riknchar

So I finally made the decision to pull the trigger on the purchase of a LS600hL. I just bought a nice CPO 2011 LS460 AWD 2 months ago, but have been kicking myself ever since for not holding out for the 600hL.

Anyway, I located the perfect used 600hL at McGrath Lexus in Chicago (2008, 1-owner, full Lexus service history, 58K miles, Certified Pre-Owned, silver with light gray interior). I convinced my local Lexus of Omaha guys to actually buy the car from McGrath and have it shipped here so I can simply trade my LS460 back into them on the new 600hL.

I'll be giving up 3 years (going from a 2011 to 2008) and 24K miles (my 460 only has 34K miles), but will be gaining a TON of luxury features, including reclining rear seat, rear entertainment package, nicer leather, dynamic radar cruise control, parking assist, pre-collision avoidance system, air ride suspension, etc.

The deal ended up being my car plus $3400 trade difference, which I think is pretty fair. McGrath was asking $43K for the car, which seemed like a good price when I looked it up on KBB, Edmunds, and NADA.

So now I just have to wait for all the paperwork to be finalized and the car to be shipped from Chicago to Omaha. I sure hope it looks as nice in person as it does in the photos! I'll do a full inspection/test drive using the many tips I picked up on this forum to make sure everything checks out before actually signing for the car.

Thanks to CJITTY and the rest of the LS600hL owners who helped convince me to go this route. As CJITTY said in one of his posts, "you only live once..."

I'm considering purchasing the CPO Wrap (5-year, 125K Miles) if I can convince the Lexus dealer to offer it at a fair price (around $1500 would be right, I've heard). In any event, I'll be covered for the next 3 years against air suspension issues, upper/lower control arm issues, etc.

I'll post some photos when I get to see the new car in person.

Tee

Congrats on getting what you want and not settling, that's what is all about without always thinking I should have got a 600 or etc.

RodT

Congrats on the new purchase im pretty sure that you will enjoy your new 600 with all the buttons!!!!!!! one of the coolest features is the parking itself feature give it a try and tell me what you think.

riknchar

Thanks RodT! I just read the users' manual regarding the self-parking feature. Looks interesting! I'm excited to give it a try once I get my new 600! I've heard that most people don't actually use it much in practice, but it would make for a cool gee-whiz demo of the car to friends...

RodT

Thats true it does take a lil while to set it up so by that time someone else would have gotten the parking space,lol but it is super cool to show off to friends and family on how Lexus is ahead of the pack I do it all the time with my friends that own BMW, Mercedes and Audi . Oh one other thing the best seat in the car is not the driver seat but the back seats so if u can get someone else to drive you around while you ride in the back it's the best feeling ever Be sure to post plenty of pics

Dx3

iTrader: (13)

Congrats on the purchase. I also have an 08 600hl and love it. After owning it for 2 months I still haven't tried the self park feature!

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Wow, that's a fantastic deal - you only lose $1000 (after shipping and associated costs to the dealers, it's a wash). DEFINITELY get the maximum warranty extension no matter what it costs!

EDIT: Oh, and McGrath Lexus have done a good job with my son's IS250 so I suspect all the service work on the 600 was of equal quality.

Lexus4me

Congrats on getting what you looking for. On my next car I will also need to make sure it has everything I am looking for me.

CJITTY

Hey congrats!! McGrath always has nice 600s come through. I almost bought a black one through them before I bought my SGM 600. Their cars always look great on that special picture background studio they have, but as long as it is certified, you should be good to go. You can always negotiate things on the back end if the car isn't up to par, but I think you will be fine. Glad I could help you. Me perosnally, I am torn between holding out until 2017 and getting a 2013 600 off lease, or look for a clean 2010 600. The 2010 ML system sounds terrible compared to my 2008 ML..2010 bass is just not there like my car. But that 2010 dash though! I need to be happy with what I have..already have a nice car but I get bored easily lol. Welcome to the 600 family aka #AllDaButtons #NoDummyPanels #LotsOfExposedWoodWithNoButtonsIsForCarpenters

Greezy

Congratulations riknchar, I would have done the same thing in your position.
Just know how lucky you are. When I was in the market for an LS, there was only one 600hl for sale with a price tag under $40,000 within 50 miles of me..but it had 150k miles on it (lol no thanks). All the rest were close to new asking well over $60 g's. Just know you got a great deal, and your dealership was very accommodating for buying and shipping it for you. If I thought my dealership would've done that for me maybe I would have went that route instead of settling for what was in my area.

UfFrank

congrats you are gonna love it.

peteybabes

They have the best! (dealership, car wash, restaurant, etc, etc,) This is where i grabbed my car, and because the dealership is downtown, they have super low mile examples. (my car had 14,903 miles on it when i drove out of the lot in December! )

And congratulations ricknchar!!

patgilm

Congrats, I think you will be very happy with the 600 over the 460 with all the extras you get.

slimjimtel

Congrats on the car, you will love the LS600. I have to say it took some time to get used to the no shift points. NOW when I drive my wife's RX350, I think it feels weird.

riknchar

Thanks to all for the encouraging words! I can't wait to take delivery of my new (to me) LS600hL! It should be shipped soon, so I should be able to take it for a test drive and check everything out middle of next week.

Interesting that you found such a major difference between the 2008 and 2010 ML system, CJITTY... My current LS460 is a 2011, and my ML system sounds incredible. If the 2008 sounds markedly better, my head might explode ;-) I also like the look of the 2010 Dash, but there are so few 2010s out there, and they are pretty pricey right now. That may be my upgrade car in 3 years.

Glad to hear the positive comments regarding McGrath Lexus, although I won't be dealing directly with them since Lexus of Omaha will be technically buying the car from them. The car does look pretty spectacular in the photos -- I do like their photo backdrop (and I'm a professional photographer). Here's a link to the photos of my new 600 if anyone is interested:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...71345613&Log=0

Now I just have to decide what the odds are that I'll actually keep this car for longer than 3 years so I can decide if it's worth doing the CPO Wrap to go out to 5 years/125K miles. It will be pretty tough to find a nicer car in 3 years, but I do get the itch to trade pretty often and it would be a first if I kept anything longer than 3 years.