Thermador IS Bosch. Same company. I believe the only reason they do not feel 'comfortable' with the after sales experience is because they do not make money off you anymore after the sale, that's all. I own Thermador and appreciate their customer service. My cooktop had the now infamous recall for the touch control and they sent their own technician. That is, a Bosch/Thermador tech only, not a local appliance repairman. The tech was extremely professional and made the change in about fifteen minutes. I personally feel much more comfortable with the actual manufacturer performing any service than a local appliance store.

I think the saleperson was doing what salespeople do best; tell you anyhthing they feel will get you to buy from them.

Purchasing a high end appliance is almost always better than getting the lower grade mass market consumer model. Just do your homework before buying. This forum is a great place to do some of that research as you will get straight info from actual owners of appliances, not salespeople.

Interesting we were told the same thing at a high end appliance shop about the Bluestar. I really wanted to see one but no one carries them in our area any longer.

Klaa2 -- to clarify, I wasn't told anything one way or the other about Bosch or Thermador... It was GE and Bluestar that he was avoiding.

I'm interested in the forum's opinions because both Bluestar and GE Café are on my (not very) short list...

Thermador, Bosch, Gaggenau and Siemens are divisions of B/S/H/ Home Appliances Corporation. Factory service is available in some areas of the U.S.

However, I was a Regional Service Manager for B/S/H/ and I can tell you that depending where you are located, service availability and customer satisfaction will vary from average to unacceptable.

Here is a link to a customer's documented, first hand Thermador Customer Service experience. I heard this story repeated all too often when I worked for B/S/H/, and it appears service has not improved since my departure.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thermador, (B/S/H/), Customer Service Experience

Self servicing dealers can be problems from time to time. The good ones are few and far between. I had a self servicing dealer sell me a range and charge me for the install. There was a problem with the range and the dealer informed me that I would have to take it up with the factory. When I spoke with the factory they told me the range was improperly installed and that the dealer would not come back to me because the factory would not pay for a service call for improper installation. The factory did finally send some else who re-installed the range and I have had no problems since. Some self servicing dealers are only in it so they can add to their bottom line. That said there are a lot of self servicing dealers who limit there brand choices to the ones then can properly handle and keep a happy customer base.

I recently stopped in Direct Buying Service in Seattle to inquire about Blue Star. They had one floor model. When I asked about bringing it across the line (I live in Canada), the fellow in charge told me that one in four BS need tweaking right out of the box and that people that had bought in the States and taken them across the line had a hard time getting their service people paid by Blue Star on what was warranty work.
Not sure if I am comparing apples to oranges because of the cross border issue, but that is a service problem as far as I am concerned.

"Purchasing a high end appliance is almost always better than getting the lower grade mass market consumer model."

On what basis? Certainly not reliability, based on any studies I've ever seen. Per Consumer Reports, the worst reliability ratings were "won" by:

Dishwashers: F&P and Asko
Ranges: Viking
Refrigerator: Sub Zero

I'm surprised at some of these, in particular Sub Zero. I would have expected Viking to be the worst fridge based on what I've read around here. Also, I'm sure that Bluestar wouldn't rate too favorably, but they're probably too small of a market share for CR to rate. But even if you don't like CR, you don't have to scroll through too much history on this forum to see which brands cause the most problems. Hint: it's not Hotpoint.

Fenworth, here's my rant about relying on Consumer Reports reliability ratings. While it is true that it's all we have, the methodology is deeply flawed, and the high-end brands have such a statistically low number of responses as to be random noise.

You really have to take the Consumer Reports reliability and repair records with a huge grain of salt. It's the magazine's greatest weakness, I think. The data is entirely gathered by subscriber polls. There is no distinction for repairs needed because of 1) installation issues, 2) users need help, 3) so-called "infant mortality" when an appliance might fail early on, 4) shipping and handling damage, 5) common wear and tear, 6) design flaws, 7) other issues such as a power surge or natural disaster, 8) abuse, and 9) whatever else I can't think of at the moment.

In addition to this, it should be also noted that expensive low market share products fair worse too. They simply don't have a large enough sample to be fair or accurate of a brand. This is why luxury appliances fair poorly in their eyes.

All the poll asks if if your appliance has needed a service call. Period.

I like CR, it's a fine magazine and I use their info when I make many purchases. But the reliability and repair ratings are the weakest part of the whole organization.

Fairegold, I understand your objection (and other people's objection) to the way CR collects and reports data. I can't speak to it since I really don't know. That's why I also referred back to this forum for reference. How many Miele DW problem threads are there, including your own? Don't get me started on Bluestar. (Incidently, I own a Miele and BS is high on my wish-list, so I'm really trying to be objective here.) Post a problem with a Viking fridge here and the first response you're likely to get is "Why did you buy one in the first place?"

Last point - while you may question how CR collects and analyzes their data, is there any other data available to us that would more accurately reflect reliability? It's one thing to convincingly argue against their methods, it's quite another to show contradicting data.

(Sorry, I now see that you already partially addressed my last point.)

Yeah, it's all we have. But people should really understand how it works, rather than assuming that the results are always gospel. I post this just to help new people coming along exactly how the survey is done, and how much it can miss.