (36",free-standing,SxS)- $1920
I realize they are not equal in terms of price, etc. The GE is the most affordable BI fridge we could find. The Samsung gives us the BI look at a much lower price. Just wondering how these fridges perform? Are there any others i should consider (i will look at the Jenn-air suggested by Gary). Thanks!

What's the "best" CD fridge you would recommed - looking for largest capacity possible but nice look as well. Either 36" or 42" and staying under $6K, least # of issues. Does it even exist? :-)

I can only comment on the oven, I too was considering a Dacor until the salesman steared me to Miele. I liked the enclosed broiler in the Dacor. He pointed out that the grates sit higher off of the "floor" of the Dacor oven than most, thereby reducing the overall useable size. I brought my tape measure and checked and he was right. I decided on Miele. I like the big window, lots of interior lighting, a special "no fingerprint" finish, and the controls seemed user friendly. I don't have it yet, but thougth I'd add my 2 cents.

BTW the salesman also told me that Bosch is not what is used to be because it was bought out by another big name appliance manufacturer (I can't remember who) and has downgraded a few things (for instance the washer arms in the DW are not steel like a kitchenaid or Miele) they are now plastic
Good Luck

Check out Liebherr refrigerators - They are true counter depth and taller than most. Here is a link to the 36" freestanding model, but they also have fully integrated model as well etc .. approx 13.5 cu feet in fidge and 6 cu. feet in bottom freezer drawers or about 20 total - There have been issues with the freestanding model doors not closing easily, but that might have been fixed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Liebherr 36 inch C.D.

mirelle,

disclaimer: ideas given below are just info not recommendations, and i probably cannot answer followup Q's on these ideas.

To compete against the Dacor ovens, look at the products offered through a batch of sister companies all called Euro-something: Euro-parts, Euroline, theeuropeanappliancestore.ca/ etc. I believe they were the first in North America to import Liebherr and they used to service the US. Years ago.
--- I think their electric ovens are all made by AEG (which is an Electrolux subsidiary) or by one of the many other Electrolux subsidiaries. BTW, Electrolux worldwide is not the same company as the vacuum company in the US and Canada operating under that name.

F.Y.I., IKEA has a DÃTID microwave oven, anthracite, with trim kit, and it is not a low-cost microwave (go figure!) -- i have seen it and noticed that it didn't put the ikea logo all over it, so it is discreet about being from Ikea. Just more F.Y.I., all the IKEA appliances are either made by AEG or Whirlpool to the same specs as the AEG products from Europe. ("As far as i know.") The Ikea guarantee is 5-10 years.

Fridges: In addition to JA and Samsung, look at LG. Also Blomberg, for which I think Amiel (master distributor) has a showroom.

Dishwashers: Blomberg also has DW's. LG too has DW's. Thermador too which is the same as the Bosch but may be better priced. Considering your price range I'd look at "dishdrawers" too.

Try Fisher & Paykel for gas cooking.

HTH \!

JD Power and associates rates customer satisfaction, not the appliances, and Samsung refrigerator is the only brand that got 5 stars. I'm considering it for a remodel I'm beginning mid August.

Here is a link that might be useful: J D Power

I recently purchased the 36" GE Cafe CD fridge, and the 30" GE Cafe AG range . I initially was going to buy the Monogram fridge but GE Cafe was over $1000 cheaper for more or less the same look. A big negative to note is that it has an annoyingly loud cycle that lasts about 1 hour and it goes through that cycle at least twice a day. If it starts when I am preparing dinner, I find it very annoying. I considered F&P in that same price range. I had read that F&P is loud and had decided not to buy that, but GE Cafe has the same problem. If you are going to buy the Monogram, find out if it makes a lot of noise.
The GE Cafe AG range also has one big negative; the burners are a pain. The problem might be worse with the Cafe range specifically, but I think it is more or less open vs closed burners issue. The flame comes up the sides of the pan and it feels like it doesn't heat the bottom of the pan properly. All my pans are burned along the bottom sides now. The bottom line is I am still able to cook my meals but it is not a joy to cook on that range (although the oven works great). I could have bought the $2500 BlueStar from Canadian Costco, but I just didn't like the looks of that at all; too commercial-looking. I thought GE Cafe was the nicest looking one in that price range and there were not too many negative reviews about it, but if I ever get to buy another range, I would pay more money and buy something that doesn't have burners like those on the GE Cafe.

If you are going to get into that price range for a fridge, I'd be looking at Bosch or Thermador -- but I don't know how they are priced in Canada.

I have been going crazy reviewing appliances as well. I was looking for counterdepth, large capacity, too. I decided to go for the ice/water on the door and just found out that Samsung is coming out with a bottom freezer, counterdepth, frenchdoor, ice/water in the door this month. Also, it seems to be a larger capacity space than some CD fridges. Since Samsung has such good reviews with both consumers on JD and with the latest 2009 consumer reports guide, I think I have found my fridge. Check it out at Samsung web site.