Something sounds off; whether it is the thermometer or the burners is another question. I had the same model. It would usually reach 575 after about 15 minutes, and came close to 600 a few times. I'd call Weber's customer service line.
I watch Louisville craigslist too. There have been some full size gas webers listed for under 200 that were ready to go. I'd hold out for a good deal on a big one, unless you want something portable.
The base has the drip tray holder, drip pan holder, and l.p. gauge built into it. You would have to recreate the first two. It would be easier and you would have some easy storage, if you used the base and just left the shelves off.
There are "guards" on the rear wheels of my genesis too. The wheel locks don't get caught because they rotate towards the rear when pushed. I don't know why the guards rotate forward, but they can be quite frustrating.
I received an Anova Precision Cooker yesterday, which is the newer model of this product. It is the only item I've ever had pop, spark and smoke, the first time I plugged it into the outlet. It is on its way back and I'm not getting a replacement.
Other than the consumables I don't see the a Genesis failing. The carts could possibly fail, because they have quite a few places that could end up holding water and leading to rust. A cover can prevent the majority of potienal rust though.
Congrats. The regular weber cover is extremely light-weight. I ended up with a classic accessories ravena cover, which is similar to heavy boat covers and was only $40 on Amazon.
I have a smoke EP330. It stays cleaner looking than my black e310 did. IMHO looks great and like satin stainless. It appears that the hoods are first painted black and then gray, at the rear interior you can see it.
Clint, an old-fashioned cutlery store can take care of it. Heimerdinger cutlery is down the road from me and saved a Wusthof santoku; that a guest tried to cut through a ham bone with not knowing any better. It was only about $10 too.
Another difference occured to me this morning. The Spirit has control stops at full and half, while the Genesis only has one stop at full. I thought it was weird considering the Genesis is the higher model.