So, we have finally closed the book on our Jade range situation (see previous thread re: Jade range issues). For those of you who might have been wondering how it all turned out (though I would think most of you wouldn't give a fig at this point!), here goes:

In a nutshell, we had purchased a 36" AG Jade range (sealed burners, self-cleaning oven) last winter for our kitchen reno. The range had a number of issues, some were seemingly minor and cosmetic like the off kilter burner knobs, which we'd later heard from a number of techs, were common on the Jade range(s) (and surprisingly would have involved major part replacements to rectify). Other issues, such as the calibration being "off" by 75-100 degrees, the fact that many of the techs who were sent out to work on the range were not familiar with the Jade ranges, and a biggie--hearing from numerous sources that Jade residential is going to cease to exist, leading us to fear that support/parts for the range would also cease to exist, was a scary prospect indeed (especially for a range that had problems from day one).

Another point to note; after wed ordered the range, we attempted to obtain a copy of the specs and or installation info for our plumber, who was going to run the gas pipe for the range. Numerous calls to our retailer and to JadeÂs Priority One Service (with very long hold times) resulted in us waiting at the retailerÂs warehouse for a fax on a Friday night right before Christmas. The fax came through, with a number of important pages missing (including the ones we needed!). After the umpteenth call, and more hold time, we were told that this particular copy of the manual (the one with the missing pages) was the only copy available in their (Priority OneÂs) facility. This did not instill much confidence in us re: this major appliance weÂd purchased.

Come February, all of our appliances were delivered, except for the range which was back-ordered. At that point, weÂd started hearing rumblings about the Jade sale, and began to question our range decision. We asked our salesperson repeatedly if we should be concerned, and should we consider switching to another range at that point (which we were loathe to do, as the Jade seemed, on paper, to be everything we wanted, and more). Our salesperson was told that the Jade sale (and all of the hold-ups with that sale), would only impact distribution rights, and would have no bearing on our purchase, or the appliance itself. Finally the range arrived, although some of the parts (e.g. trim) were still back-ordered.

Fast forward to springtime. The range is having the aforementioned issues with attempting to straighten out the knobs ($5000+ appliances should not look like a young child has put them togetherÂperiod), and the calibration problem still existed, despite an attempt by one tech to adjust that.

Because of the problems with the range itself, and the things we were hearing/learning about Jade, and the fact that weÂd specifically asked if Jade was going to continue making this appliance and were misled into believing it would be, we decided to press for a buy-back. After much assistance from a wonderful woman in our retailerÂs customer service dept., we were finally told by the person with whom we were dealing with at Jade, that they would be issuing a check to buy-back the range.

There was a snafu with check amÂt, but to JadeÂs credit (and despite it dragging out from the beginning of August Âtil this past week), a check was finally issued for the remaining amÂt due (the sales tax was omitted from the original buy-back check).

While we would have much preferred that this had not dragged out for as long as it did, we were struck by JadeÂs willingness to buy-back the range, and also by Jade cutting another check to refund the sales-tax, after the range had already been removed from our home.

Most of you already know we ended up with a Wolf AG 36" as a replacement. We thought long and hard about our decision, narrowing it down to the BlueStar and the Wolf. WeÂd heard so many good things re: Wolf performance and just as importantly (especially given our experience with the Jade) with Wolf service that we decided to go with the Wolf. We are enjoying it immensely so far! We love the range itself, and the service company has been a dream to deal with. WeÂve had Wolf service out to conduct the initial performance check, and we also had a tech out to check on our oven calibration (which was when we were told to avoid covering the bottom rack from front to back entirely with foil). After the problem we had with the JadeÂs calibration, we are keeping a very close eye on things, at least until we learn what is normal and what isnÂt for the Wolf. All in all, we feel much more secure about this appliance purchase, and I thank many of you for allowing me to pick your brains about the Wolf (when I wasnÂt even sure if the buy-back was going to happen).

I hope I havenÂt bored you all to tears, but so many of you were so supportive and so helpful through the problems with the Jade, and with the decision-making process in choosing a replacement, I felt I owed you a first-hand account of what transpired. Thank you again!