The panel ready dishwasher won't look finished at all, the ones we've bought were a steel front with holes for the panel to be attached to. You won't want to wait to put the panel on later. The panel will need a handle put on to it prior to being attached to the dishwasher door. Without that handle it's extremely difficult to open the dishwasher.

lesmobo - and all others who ask questions like this - thank you from those of us who've also been wondering.

And, thanks to those who provide the answers. I just learned something :)

Honestly lesmobo, there aren't any stupid questions. It's just a thing you don't know but have the good sense to ask. I'll bet you know lots of stuff others don't and would be happy to answer if asked.

Thanks everyone!!!!!!

The other thing about the panel ready DWs is that they are calibrated to have the door springs work with the weight of the wood panel. Without that weight, they can be a bit "springy". Also, if you are doing a cabinet front on it in a wood that changes color over time, it should always be ordered at the same time as the rest of your cabinetry. Sometimes even painted cabinetry can change color over time if you've gone with a site finished guy who uses oil paint. (The days of that are about over, but there are still a few of those around who choose that.)

The Bosch 500 I had was plain steel in front as described but had a small recessed handle to aid in opening it before the panel was mounted. It also had door weight adjustment screws down in the front that allowed the door to stay down without the weight of the panel. This is an older model, before the new change this year.