hahaha
there is simply NO WAY your plates will be clean unless you drop at least $1600 on a "meal-uh" dishwasher.

sucker

The difference in sound is about 2 db, probably not worth $600.

The reason to upgrade is for the water softener.

If you have soft water you don't need it.

If the China and Crystal is important to you make sure the plumber connects your DW to the Cold.

Every plumber wants to connect Miele to Hot.

Even after you tell them to connect to cold, it is habit they can't seem to break.

Connecting Miele to Hot saves a little electricity and wash time but renders the China and Crystal setting ineffective.

That would stink! Paying a premium for that feature and then having it essentially be useless. Insult to injury especially when you are paying for the install to boot. Man!
Thanks for the warning.

I'm also wondering if the adjustable cutlery rack is worth considering. I don't put my good knives in the washer, but ladles and some larger items could be a challenge.

IMO, the adjustable cutlery rack is a great upgrade. My old Miele DW had the regular cutlery rack, which was great, but the adjustable 3D rack allows loading of deeper utensils, which is even better. On my last Miele, DH loaded a soup ladle in the cutlery rack and broke off the upper wash arm!

I really use china & crystal setting for good dishes. It's also use it frequently for light and small loads. I run the dw every night as the idea of leaving dirty dishes over a few days is gross to me.

As deeageaux said, with that cycle, cold hook up is important. (I don't find it logical to hook up a dw with a heater to hot water but that's another issue).

We had another home, now sold, where I got a newer version of the same model plus express -- closer to the current configuration. That one had removable racks in the bottom which super convenient for pots and pans. I also really like the adjustable center rack and being able to adjust the top one as well seems like a plus.

My original machine is now 10 and going strong. If I had to replace it I would get the china/crystal again plus adjustable top tray and, budget permitting, the lights (spoiled by my washing machine with interior lighting).

Over time, I find having the flexibility of the features is really great as it helps expand the capacity.

I can get the China/Crystal in the Crystal models, but it looks like I'd have to upgrade to the Dimension to get the 3D cutlery rack, correct? That's a pretty steep upgrade in price (an extra $300) to go from the Crystal to Dimension, or am I missing something?

deeageaux is likely up on the pricing intricacies and, of course, it can vary depending on where you live and if you catch a deal.

F.ex. I paid $1189 for my Excella 10 years ago so the upcharges don't seem as steep to me -- or at least I can say that mine paid off over time.

Hi covingtoncat,

I'm looking at Miele as well and trying to decide between Classic and Dimension. I found that if you don't mind front controls vs. the handle then you can save a little that way.

I'm intrigued by the 3D cutlery tray and the better drying on the Dimension, but I haven't been able to figure out how much better the drying actually is. Can anyone give feedback on that? Thanks.

we just bought the dimension. We went with this model to get the extra flexibility of the 3d cutlery tray and flexicare premium (Adjustable XL cup rack, wine glass holder and cookware mode provide exceptional flexibility and care). Plus it has the turbo mode and open air drying which is supposed to help with the plastics, which we do a lot of. We don't get it delivered till Wednesday though, so I cant tell you how we like it yet.

I was set on a Miele but ultimately decided on a Bosch 500 series. Several hundred dollars cheaper, it has the cutlery tray and speed wash - which were the 2 most important features for me. I cant see myself using anything other than normal, sensor or pots/pans mode 90% of the time, so for me, paying for extra cycles was pointless.

We went with last year's dimension model , so unfortunately, no open air drying. The choice of models the showroom had of discontinued's was rather limited but I am happy that I got the 3D cutlery rack and all the adjustable racks and the china and crystal setting. My delivery is scheduled for Aug 3rd ): so I can't comment on the unit yet. I'm going to call my salesperson to see if I can move it up to an earlier date. Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions and tips.

covingtoncat - please let us know how you like it when it's installed. I'd love to know how well the drying works.

Thank you!

Will do. I was unable to get the delivery moved up, so it wont be installed till next weekend. ):

We just installed the Dimension Plus and we love it. Very quiet and love the pop open feature. The adjustable shelves are great - the machine offers a lot of flexibility. The cutlery rack takes some getting used to loading flatware but it becomes easier with use.
MJ

convingtoncat - how's the new dishwasher? I'm still trying to decide between the Classic and the Dimension with the pop open drying feature.

I'm wondering how well yours dries (especially plastic) without the auto open drying feature.

Thanks!

It does well with most plastics, but not everything totally every time. Some of my footed glassware still pools water, so its not totally drying everything. I don't use that much plastic though. HTH