Need new BBQ - but which one????

DH and I desperately need a new bbq, we currently have an old 4 burner beefeater which has been good but has just had it's day. We bought it for $50 at a garage sale when we first got married 4 years ago but now it's time to get a nice new one. Don't want cheap as we always prefer to buy something that will stand the test of time & therefore be better value anyway. I guess we are looking anywhere in the $500 - $1000 price range depending on what you get for your $$$. We would use it on average 3 - 4 times per week.

Have you recently purchased one? If so what brand and are you happy with it? DO you use the side burner attachment (for wok), is it worth the extra?

Thanks!

We have a Matador 6 Burner which we bought from Bunnings about 6 months ago.

It is BRILLIANT (and so pretty) and worth the extra $$. We used to have a Jumbuck - which was great as well but the Matador is just fantastic. The 6 burner comes with the wok burner which we use everytime we use the BBQ - so IMO definitely worth getting.

For the amount of times you use it (3-4 times per week) I would say this one would be perfect for you.

We bought a new one on weekend waiting for delivery now.

Its a beefmaster i think. 4 burner with wok burner (dont really need it but it came as part of it) and we got rotiseeri kit discounted with it and rotiserri motor and fat soak for free.

cost $700 including delivery

we did like look of webber but all shops told us we were paying for name and not really worth it.

good luck

ooh, good thread, will follow this one closely as we are looking at a new BBQ next year.
Any opinions on cooking on the stainless steel bbq plates?

The stainless steel plates are fab - and so easy to clean afterwards!

Whatever you do make sure you have stainless steel grills (and plates) rather than cast iron. Cast iron rusts and chips. We've had our stainless steel (we actually spent $300 on fitting our old bbq with them) for about 2 years now and its been absolutely awesome. Its so much easier to clean, and the food tastes better IMO!

I've been looking at some s/s plates and grills on ebay, we were going to fit our old bbq with them.
Amy, did your BBQ come with the s/s plate and grill already? Can I ask how much if you don't mind?

Nic

I think we paid roughly $1100 for our BBQ! We had some Bunnings vouchers which we used towards it. It's absolutely brilliant though - worth every cent.

It came with s/s plates and grill etc.

The whole BBQ is made from stainless steel with a porcelain frame so it's super tough and so easy to clean.

Thanks for the info everyone. I must say I love the idea of stainless steel plates, I had no idea there was so a thing so that is great news.

amysarah, thanks for the PM, I had never heard of Matador before & like feeb said some of the well known brands you are just paying for the brand name.

Hmm - might do a bit more web research before I hit the shops.

Ooh, I just found a Matador 6 burner in the bunnings catalogue online, but it was $749...wonder if it is s/s burners or not? You wouldn't think so for that price..
Might have to check it out at christmas

nic - the one we bought is the model up from that one which we had special ordered because we wanted the s/s plates. That was about 6 months ago and they are cheaper now than when we bought ours - about $999 I think!!!

Thanks for that Sarah! Your rock
AJC, I noticed that there is a report about bbq's on choice. I just re joined a couple of days ago and saw the report, but can't remember now if it was a free report or if you have to pay for it. I do remember they had points about what to look for when buying a new bbq, and what traps not to fall for too i think?

Nic

Thought I would bump this back up and see if you ended up getting a new bbq, AJC?
We checked out Bunnings when we were near them at chrissy, and my DH has fallen in love with one of the Matador bbq's. We walked around and checked all the knobs on them, and the matador ones seemed to be a bit more 'heavy', seemed like they were a bit sturdier.
Now I've just got to save some $$. Might try to get it for DH's birthday in July!

Nic

Hey Nic - thanks for asking. DH actually started looking around today - we had intended to get a new one in time for Christmas but when our little man came unexpectedly a week before Christmas (@ 35 weeks) he kind of took priority and the bbq was shoved to the background. Now that we're home & things have started to settle down we've started looking again and I must say the only one that has impressed me so far is the Weber. Yes they are expensive but I love that they can be cleaned so easily (you can put the s/s plates in your dishwasher) and I also really like the generous warranty (limited warranty but it's far better than most offer). I also like the cooking system and how it heats the whole grill evenly - no hot or cooler spots. We still haven't made a final decision but I am leaning towards the weber at the moment even though the model we're looking at is slightly over out budget. Will let you know when we make a decision. Glad you've been able to benefit from this thread too!

Wow, Congrats on the early arrival of your little Samuel, AJC! I didn't even notice
Putting the plates in the dishwasher sounds great.. Something like that could be a great incentive to get my DH to get my dishwasher fixed lol. Might have to go and check out the webber website.

Amy, does your instruction booklet for your barbie list a website for the matador brand? I've tried googling but can't find anything?

Nic

Ok - so we've finally decided. We're going to get the Weber Genesis, yes it's expensive (of course it is as it's made in the USA) and was over our budget but DH got a nice little bonus in his last pay so we're going to splurge a little. It is solid as a rock, has a great warranty and great features. To us we just think it's worth the extra compared to other brands and everyone that I've spoken to that owns one loves it. So there you have it - decision made!

Thanks to everyone for their input!

Just saw this thread, and was going to suggest a Weber! We bought a Weber Q over the christmas holidays and it's been fantastic. It's not the biggest one that they had available but we've cooked dinner for 11 people in it! Love it!