06-09-2013, 05:08 AM
Hmmm. I finally got a Bosch Aquastar 1600H LP going. I say finally because it came broken out of the box. I had purchased it on sale from Lowes for $214. It was sitting out front one morning when I walked in. I thought I had really scored until I started reading reviews online. The Bosch warranty people effectively abandoned their product. Along the way to showing their true colors they insisted that I hire a professional plumber to diagnose the problem. When I contacted Michael of Michael's repair he started briefing me on what to say and how to deal with the Bosch warranty people like I was a crack whore who had to testify against the mayor in court. I knew things didn't look good then. I reported that things had progressed to the point where they had asked for the opinion of a professional installer. He sighed and agreed to call them. They would not even connect him with a service tech because he was not standing in front of the appliance. I could have upped the ante by paying Michael $100 to come out and continue the drama in the hopes of earning a replacement part for free. If I got the part from Bosch for free I would then be in for $300. Based on Michael's past experience, my present experience, and Michael saying "Forget it. They have abandoned their product", I gave up on the warranty. Based on the price of $430 for a new tank style water heater, three independent diagnoses that concluded the little gray control box was to blame (mine, Michael's, and the girl behind the counter at Hilo Propane when she said "Oh, a Bosch. It's the control box"), and my own pigheaded nature, I decided to go even deeper and buy the offending part from Michael, which he had in stock, for $208. I am now in $422 plus lots more for misc. parts that I would probably have had to spend on a tank style as well.
As an aside, the appliance does now make hot water although the "new" little control box is still somewhat defective in that there is a little red LED that is supposed to come on for a couple of seconds at start-up that never comes on. I am still hooking up my shower and sinks so I can't tell you yet how user friendly the heater is or of course how dependable and long lasting it is. It does however make a nice trophy on my wall similar to a moose head for which the meat came out to be $100/lb after factoring in all the costs of the hunt.
I have a Bosch washer and dryer at home and so far they have been great, but Michael and his wife Rusty could not say anything good about Bosch warranty service. Rusty said "they're not what they used to be". Michael quickly diagnosed the problem. He knows the equipment. He has their parts in stock. They told him to put it where the sun don't shine. He had no choice but to convey their response to me. I feel obliged to pass this info on to the rest of you.
As an aside, the appliance does now make hot water although the "new" little control box is still somewhat defective in that there is a little red LED that is supposed to come on for a couple of seconds at start-up that never comes on. I am still hooking up my shower and sinks so I can't tell you yet how user friendly the heater is or of course how dependable and long lasting it is. It does however make a nice trophy on my wall similar to a moose head for which the meat came out to be $100/lb after factoring in all the costs of the hunt.
I have a Bosch washer and dryer at home and so far they have been great, but Michael and his wife Rusty could not say anything good about Bosch warranty service. Rusty said "they're not what they used to be". Michael quickly diagnosed the problem. He knows the equipment. He has their parts in stock. They told him to put it where the sun don't shine. He had no choice but to convey their response to me. I feel obliged to pass this info on to the rest of you.