Your going yo need to up your budget to get one that's made to last.

$850 -$1000 will get you an entry level Miele or a middle of the road Bosch unit that will perform well and outlive a cheapie domestic unit.

Soapbox:

Why would anyone buy an appliance from a company that doesn't manufacture them ? Maytag is just a name today.

That is exactly what happened, hvtech - and the person who FINALLY gave me some resolution (the refund) acknowledged this problem for the first time. It's very disappointing that this happened to so many people and that the only solution offered prior to me filing a complaint with my state atty general's office was to purchase a $250 warranty to cover the problem they knew existed. I am very wary of buying another Whirlpool/Maytag based on this experience of fighting with them for over a year now. Had the issue been fixed at no cost both of these times, I *might* consider it but now I'm already in for $850 and wondering when/if it will break again seeing as the control panel was replaced with a similarly defective panel and presumably this panel will also go out in due time. Their other offer was a credit of up to $950 MSRP for one of their products.

We were originally going to get a whole new suite of appliances but ran out of money with our remodel. I'm really glad we only replaced the DW now because I'm skeptical of any appliances reading so many poor reviews of virtually every brand. A person should not have to spend $1K to get a dishwasher that doesn't malfunction after a year or two. Not everyone can afford high-end appliances. I don't care if it doesn't have all sorts of features - it just needs to clean my dishes. My old Kenmore appliances are running just fine and have given us no trouble since we bought the house. If it ain't broke...

So speaking of broke, sounds like $600 isn't quite enough? The Bosch Ascenta has mixed reviews...I just want to pay decent money for something that works and it's so disheartening that that seems to be a steep request.

Sorry hvt - but the Gaggenau analogy is not accurate.

Far as I know Maytag has zero factories and employees as the whole shootin match ,including the executive leadership ,was rolled up by Whirlpool after the acquisition. All Maytag stuff is just a nameplate or a stencil slapped on a whirlpool product in a Whirlpool factory.

Gaggenau is a division of Bosch but maintains separate production and design in Gaggenau, Germany. So if you buy a Gaggenau oven it's not a Bosch oven with a fancy badge stuck on it like you say. But I don't think Maytag has such an operation - it's simply a marketing designation under the whirlpool umbrella.

Plastic tubs are fine, but the bosch model you speak of has a plastic bottom adhered to metal sides and back. More joints equals more chance for failure by design. One piece tubs are the way to go be they plastic or stainless. Stainless being the better, bug costlier choice.

If you have time to look/call around for floor model sales .... I just got a Miele Futura Dimension for $650. (regularly a whole lot more). It is a discontinued floor model. Never used. Works great.

Far as I know Maytag has zero factories and employees as the whole shootin match ,including the executive leadership ,was rolled up by Whirlpool after the acquisition. All Maytag stuff is just a nameplate or a stencil slapped on a whirlpool product in a Whirlpool factory.

You're right, I did go a bit overboard with that analogy. It's true that "Maytag" doesn't exist as an actual company anymore, and their dishwasher is a completely Whirlpool design built in a Whirlpool factory. However, the Maytag dishwashers are completely different from the other Whirlpool brands and better, as far as I'm concerned. I've compared the undersides of Whirlpool & Maytag dishwashers. The Whirlpool pump honestly looked like a fountain pump to me. The Maytag pump, on the other hand, was quite sizable with about a 1/4 HP motor (very big for a modern dishwasher).

Plastic tubs are fine, but the bosch model you speak of has a plastic bottom adhered to metal sides and back. More joints equals more chance for failure by design. One piece tubs are the way to go be they plastic or stainless. Stainless being the better, bug costlier choice

I haven't heard of any issues with that tub, but for long term durability I'll buy that for a dollar. I still think that if threegraces is avoiding Maytag (which makes perfect sense here, I would want to as well after such an experience) the Ascenta is the best option at that pricepoint.

In an ideal world, threegraces, if you can up your budget a little I agree with xedos. I would get the cheapest Bosch dishwasher you can find that has the all stainless tub. Of course, nightowl has a great suggestion as well to look for floor/clearance models... Miele (commonly considered the best of the best among dishwashers) refreshed their dishwasher line recently, so you should be able to find older models for cheap.

hvtech42, how would I be able to identify a Whirlpool-built Maytag? What model do you have in the rentals?

They are all Whirlpool built now. In the rentals I have MDB4949SDM which is the cheapest.

Don't leave KitchenAid out or Kenmore because they are Whirlpool also. Different arms, motors and target wash temps but still WP. I wonder if they use a different wattage heating element or if those are all the same? Used to they would be 1000 watt(drying) but now I think they run about 400 watts(for drying). I know energy standards is the reason for that now.

those two brands at $500 fall into the junk category, sorry

KitchenAid has nothing at that price point. Those start closer to $1000. The Kenmores in the $500 range are the same as the Whirlpool brand, wimpy motors. Maytag is the best $500 dishwasher by far.

All I meant was that they are all made by the same company. If I needed one now I would get a Maytag. I have a 13 yr old Kenmore Elite washes perfect.

I'm looking at a Bosch 800 floor model SHX68T52UC for $712. More than I wanted to spend considering installation will be on top of that but it seems like a good deal. Thoughts?

I am concerned about the lack of heated drying although we wash a lot of plastic (2 small kids) and that doesn't dry in the heated dry anyway. Is heated dry a must?

NO, people that complain about drying in a Euro DW are not using rinse aid or are complaining about water retention on/in the plastic stuff but forget what you already know. That ridged plastic stuff stays wet in all DW's.

Also, $600 less install wont get you a DW that's built to last.

That bosch is a very nice unit and normally sold for $1000.

I'm looking at getting a Miele DW. It's my retirement/dream home so don't mind spending extra, but which model do people recommend? I don't need the top of the line just to say I have it, but if there are higher end models that have useful features I don't mind spending the money. They have so many models, it is hard to sort through. Thanks

As you move up the scale the racks get more adjustable and wash programs become more numerous.

A couple of the top models also add lights, and power opening and or closing. Like most things, the sweet spot is in the middle.

First figure out whether you want top or front controls, and factory or custom panel. That will eliminate a lot of the models. Then just look at the list of features and see which ones you want. For me, the one feature I wanted was the cutlery rack. Other than that I was mainly buying for the quality. So I just got the lowest end model with cutlery rack and am super happy with it