subject: Should You Buy A Jenn Air Gas Grill? [print this page] Should You Buy A Jenn Air Gas Grill?
Many folks write into my barbecue forum complaining of the poor quality of Jenn Air grills and the after sales customer service but in contrast I also get a number of people sticking up for this manufacturer so who is right and what are the issues.
For the sake of clarity I want to point out that my opinions relate specifically to Jenn Air grills and not to the rest of their range and the reason for making this distinction is that many other of their products get rave reviews and probably most importantly, the range of barbecue grills made by Jenn Air are in fact made by a company called Nexgrill.
Nexgrill manufacture the units in China but before you go off on one and say "that explains it" it's worth pointing out that Jenn Air aren't the only company to have their grills made in China, many of their competitors do so also and with good success and quality.
Of all the gas grill reviews that I've seen the most common fault with the Jenn Air is with the burners and typically the problems start after two years either through rust or through the burners cracking.
The good news is that if you have your warranty information you'll find out that these parts have a lifetime guarantee and so can be replaced free of charge. The challenge is to get it done without further frustration:-
Returning your grill or making a complaint to the retailer where you bought the product will get you nowhere, they will just tell you to phone the manufacturer. This is typical of retailers these days, they're just interested in getting units out of the door and to be fair this is probably the deal that they have already set up with the manufacturer.
Who is the manufacturer? Do you phone Nexgrill? The model is a Jenn Air, so you phone Jenn Air. Again, if you can find your warranty card then the number is right there for you to phone.
The parts are free but the shipping costs are not. This is down to you and there are many folks complaining of shipping costs of $50 for each burner replaced.
So the bottom line is that the problem does have a solution but ultimately you've got to ask the question that if you're paying upwards of $1,000 for a gas grill then you wouldn't expect to be paying anything (not even shipping costs) within the first two years. For me this is too much to ask and given the horror stories that I've heard I won't be risking my hard earned cash on a Jenn Air.
What are the alternatives? Probably the most comprehensive range of grills is with Weber and their Summit range compares well albeit you will have to pay more than you would for a something made by Nexgrill. Of course you can go on and on and the range of grills from DCS is tremendous but probably a bit pricey for the likes of you and me.
If stainless steel is not important to you then the range of grills open to you develops substantially, check out Charbroil, Ducane and despite the name, don't forget about "made in America" Aussie grills.
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