I empathize. Just went through the same issue. I almost bought a Samsung since that's what the other appliances were until I read the horrible reviews. Mostly they don't dry ect. Come to find out that most of them don't have heating elements anymore. That is a deal breaker for me. I live in Florida and leaving standing water in a dishwasher is not an option. I already have to leave my frontload washing machine open to dry and I refused to have to do the same with a dishwasher. There weren't many options left. I went with Kitchenaid from Best Buy. They price match and I love the geek squad service warranty. Not disappointed. Got it on sale for under 500.00

It retailed up there with Bosch in the 800 range. Home Depot sells it too for the same price. Under 500 I mean.

Here is the model we went with. It was on sale when we purchased ours.http://www.homedepot.com/p/KitchenAid-Architect-Series-II-Top-Control-Dishwasher-in-Stainless-Steel-with-Stainless-Steel-Tub-ProWash-Cycle-46-dBA-KDTE104DSS/205147702

Check out Square Trade dot com for warranties. It has the best terms and prices that I've found. Costco and Amazon offer Sq Trade. I've had their warranties on a few items. Have not had to make a claim so I can't say for sure that they do what they say they will, but they sure have a lot of positives from Costco and Amazon. I did get a warranty from them for my new refrigerator because the refrigerator was quite expensive and it seems that no appliance lasts very long without expensive repairs.

Bosch 800 series, there's no question. If you keep rinse aid in it the dishes will come dry (has a warning message when its out). The only things that come out a little wet are plastic, but it isnt a big deal for us. Cleans everything (though we still use bkf occasionally on the ss pans) great. It's so quiet you barely know its on (and only when you're within a few feet). We've had it for a year now without any issues (no standing water issues or any other). I would buy another in a heartbeat. You can talk lowes downon the price and bosch is offering a rebate currently. You can get the higher end 800 series for less than $1000 or the other 800 for a few hundred less.

This dishwasher makes the dishes sparkle and everything gets dry too. There isn't a lot of love on this site for Asko but I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

http://www.askona.com/dishwashers/built-in/d5654xxl-tubular

It isn't that hard. You have set your parameters: clean dishes, heating element. That eliminates all of the European models. Look at the KitchenAid; not everyone has a horror story. You're right about local service--a must have. If you change your mind about the heater, I would get the Bosch. Samsung doesn't seem to do either washers or dishwashers well. Remember the KitchenAid is the upmarket Whirlpool brand.

Good Luck

I can sympathize with you. I have a Maytag portable dishwasher from 1998 or 1999 that I absolutely love, but it is slowly starting to head toward the grave. There is very few options for portable machines, just Kenmore and Whirlpool, and they both have filters that need to be cleaned periodically and long running times. I wish manufacturers would realize that there are still many people in the world that cannot have built in dishwashers. Maybe having special order models or something like that. Maytag was the only option that I would like because they have a grinder but they have discontinued their models. My current Maytag runs less than 90 minutes for a Pots and Pans cycle, cleans everything beautifully, and every item comes out unbelievably dry. I'm sick that I may have to replace it with something of lesser quality.