Here might be a better deal on a 2008 LS 600HL with only 58K on the clock

https://www.lexusofomaha.com/Vehicle...-NE/3219872103

Dennis

 

That one is in amazing condition, literally still like new! Very tempting, until I saw the photo of the trunk and was reminded that isn't going to work for us. I wonder if there's a way to check the health of the hybrid batteries and how much overall charge it can still hold. I would be surprised if 10-year-old hybrid packs can still hold 50% of original capacity.

 

 

Mint condition launch edition ....i wish they made it in the ls460 as well. Would love this in my garage!!! Maybe one day.....with how rare they are hopefully some mint ones are available in the future... because most of em are being trashed by ppl.

 

What I mean is, how much charge can the 10-year-old battery still maintain? For instance, a LiON iPhone battery might hold 85% of its original charge after two years. Eventually, you'll need to replace a perfectly fine smartphone if nothing else for the battery. For a 10-year-old LS600, how often does the engine have to come on to keep the hybrid batteries charged? Probably more often than year one, which means a 2008 600hL probably isn't any more efficient than a regular 460 (not that the 600s were that efficient to begin with). I test drive a 2010 600h recently and the instant torque and rush of speed is indeed intoxicating. In the back of my mind though is always the concern about the health of the batteries. No one else has reported being able to swap out or repair 600h battery packs. You can easily do so for a Prius though, not for the 600s. I do recall one of our members that had to replace their 600h batteries to the tune of $8000 or so and they did notice the engine was able to stay off longer than before. I just wonder how much capacity is lost over time on those 600 hybrid batteries.

 

I actually went and looked at this car right after Lexus of Omaha took it in on trade. It looked really rough to me at that time. Seats were really creased, stained, etc., steering wheel leather was very worn, back bumper was very scratched up, major curb rash on the rims, etc. I do know Lexus of Omaha does a very nice job of reconditioning these cars before they sell them - the car does look much nicer in the photos now than it did when they first got it. They might have had the seats re-dyed. I know they pulled the back bumper and repainted it (they were just starting that when I saw it).

All in all, I'm much happier with my 2010 LS600hL. It's in a lot better shape and has more trunk room (batteries were reconfigured in 2010 to free up more space). But this Launch Edition will probably make a great car for someone!

If anyone is interested and needs me to go take another look and drive the car, please let me know.

 

Seems like Lexus of Omaha has had more LS600H's go through them than the dealers here in LA! It's surprising to me b/c every time im in NE (about twice a year) I rarely see any Lexus' on the road, let alone an LS. If I spent more time in Omaha or Lincoln, I might see more but I usually fly through Grand Island, so miss the bigger cities.

 

I only know of two LS600hLs that have gone through Lexus of Omaha (the Launch Edition that's there right now and another fairly rough 2008 that I saw there back in 2015). When I bought my 2008 from them, I actually located it myself at McGrath Lexus in Chicago, and simply used Lexus of Omaha as a pass-through for the deal. My current 2010 LS600hL was traded in to a Omaha Chevy dealer (not Lexus of Omaha), and I bought it from the local Chevy dealer directly.

I have never seen another LS600hL "in the wild" here in Nebraska, and very rarely even see a LS460. Plenty of ES350s and ISs to go around, but very few LSs. I feel pretty lucky to own this car here in Nebraska!

 

Makes sense. I guess I've seen all your posts about them, so thought there were more than there are.

 

While newer Hybrid models seem to use Lithium-ion batteries (which might be a good reason to avoid them used, time will tell how reliable those are), this model still uses Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries. While these are heavier and more prone to a memory effect, they are also more durable and will tend to last longer. So far I don't seem to have any trouble on my 2007 LS600h, though I don't know how much of the original capacity is still available (if it's possible to check I'm all ears), the battery check I had at the dealer last year was fine.
However, if I had the choice between a 600h or a 460 today, I would go with the 460 because of the added complexity of the hybrid drive and how hard it is to find someone who actually knows what he's doing on the car, even some official dealers seem to be absolutely clueless when it comes to that model.

 

Any chance you'd go down to Lexus of Omaha again and check out the Unicorn for us here in the forum (and myself personally ) ?

https://www.lexusofomaha.com/Vehicle...-NE/3264391723

Looks like they just took it in and I live about 500 miles from Omaha and would like to consider buying it, however I do not want to drive all the wear to find seats worn out or wear and tear that the pictures may leave out.

 

I could probably help take a look at this one this Saturday. Not much info on the web site about the car (no actual photos). Have you already checked the Lexus service history on this one via the Lexus Driver's web site? I've worked with the Lexus of Omaha sales managers to buy 6 used Lexus cars over the past 3-4 years, and have been pretty happy with them. They are a Plus dealer, meaning they won't negotiate on price. However, they are pretty good at fixing anything that's wrong with their cars at their asking price, so it's not all that bad.

I'll talk to my friends there and will let you know what I find out.

 

10 year old 600HL with zero battery problems here in the North. 182000 miles and full charge on the screen after a five to tem mile drive.