Bosch built its dishwasher reputation on German-made tanks that ran silent for fifteen years, but the current Benchmark line is a different machine wearing the same badge. Control boards fail within two years, racks slide like they're fighting you, and warranty repairs stretch into six-week waits while you hand-wash. The 800 series still cleans beautifully and runs quieter than your refrigerator, but you're gambling on whether you get a survivor or join the chorus of buyers wondering what happened to the brand they remembered. If the premium price reflects the old Bosch, shop elsewhere; if you're paying for current reality and accept the service lottery, the cleaning performance and third rack still deliver.
Two independent drawers that each run their own cycle, solving a real problem if you cook daily but hate waiting for a full load or bending to unload. The top drawer sits at counter height, owners with bad backs or aging knees swear by it, and the ability to run just one drawer for breakfast dishes while saving the bottom for pots is genuinely useful. The plastic tub at this price is hard to swallow, and the flood sensor trips if you load something tall and water splashes during the cycle, forcing a manual reset. The real dealbreaker is service: authorized techs are scarce in the US, so when something breaks you wait weeks. If you have reliable local service and the ergonomics solve a daily pain point, it's a clever tool; if you just want dishes clean without fuss, a traditional Bosch costs less and breaks less often.