Product review (5 stars): Replaced 30-year old JennAire
I'd repaired our old JennAire downdraft range top over 15 times in the 14 years we've been living here. What finally made me throw it out was the 'sockets' for the heating elements were really worn out. (I can always buy new calrod heating elements, but they plug into built-in sockets - which were so worn that they wouldn't make contact any more). Replacing the sockets would have been 2 days of frustration and about $120 in parts.
So....
My wife and I decided to "risk" getting this ceramic cooktop. We'd heard lots of horror stories about the difficulty of keeping it clean and new-looking, but our selection of down-draft units in the same 30" size was very limited.
I'm quite the DIY guy, cutting and fitting the fan box on the unit, and re-cutting the 6" air ducting under the counter to fit. Not for the faint of heart, but this is a replacement unit, not new construction - and such things are to be expected.
I installed it 3 months ago. My wife uses it several times a day - and is very happy with its performance. It turns out that it's much easier to keep clean than our old JennAire! A real surprise!
Still looks like new and I expect it will continue to look brand new for at least the first 3 years. Haven't spent a penny on special cleaners or pads yet - just using the 2oz bottle that came with the unit, twice a week, and have only used about 1/4 ounce total so far.
I'd shopped around for pricing, including the big box stores - and buying it from this seller was the best deal by at least $250.