I just replaced the cast iron grates for my three year old Lowe’s Char Broil grill. The darn things cost over $80, and that was for just the three grates! Even covered and treated well, they just don’t last. The next grill is a Webber.
Reason for lowes is gift cards, have $500 worth so thats where Im buying, what they have is what I plan to get. The Webber 3 burner is on the top of the list, unless they have something worth looking at.
I have a 5 burner Jenn Air that I purchased at Lowes well over 10 years ago. It's made by Nexxgrill and it has a lifetime warranty. I've replaced the burners, flavor bars multiple times and the grates once. All I had to do was pay for shipping and handling. Will be ordering new grates (about $20 for shipping) shortly because it's about time. I would buy another if the warranty is still the same.
I bought a Weber Genesis II last summer and am so glad I did. Initially I thought I’d never spend $900 on a grill, but it’s built like a tank and will last a long time. I used to have a Char Broil. There’s no comparison. Get the Weber; you’ll be glad you did.
If you're limiting yourself to the $500 in gift cards, I'd go with the Spirit...if you're willing to pitch in a bit more, you're into Genesis territory. Your use case(s) for your grill would define whether the extra money is justified. If you're just using it for your small family dinners...the Spirit is probably more than enough. If you do BIG parties/BBQ's at the house, then maybe the bigger grill surface is in order. Either way...a Weber Grill is rock solid. But let me tell ya...I made some bacon on my Traeger pellet grill last Sunday for BLTs.....DEEEEEEEE LICIOUS! No mess in the house, and all the cooked off bacon fat ran down nice and neat into the drip bucket on the side of the grill. Had me two of those bad boys and a 2 hour nap for dessert. I may do it again this coming Sunday.
Webber sold several years back and alot of their stuff now comes from China Not that its a bad thing, but looking at new models tbeh for sure are not as heavy as some from a few years ago. Still the best available though I have a Spirit 310 and use it probably 100 times a year all year round for that 5 years. Replaced the flavor bars once and the cover once. The new version Spirit II 310 lacks the cabinet and wheels on all legs plus a tad lighter. You can still get the original 310 at home depot Not sure about lowes.
I bought a Kitchen Aid 25,000 BTU last year. It's so effective that it cooks better than the 40,000 BTU we had previously because it holds heat better and warms up much faster too. Stainless steel grill is much easier to maintain and will last longer than other types because it won't rust. I used to have to replace the grills every 3 years because they would fall apart from rust.