i have owned an older model of this grill about 6 years and loved it......it has been redesigned and cheapened. once rubber wheels are not plastic.
it went from easy to assemble to difficult unless you are very patient and have lots of skill. the manual does not have the correct description
of parts to the parts you receive........customer service is impossible to reach. i must have punched about 10 buttons before getting a person on the line....no help there. i shipped it back and am sorry such a good item has been depreciated. i would have paid more for a better version like the one that finally rusted out.

i've had this particular model grill for thirty years. it has all the features needed for excellent grilling/smoking. i highly recommend this grill as a classic for serious grillers.

The grill came with hex bolts and screws for the hood that did not at all fit tightly. When I called customer service they were awful and said they could not help me because I didn't purchase it though them (!!).

I had to go to my local hardware store and buy my own bolts and screws so that the hood fit snugly on it.

That being said now that it's assembled properly it functions well.

I HIGHLY recommend you buy this from Home Depot or another place where it comes assembled. The price is similar and the hood is affixed far more tightly than seems possible at home.

I live in the United Kingdom and bought the original Meco 23 years ago. It has been outdoors all that time and stood the test of time though i did have a new grill made by a friend out of stainless steel with a new support. The old one finally rusted underneath to a point where welding was not an option. Nowhere in the UK sells Meco so imagine my surprise when i saw they still make it and sell it in the USA and it cost only £20 more to ship to the UK than i spent on the original. Me and my daughter put it together and here it is next to the original.

This would have had 5 stars, but for a shipping error. Because of the error, the grill wandered around Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio for days. When it finally arrived, it remained in the box, because a quick inspection showed that not only did the box get battered during its wanderings, so did the grill.

I was able to go through the return process online quickly, so within minutes the label was printed, the box resealed, and we were on our way to the UPS store nearby.

The replacement grill arrived in just a couple of days, and my husband assembled it with ease. He has been using this brand and style for years. He likes the design and LOVES the fact that it is USA made. The side tables are very handy for setting down platters and utensils.