We are on our second Bosch (first one lasted 17 years) and have loved them—super quiet and clean well. Our current Bosch is an 800 series which I bought because of the 3rd rack, not realizing that in order for my wine glasses to fit, I have to take out the 3rd rack. Had I known this, I would have bought the next series down and saved a little money. My advice, Bosch yes but take a wine glass with you when you shop to choose the model.

It really depends what you want.

Here is a comparison of the different models (but without the Ascenta)

https://blog.designerappliances.com/bosch-dishwasher-review-100-vs-300-vs-500-vs-800-series/

And here is the comparison by Bosch

https://www.bosch-home.com/us/products/dishwashers/compare-products

And here is Yale's

https://blog.yaleappliance.com/the-best-bosch-dishwashers-ratings-reviews-prices

I've been looking at those DW to replace my Whirlpool as well. I like the third rail feature, so I would not choose the Ascenta, but I heard good thing of it if you are on a limited budget,

I thought the racks are adjustable size in the 800 series so that wine glasses should fit. is this not the case?

I own the 800. Both the top and middle rack are adjustable. Of course, if you lower the middle rack then you lose clearance space for anything on the bottom, like plates and such. But wine glasses can fit if you need them too.

From what I have read All if the Busch DWs seem to wok well. My DIL has a 500 and it cleans well.

It is hard to narrow down the models that have the features you want. Bosch just has “special features”. Yes. Not much help. I wanted one with short cycles for baking days which I got one with rinse, 30 min and 60 min cycles but it came with Home connect which I don’t use. There was no way to really isolate just the models with the short cycles.

I would also get one with real buttons if they have it. I had one like that but this time a touch pad and it doesn’t like wet hands and takes more touches to do anything. It is fidgety too and you end up turning it on and off to get it to take the setting you want. If you can, read the manual to see what it does.

I do like the tray on top because it holds things like plastic measuring cups in place.

This has a pretty good breakdown on the different Bosch Dishwasher series.

https://blog.designerappliances.com/bosch-dishwasher-review-100-vs-300-vs-500-vs-800-series/

Consumer Reports didn't find great differences in the performance of various Bosch models so you could probably go with the basic SHEM3AY55N or SHXM4AY55N and be satisfied. However, some owners report difficulty loading large bowls and mugs. If you have such items, you might want to try loading them into a store's floor model(s) and compare that with loading into a basic Whirlpool model such as the WDF520PADM...which may not be all that different than the one you have.

I should have added that I really like ours (800). We've removed the utensil canister from the bottom rack to enable more room because the top rack handles utensils perfectly, plus espresso cups and small glass bowls. The middle and lower racks each have section arms that conveniently lower to enable larger bowls to fit if needed.

It has a Speed cycle that runs 60 minutes, plus the Eco cycle (which works great even on baked on food on a pyrex) is 85 minutes. That's the one I've come to use the most.

The touchpad buttons can be temperamental, although usually it's just the On/Off button.

Very happy with it after a year of use.

Thank you all for the great advice and info! I am going to Yale appliance this week to see them in person and to test with some of my dishes. I’ll let you know what we choose. I appreciate your help!

Here is a link to Bosch brochures. Scroll down to the DW download which has extreme info. Open the document and scroll down to pg 39 and you will see detailed cycle info, then down more to the many, many model numbers. I had a 3rd rack and adjustable 2nd rack but with few flip down tines. More adjustability tends to increase cost.

I have the SHPM65Z55N https://www.abcwarehouse.com/bosch-shpm65z55n-24-built-in-dishwaher

Have had it around a month and am very pleased with it. Quiet as all get-out and, most importantly, cleans and rinses very well. Third rack and adjustable racks are very nice features.

TBL, glad to see they have that brochure. I bought mine in 2018, I emailed them and this was the reply. You had to look at every model product sheet and find a picture of the controls to see what each has.

Big improvement in the site

I have has both an 800 series and a 100 series and feel that both cleaned really well. The 800 series has the 3rd rack which is nice and just looks and feels more luxurious. Other than that, there’s never been much difference in performance.

I have an 800 - must have gotten it because of the third rack and I think the db level might have been a couple points lower. I also have an older basic model at my second home and they both work equally well. In another house I had a Miele with the top rack and I liked that so wanted to have it again.

I looked at the 500 and 800 and picked the 500 because the additional features on the 800 weren't that critical to me. The middle rack on mine is adjustable (not sure about the top - never tried.) I can fit fairly tall stemware on the middle rack (on an angle.)

I was able to pick the door style I wanted (controls on top not front) which for me was an equalizing factor between the 500 and 800. I'm very happy with how it cleans.

