The Road to Number 7

As I said in Ovens Divided into 2?, it was only after lots of communication, back and forth with my very helpful appliance salesman, and with him communicating with management and distributor reps on my behalf, that I decided on my latest oven.  I was honest about my oven history, my baking methods, and my concerns.  I asked a lot of questions and wanted assurance of support.

I'd thought about the other brands that I'd narrowed to and considered before, but hadn't had in my kitchen yet, specifically, Miele, Electrolux, and Gaggenau.  

Electrolux Oven
Recently popular and highly regarded

The least expensive on my list, choosing an Electrolux oven would've meant money remaining in my pocket from the Wolf refund.  It may not be fair, but the popularity of Electrolux ovens is pretty recent, and I'm not sure, at this point, that they're manufactured to last for the long haul.  When I built my kitchen, I had the next 30 or 40 years in mind, including in my appliance choices.  Naive, maybe, but that's what I was after... A "forever kitchen" with forever appliances.  But I'm not sure Electrolux is in the built-like-a-battleship category. Time will tell, but we're not there yet.

Miele MasterChef wall oven

Miele has had some mixed reviews in the last few years, and their previously long-time, stellar customer service has occasionally come into question by those with problems they don't feel have been remedied.  But I also have consulted very credible, discerning bakers who have Mieles, who are very happy.  Also, Hubby and I were most impressed with the Miele construction quality, and the company's reported close scrutiny over the build process, when we first looked at ovens 6 years ago.  It was my "if money was no object" choice for a long time.  But a new Miele would have been $1000 or more over my Wolf refund.  I'd hate to spend $1000 more and have any doubts.


Gaggenau ovens are pretty generally considered to be the top of the heap with their German engineering and construction. --And their prices sure reflect that!  

from Gaggenau.com/us

from Gaggenau.com/us

When I got the list of prices in an email from the appliance salesman, and noted that a new, double Gaggenau would be $3200 more than my refund from Wolf, I knew it was out of contention.  Faaaaaar out.

It was after receiving this price list that I started to look at the combinations of steam and single ovens that I'd mentioned in a previous post.  If I was going to have to spend $1000 more, I figured I might as well consider something new and different.  Thankfully, as those numbers and assurances weren't coming out much better, my appliance salesman contacted me with some intriguing and potentially very exciting news...

He found an open-box Gaggenau oven in the warehouse of one of their other stores, and was able to offer it to me for only $500 more than my Wolf refund.  Not that $500 is nothing, but it was more economical than some of my other options, while being my best bet, many felt, in my quest for my 20+ year oven.

You might not all know that Gaggenau ovens open to the side instead of downward.  The best configuration for our kitchen would have been to have the doors hinge on the left.  This oven has its hinges on the right, but for the $3200 savings, I'll be glad to "make do."