Quality of oven function does not always correlate with how much you spend. Thermador just redesigned their ovens and bumped the price up. There are not too many reviews yet.

What do you see as the features that make Thermador professional? Are you interested in the combi oven? Is capacity important?

If the KA has blue enamel, I would avoid that as there have been issues with many brands of blue enamel chipping. In light of chipping issues of blue and sometimes other colors, this from the Thermador warranty is a little troubling.

It is very difficult to tell how long a product will last these days. Not only are electronics subject to damage from the heat and moisture from an oven but even the oven structure like the lining is subject to damage like chipping. Most dealers will tell you not to use the self clean because of the high heat. I think the hidden heating element makes this worse.

The top-rated, electric double-wall oven Consumer Reports is the LG LWD3063ST ($2800). LG's predicted reliability score for wall ovens is "Excellent". Also at Best Buy ($2520).

CR tested the Thermador ME302JS ($4200) and found its performance and predicted reliability to be worse.