I believe the Ascenta & the 100 series have polypropylene bottoms in the tub instead of stainless, which was the deciding factor for me to choose a 300 series. My old Bosch died after 18 years & I ordered a new one 7/2; now I'm told the Bosch factory has been closed for Covid & won't start shipping until the end of Aug. so backorders are the norm.

Home Depot (DC) shows backorders for the Bosch 100 Series dishwashers until mid September. The basic Whirlpool WDF520PADM ($519) is available within 3 days.

Definitely take some dishes and bowls with you to the display to ensure easy loading.

Following

Hi, OP here. I have not purchased a DW yet because I think we are going to renovate the kitchen now, as the current dishwasher’s death included quite a bit of water damage underneath the hardwood floors. It’s the straw that broke this kitchen’s back! I’m going to start another thread to ask whether an Ikea Axstad panel will fit on a Bosch 500 (or Bosch 800) DW. I visited Ikea today and liked the Axstad much more than I expected. It’s lovely. Thanks for all your help!

We had a Bosch for 20 years in our previous house. For the new house build, we purchased the Fridgedar professional series, we like that the buttons were totally covered, so stuff could not get around them & it has the 3rd rack, for less $$ than the Bosch dw.

I believe this has been noted elsewhere, but make sure no matter what brand of appliance you're considering, ask about availability and shipping dates. Bosch has been badly impacted by pandemic-caused delays on its US factory line, and was running 4 weeks behind. They have also temporarily narrowed availability of models down to the 30 most popular - so be firm with that sales rep!

When I bought mine back in June, there was a minor delay but I got it within 3 weeks. Glad I bought when I did. I'm hoping I don't need any other appliances anytime soon, they don't seem very easy to come by right now.

The 300 series that I ordered in July is being delivered on Monday - after ONLY 4 months!!! At least the online sites are finally being honest about availability/delays which is something I haven't seen until recently.

I have the Bosch 800 series and have had nothing but probllems wiith it! I would not recommend this dishwaher and have had very little support from Bosch. I continue to get an "E07" error code even after many repairs. Apparentely, it has something to do with the high quality heating element in the 800 series, which also melted the track system inside the dishwasher. I was informed by the repair service this is a malfuntion on Bosch that they see often. I replaced the part and I'm still getting the error code. Looking for a new dishwasher after only 4 years, as I have put too much money into repairs. They are telling me i now need another part at the tune of $420! Buyer beware of the 800 Series, which unfortunately is suppose to be their top of the line...

HU-796514451: "I continue to get an "E07" error code even after many repairs."

You might read these:

• Bosch dishwasher zeolite heating fan (Fault E07)
• Bosch SHPM78Z55N/01 Dishwasher E07 error

Apparently it's common for the Bosch 11018097 Dishwasher Spray Arm Water Supply Tube to crack and shoot water into the Zeolite unit causing the error. The solution is to suck all the water out of the Zeolite unit with a Shop-Vac and replace the supply tube (scroll down for video instructions).

I'd suck the water out, see if the E07 error goes away and check the supply tube for cracks.

P.S. You can rent a wet/dry vac at Home Depot and the supply tube is only $40.

We own a Bosch that was recommended by our appliance repair guy when our last DW died. I don’t think the extra cost is being realized with this dishwasher. It has been fussy about going on when my husband hits the controls, but always works when I do them. (Sexist machine?). Our previous Frigidaire dishwasher was just as good.

We have had a lot of issues with our Bosch dishwasher. The last was a LEAK and it turned out that even though it has a pan underneath the one part that wasn’t under the pan broke. It ruined our hard wood floors. And it is a huge area of floors that we had to make the decision of replacing or sanding and restaining. I won’t buy another. Bought 2019, SHPM78Z55N

Bosch 800, paneled, now 10 1/2 yo. Cleans flawlessly. Quiet. Never had any problems. Would definitely buy another, should the need arise.

This is a very old post and I doubt the original poster cares about any of the recent posts. But to hear from another satisfied owner:

We had a Bosch 800 in our previous house that was 10+ years old and still going strong when we sold last year (2025). Quiet, cleaned well, no worries about where to put the (few) plastic items we own, etc.

We plan to replace the Frigidaire Gallery DW we have in our current home with another Bosch within the next few months. (The Frigidaire doesn't do a great job at cleaning. In fact, items on the third rack don't get clean at all b/c there are no arms under it to clean the underside of third rack items. We took it out b/c it's useless. Also, the other racks, etc. are very, very flimsy compared to Bosch.)

@Buehl, yes this is an old thread. However, I believe the more recent comments are replying to HU-796514451, who is warning everyone here to avoid the Bosch 800 series. That’s the case for me.

I actactually feel the older Bosch didhwashers were made better than the ones made in the past 5 years. For the cost they should last more than 5 years! Ours worked good for 4 years! Ugh!