Price range?

Consumers is okay on this. Check out some real reviews on the about site. The forum is also helpful.

dingosurf

Here is a link that might be useful: Info on BBQ grills

In the reasonably priced range, many people like Weber.

I second the Weber. I've had my gas one for 6 years and it still looks and cooks great. I got it at Home Depot because they had the cast iron cooking grates which is great for getting those "grill marks." Also get them the original Weber cookbook, it'll really help them make some great meals!

I have a 6-year-old Weber Genesis Gold which unfortunately works as well as the day I bought it and looks almost as good. I say "unforunately" because I hate the burner configuration; they run long ways instead of front to back. After all these years I still find it awkward and look forward to having an excuse to buy a new grill.

Thanks for the responses, and especially for the link, Dingosurf; I couldn't get it to print out probably, but I'll try again.

Unfortunately, since I'm clueless, I'm sticking with the Consumer Reports list, which mean probably among those three brands: Fiesta, Brinkmann, and Char-Broil. People keep mentioning Weber, but the Webers seem vastly more expensive than the others ($700-$1800, as compared to $200-$450), and the person isn't going to spring for that. I don't need the best. I just need something good and serviceable.

The best inexpensive Weber is the Q300. My nephew has the Weber Genesis Gold and my niece the Genesis Silver. The grill on the Q300 is almost identical in size to the Silver; the Silver just has larger and more elaborate plastic counters. I've used all of them and am satisfied with the Q300. Extremely heavy and well-made.

It tests very well (Cook's Illustrated recommended it as best in the low-priced models) and we've really enjoyed using it since I bought it two months ago. Rather to my surprise, it was $20 less than when I looked at it two years ago - $229 in a local hardware store. Plus, the store delivered and set it up for free, along with a $10 discount on the first propane tank. Despite the wheels, it doesn't move around easily - the grill itself is a heavyweight at 79 lbs, not including the cart that holds it.

It's getting late in the season - whatever you buy, if it uses foil pans of a specific size for grease catching (the Q300 is in this category), buy a couple of pkgs of the pans since in a month or so they'll disappear from the stores until next year.