I have one of the older ranges from 2008 before they fixed a lot of these issues and I can honestly say I have not had too many problems. I had one of the old oven doors with the older hinges. Bluestar sent me a new door at no charge to fix the issue with the hinges even though I never actually had a problem with the hinges. The door does get somewhat hot, but I don't touch it when the oven is on. I have had very good experiences with customer service when I called them. They sent me parts for free, sent diagrams and walked me through fixing some things on my own. I think a lot of issues have been addressed with the newer models. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one again.

The "historical problems" are, IMHO way over blown. Have you cooked on an open burner range before? I saw the Amazon reviews and had to respond there too. So many reviews that are from folks who had no clue what they just purchased. A bad igniter (some of the problems I saw on Amazon) is about as easy as it gets to fix. After owning and using my BS I find some of the reviewers just don't seem to know anything about the product they bought or how it works. This is not your residential GE home range that someone else will service throughout the warranty period. No offense to the people who haven't 100% thought out buying a range (pro-style) like this one. To me service isn't a problem knowing I can pretty much get to all of the working parts to replace anything that can go wrong. This is not something everyone is comfortable with, understandable. I have worked as chef in a Restaurant setting and worked on a Garland range so I am comfortable adjusting and working with the basics of a range like BS. Yes, Bluestar will send out parts (for free in a lot of cases) to the customer to fix, in my world that's great. I have no problem getting into the inner workings of a range like the BS that's easy to access. For most this is not a comfortable option. Working on their own stove. I also have Bluestar V1 with no issues. We hear much more "BAD" reviews regarding this range because most happy customers aren't on these forums posting about how great their product is. No need to, their happy with no issues to discuss with dissatisfied owners. Many of the complaints I read are from customers who don't pursue their right as a consumer to get something done either with the manufacturer or the company who sold the range. Regarding the HOT door issue, it's a powerful gas range that does get hot. My oven door does NOT GET HOT. Running at 500*+ for more than an hour it will get very warm but not to the point of being able to touch it. At 350* no problem and the kick plate is significantly less HOT @350 compared to at 500*+ when the kick plate on my range will get quite HOT. With the oven or stove top on and running, who wants to try and touch it? For people with small kids don't let them run around a stove that someone is cooking on, it will be a good life lesson to learn, FIRE = HEAT. Please take my comments with a grain of salt, just feel there is some misinformation floating around regarding these types of ranges. If you can go and see a demo on a Bluestar range or Capital Culinarian please do, if you love to cook this is a great range.

Hilary, one of the problems with the internet, is that some of the info is pretty dated. I bought my BS a few years ago, but they had redesigned the hinges long before I bought it so that "problem" is not a current issue. BS just came out with a newer version of the RNB than the one I have, and I have read that the door is cooler. As to repairs, unfortunately, there is no way to get good info. There are not all that many high end stoves sold, and no good objective data on repair frequency or cost. Some people have a bad experience, and will post in 5 different places, at slightly different times. Other people are unabashed fans and will post glowing reviews. On top of that, you have no way to know the background of the reviewer and that can impact the validity of the review. Many here have BS ranges and have been very happy - actually I think there was a post a while back asking all those that were happy to comment, and it drew quite a few people. There may be other sites where other brands have a similar following. Many here, myself included, have had bad experiences with ranges with more electronics ( I had a Viking ) and believe that since the BS uses less electronic controls, it will be more dependable and easier to fix. Service is usually done by third parties - and I personally wouldn't think a manufacturer has much control over which employee the service company sends out -the wise veteran, or the fool. Over time the manufacturer might be able to figure out that a service company is much below average, but my that time, there would be a fair number of consumers who haven't received good service, so that is mostly luck. I am very happy with my purchase, and would not hesitate to suggest BS. My personal opinion is to stay away from advanced electronics if you can.