Questions on potential new grill purchase Napoleon

Thinking of getting the Napoleon Prestige 500 RSIB or the Prestige Pro RSIB. I was set on the pro for about 5 minutes until the cost conscious part of me said why are you paying 500 more for an old school halogen light, a slide out tank tray and an ice bucket. Yeas I know it has some fancy lights and thicker grates as well.

Am I missing anything here? Is it really worth the difference?

Reasons we are making the purchase is we want a decent grill that will last awhile and Napoleon seems to have a nice warranty that will cover things for 15 years. We are basic, hamburgers/hotdogs on the grill, wife does a little chicken and we do steaks which is why the sear burner is enticing.

We have a weber spirit now which we though would be our last grill, but it is an utter disappointment, about 2 years and 2 weeks after getting it we replaced almost the entire grill under warranty and we have had it about 8 years now. It probably need another full replacement at least 2 years ago.

We are potentially open to another Weber if someone convinced us it would really be worth it over the Napoleon.

Budget is no higher than the Prestige 500. In order to go higher it would have to have some super features like the Pro version to make it potentially worthwhile.

The only thing I really don't like about the Napoleon is it doesn't have a fuel gauge like the higher up Weber do.

frayedend said:

I'm interested too. I could have written your post, right down to the Weber Spirit. I've been looking at Napoleon. The models you mentioned were also what I was looking at.

I am waiting until spring. A lot of the models are out of stock and there have been warnings of price increases. Lowes had none in stock locally except one floor model.

I'm wondering if a new line is coming for spring.

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I haven't looked local as its usually expensive, but they just updated these recently I think. I read something about the Napoleon blow out with a little bit of wind which I'm not sure is really an issue or not.

I do like the fact that the weber sear burner is just an extra burner and you can sear right on the main grill versus the side, but they only have 10 year warranty.

Also wondering about real world results with napolean warranty, its 15 years and lifetime, but do they actually honor it or do they find excuses like the car stealerships? Weber honored it without much issue which was nice although they shouldn't have had to in 2 years LOL.

There is a site called greentoe that supposedly you can name your price and get the grill cheaper. From what it shows, the difference could potentially be 400 between the two models. Still its 400 dollars for a slide out trade and fancy lights and an ice box. None of it means anything though if Napoleon doesn't honor the warranty or the thing doesn't work well.

CivilTrojan said:

Have you looked at Blaze or Lion grills? I believe they are comparably priced and have lifetime warranties.

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I have and I believe they were more money, just looked at broil king again and it was more money as well.

For the person that asked why the spirit is done. Well it literally needs new burners, grates, flavor bars and drip pan, not the disposable aluminum pan and the cart is rusting. And this is the second time all those need to be replaced. Its lasted a little better than a charbroil that we used to get before buying this one.

Chester said:

Where and how is it stored. How well and often do you clean it up?

Burners should last 5-10 years, but there is a ton of variables that go into this. If you constantly cook fatty food, and don’t ever clean the burners, even the best heavy made stainless burners will rust out. As far as the cart rusting, enclosed carts will rust out unless they are 304 stainless where I live. That is one of the reasons I went with the open cart . It will dry itself way better than an enclosed cart. Also, if you have a cover over the grill, you need to make sure that it has the open air pockets built in so moisture can escape. I see you also live in Florida. This wet humid environment is not the best for a grill. Covers on the grill can entrap moisture and cause more harm than good if you are not careful.

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We clean it, but not religiously, its a grill, we cook on it, if I keep my grill indoors it will last forever, probably that charbroil piece of junk too. We don't cover it. Weber was supposed to last, it didn't last much better than the charbroil if at all. lettering is off the panels, and its just to the point that its not worth throwing money into.

Yes, but they have a 15 year warranty on most parts versus 2 year on weber. I'm turning 47, if the grill lasts till I'm 62, I'm a happy camper.

Chester said:

I hear you, but expect the same results form the Napoleon. They have a very similar build to weber. Unless you go to something with 304 stainless like a Blaze or something similar it's going to have the same issues. Keep in mind not all stainless steel is equal. Many companies use a cheaper stainless that will discolor and rust almost as quickly as painted steel.

The base on my old discarded BroilMaster is 304 stainless and still in excellent shape and I certainly did not baby it. Cleaned it maybe every 5 years or so. I saved it when I discarded the main grill body, and plan to repurpose it. The aluminum grill body on the BroilMaster cracked in a move, and still lasted another 10 years before finally giving out. I did have to replace the burner about ever 7 years or so even thought they were a fairly substantial 304 stainless burner. I could have replaced the grill body, and been good to go, but was ready for something else at the time.

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Chester said:

Comparable Weber Genesis models have a 10 year warranty, and Weber has a strong history of excellent customer service and honoring their warranty. Not sure on the Napoleon.

I am not trying to tell you not to get a Napoleon. You get what you want. They are a reputable manufacturer.

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Yes, that is one of the things I"m trying to figure out is how napoleon honors there warranty. Someone in a review on some site said the writing on the napoloeon was rubbing off too.

just looked at broil king as everyone was saying they last forever and then all I see is reviews of them rusting.