Viking or Thermador Gas Range - any recent experience?

[Anonymous]

I'm the Bluestar poster from the previous thread. I ended up calling an appliance repairman and asked his opinion on brands. He said Bluestar and Bertazzoni, two brands I was looking at closely, are difficult to get parts for. He doesn't service them a lot, but he said there aren't a lot of people who have them, so the sample is small. Two brands he did recommend are Thermador and Viking. He said they are very easy to get parts for. Of course he also said GE is even easier - the cheaper you go, the easier it is to repair he said. Interesting. Anyhow, I had written off Viking because of reviews about bad quality. But apparently they have upgraded their quality and now offer a 5 year warranty - that's the longest warranty I have seen from any brand. So, now I'm looking closely at Thermadors or Vikings. I like the look and pricing of the Viking, but I'm still unsure about how reliable it is. Thermador seems great, but is also more expensive and has more bells and whistles than I probably need or will use.

Thoughts/opinions?

[Anonymous]

We got a Viking range 8 years ago and it's fine except one side of a rack broke, so we just use others. No repairs. Nothing electronic, which we like. Have gas range, electric oven.

[Anonymous]

Wolf cooktop and double wall ovens for the win.

[Anonymous]

I have a thermador and LOVE it. It is well arranged (for my purposes was better than wolf) with the various sized burners I wanted and it’s also super easy to clean. Also, there are fantastic various low settings if you so much simmering/sauces.

I had a Viking but years ago and didn’t like it as much - it was hard to clean (heavy, cumbersome)

[Anonymous]

Also, thermador has the “star” arrangement for the heat (not a circle) which I like. This is a detail and just a preference, but something to note.

[Anonymous]

One last note about thermador - there is a "lip" in-between each of the three sections (aligns with the three grates) so that if you spill something in the center section, it doesn't spill into the entire top - liquid spills are contained within each of the three sections which makes cleanup easier. Hope I explained that well enough.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have recommendations for a Thermador repair person?

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP. I called and spoke to Mr. Appliance of Woodley Park https://www.mrappliance.com/woodley-park/?cid=LSTL_MRA-US000194&utm_source=gmb&utm_campaign=local&utm_medium=organic.

He was the one that told me Thermador parts are easy to order and are always in stock. He recommended the Thermador for that range class. Of course I told him I hope to never have to call him and we shared a good laugh. He was friendly and helpful and I would call him for repairs in the future.

[Anonymous]

Thank you OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got a Viking range 8 years ago and it's fine except one side of a rack broke, so we just use others. No repairs. Nothing electronic, which we like. Have gas range, electric oven.

Is it a easy repair if you wanted to do it?

[Anonymous]

our Viking (all gas) is 23 years old. We just reinstalled it in a new kitchen renovation. It is totally fine. We did have to replace the burners once, but as others have said, parts are easy to get and we just did it ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a thermador and LOVE it. It is well arranged (for my purposes was better than wolf) with the various sized burners I wanted and it’s also super easy to clean. Also, there are fantastic various low settings if you so much simmering/sauces.

I had a Viking but years ago and didn’t like it as much - it was hard to clean (heavy, cumbersome)

+1 I'm on my 2nd Thermador gas range - had one in an old house, and when we remodeled our new house, I bought the 6 burner pro range top. Love, love, love, the 90 degree auto simmer degree feature. If you do a lot of sauces/melt chocolate, it's a must-have feature. For what it's worth, Consumer Reports consistently ranks Thermador at the top of their appliance lists.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I went to the appliance store and looked at the different models. They didn't have a Thermador range in the showroom - so I only looked at the oven. I did like the soft close door. To my surprise however, I really really liked the Viking! It jus felt really good to handle and stand in front of. I think I *might* have decided!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wolf cooktop and double wall ovens for the win.

Did I type this today and not realize it? This ^

But it sounds like you have made up your mind from the three brands you asked about earlier. I think you should go to a showroom that has all of these brands, kick the tires and make a decision based on what feels right to you.

Depending upon where you live you can pick up a Viking or Thermador along with a flat panel TV at your local Best Buy.

[Anonymous]

We have a 14-year-old Viking that’s 100% gas and our inspector said it would outlive us. The electrical components are what goes bad and ours has none of that. I love it but I’m not sure you can find a similar model these days, in the age of “smart everything”.