Bought a Bosch dishwasher, one of the least expensive models (Asenta) because I thought I'd never use it. I was wrong! Am amazed at how well it cleans & dries, and I've never used a "rinse aid." (The only plastic it does not dry completely are the thin containers one brand of lunch meat comes in.)

Bosch Ascenta owner as well. This is the low end model. What I want out of a dishwasher is clean dishes and some reliable service. So far, the Ascenta delivers on this. Our last d/w was break-down prone and took 3 1/2 hours to complete a wash cycle without "dry" engaged. It was a very good d/w (Whirlpool) when it was working. This d/w does the same in 2 hours and things inside are dry enough to put away soon after cycle completion with the exception of concave bottoms on cups and tupperwares. Some people have issues with the racks though. I knew this going in, but due to pandemic I was not going to the showroom to try out my dishes and pots in person. It took some geometrical tricks, but we are dealing with the rack design. My plates fit fine, it's odd shaped things like pitchers and glass bottles, of which we use a lot of that we have to be creative with. It seems that most households don't use these items as much as we do...

The different models might have different cycle lengths, so it would help if you looked up the cycles on-line if time is a factor for you. The Ascenta has a 30 minute cycle that works well for lightly soiled loads but putting a scorched pot in that cycle won't scrub it to a polished shine.

Both of my daughters recently purchased the 800 series with the crystal dry. They have been very happy thus far. My older daughter uses A LOT of plastics with the kids. They are dry with the exceptions of dips and areas where water can pool. I have emptied her dishwasher a few times and find the crystal dry works very well. It is an option so you have to make sure you turn it on.

I have a miele with the auto open door - not only does it open the door but it continues to circulate air to enhance the drying process. I do not know if the 500 does this or just pops the door open. I have seen a few comments from folks with the 500 with auto open door that their dishes are dry. My MIL has the 500 without the open door feature (she has had it several years). Her dishes are dry but she does not have many plastics. Hopefully someone with the 500 will chime in. I had an early 2000 model bosch in a rental house for 1+ years. Dishes were clean and dry - no complaints. It was not a fancy model but still very quiet.

The 800 has a couple of different 3rd rack options that you may want to explore. Both of my daughters got the “my way rack” as they use it for bowls as they use lots of bowls. They still use the basket for cutlery and some utensils. The rack in the 500 (and some 800 models) is bascially for cutlery and some utensils. My MIL took her basket out and puts all her cutlery in the top rack as well as most of her utensils.

I have the 800 and did what Kim mentioned...took the silverware basket out and use the top rack only...anything bulkier I add to the 2nd rack. This DW holds a lot this way! I don't even use the crystal dry, it came with the paneled option. I just run the 60 min cycle every time and it cleans very well.

"I don’t like the idea of moisture sitting all night and opening the clean load to find dampness."

What do you think will happen?

I just bought the 800 series well I’m hoping I did!!! There’s an appliance shortage all over. Home Depot said they are getting 5 of ea at their warehouse in September! I looked on Lowe’s sight this week they had 1- 500 series and 1- 800 series. My hubby bought the 800 it’s ready to pick up in store. We still don’t know if it’ll actually be there tho. We’re going Sunday to pick it up!

I haven't tried all the settings on our Bosch 800. We do get some water left on the top of big coffee mugs. But I haven't set out on a quest to prevent it.

In general, the 800 has been amazing. It cleans very well. I understand that it is a bit better at cleaning than the 500, which in my mind would be the primary reason to upgrade. But I've never had a 500. I've had an 800 twice now (two different homes).

I‘m glad to hear good things about both models Drying dishes! Thanks!

Bought the Bosch 500 10 weeks ago. The Auto Air is great & dishes are dry (plastic 99%) in the morning. I really like the half load, 60 minute load & the extra scrub options. It hasn't met a dish it couldn't clean yet. I am alone this weekend & was sad I didn't have to run it last night. The 3rd rack is the flex rack which means the sides can be lowered to fit more ramakins or bigger utensils. I believe the 800 has the My way rack, so a bit different. I am 100% sold on this DW.

I have the 800 with Crystal Dry and it works well. However, it bothers me how long this cycle runs. Like @lucky998877 above, I've been using the 60 minutes cycle and it cleans the dishes perfectly. In my old house, I had a Bosch Ascent and it worked very well. I probably bought 'too much' dishwasher for how I'm using it.

We bought the 500 with the auto air feature for exactly the reasons you mentioned. We usually run it over night and I hate having dishes sit in a closed dishwasher for hours. They develop a bit of a funky smell even if they are dry. We were always in the habit of propping the door open with our old dishwasher. We've had the 500 for a couple of months now and are very happy with it. The "auto" cycle with auto air takes 3 hours. Yup. It's long. but we just set it up to run over night so it doesn't matter. Everything is nicely dry by morning and no funky smell. We did use the 60 minute feature once and I wasn't impressed. Dishes definitely weren't as clean. As for plastics, they dry OK. Depends on the item but since I don't have an 800 I can't compare. The only little gotcha that we ran into was with tall wine glasses (8.25" tall). Due to the 3rd rack on top, the distance between the top 2 racks is just a little short - even with the adjustments available. So the wine glasses have to sit an an angle. They get clean but they also take up far more real estate than they would if they stood up. That's not the fault of the 500. It's because there are 3 racks.