bunka

Doc tried to be "politically correct" by "not going into details" but it DOES appear that the car in question was actually the one HE had ordered and it may have (potentially) have been re-routed somewhere along the way. So, in essence, you didn't refer him but rather (may) have helped him find his "lost" vehicle. If that's the case, then you may well get soemthing in the mail from the guy (as a thank you). But if he was already aware of what was going on inside of the Lexus ordering system, he may simply end up sending you a PM letting you know those details. At this point we should respect his decision to not go int the details IMHO of course.

Gojirra99

Well, I tend to doubt that this is the first and/or only Black Opal LS600hL in the U.S. anyway, you mean they've made & shipped ONLY ONE to the U.S. so far ??

I think there's probably no more than a few % of Lexus owners/buyers browsing this site, there may well be a few others who had taken delivery of a Black Opal without anyone of us seeing or knowing about it.

Up here, I have seen a few pre-ordered LS600hL's hidden at the back lot of a dealership that were still wrapped in tapes/plastic when I saw them(I wasn't even supposed to be there since it's marked as a restricted area, but I just walked in without asking, but nobody said anything ), & a few days later, they are already gone without many other(if any) walk-in customers seeing them.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

zzzz, you are right about orange peel on most of the cars out there these days. i have no idea why the paint quality of most cars have degraded over the years, you would think that improves over time.

in fact, looking at the whole lexus line up (after making myself look like an idiot at the dealership lot), the ls460/600hl already has far better paint quality than any of the other cars. i believe it's due to the two stage hand sanding process they have at the factory, the paint of the ls is a lot smoother and more mirror finish than the other cars.

the only main problem i found on the ls is the bumpers (different materials, obviously. i wonder if they skip the wet san process on this coz' orange peel is pretty serious here. the rest of the car, pretty darn good

my 98 gs400, 10 yr old car, paint was pretty darn good

my 03 is300, granite pearl, but still couldn't hide all those orange peel, pretty bad

my 05 sc430, also tons of orange peel all over the place

same with the 05 ls430 and 07 gs350 i looked at

Gojirra99

Looking forward to see MORE pics especially under bright sunlight

zzzzdoc

It's not like it's Canada down here. We don't get too much sunlight.

Joe Z

iTrader: (10)

^^ I doubt that....

Joe Z

iTrader: (10)

I had taken my shoes off, plus the mat's were upside down already..

as seen here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...8&postcount=17

At the time I was in it... known of you had never even seen a US Spec Black Opal LS600h L

Best thing was that, this was a LOCKED DOWN showroom car...

zzzzdoc

Don't worry. We had checked your shoe size and ruled you out already. It was interesting to get a car with the front mats upside down, and when I put it right side up to find a dark shoe print on it.

encore888

The sparkle in the pictures is really neat. If I had that car I think I would be looking at it from different angles quite often, perhaps attracting funny stares.

zzzzdoc

Yeah, but it's nice to delude myself into thinking that it is.

Joe Z

iTrader: (10)

^ Thank God!!! and that is a bit strange... but not uncommon with the Cashmere carpeting..


^^ Here is my take on it... That car was here only a week or so if memory serves me correctly... MOST 2008's hit the West Coast 1st and being that NO ONE ELSE has seen or confirmed a Black Opal, I would think its safe to say that you got one of the 1st ones produced...

You might even be able to call Lexus Corporate and they may be able to tell you what batch / production month your car was produced in.. I think it was 07/07.. and see how many, if any other Black Opals were produced.
(mine was a 08/07 production 2008 IS350, I confirmed no other West Coast Sport Pkg exists, produced in 08/07)

Side note > I thought I heard some where that the LS line are the only Lexus Cars that go through a meticulous hand only wet sanding process??


- Joe Zzzz

Gojirra99

If you don't see any other one where you live, or on this board, that's all that really matters
I am still convinced it's one of the rarer colors (most people would tend to choose the "safer" silver, black or white) & the best choice for the 600hL.

zzzzdoc

BTW, I really have no need to be the first. Really don't.

350Dave

I read in the Lexus magazine that no other car (they mentioned not even the Rolls-Royce) is wet sanded twice. I think they also stated all Lexii are wet sanded by hand once, but my memory is a little hazy on that point.