OK guys here's my problem! ( and I am sure I am not the first guy to join this forum because I need help but I will apologize anyway and thank you in advance for your anticipated advice! )
Since I'm new to the forum I think the least I should do is share the "backstory" before launching into a request for help.
My wife and I enjoyed our 1997 LS400 for many years. Yet in spite of years of ownership the car still had only racked up 55,000 miles and other than the usual maintenance items like brakes and oil changes and a new battery and tires last year we've had no issues ever. It's just a superb vehicle in Jade Mist with with standard chrome or polished exterior trim in place of the gold trim often seen, and factory chrome rims that really set it off nicely. Still ran like new and even looked almost new in and out. I'm a fanatic about detailing and keeping my cars looking perfect as can be and doing regular oil changes, etc.
Then my youngest son got his drivers license and started his freshman year at college. He needed a car.
My son is 6 foot eight and weighs 275 pounds ! (Yes, he's a BIG guy, and a really good kid and were very proud of him) We tried getting him into all kinds of vehicles but incredibly the '97 Lexus LS400 was a perfect fit for him as long as he put the seat all the way back and down.
So we gave up the Lexus to our son who loved it, absolutely LOVED it, as any kid should getting a car like that as his very first car. (I got a '64 Chevy way before owning a '64 Chevy was "cool" that burned a quart of oil every couple of miles, and no I am NOT exaggerating, and was broken down more than it was running most of the time, but we do better for our kids, right?)
A couple weeks ago, just after the odometer had turned 60,000 miles, he ran into the rear of a truck that had slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting a dear. Yes, he should have been farther back on the wet, rain-slicked roads, but thankfully no one was hurt. In fact, incredibly, the truck wasn't even damaged.
But the Lexus? The insurance company came up with an estimate of $7700 to repair the car, and that, as they say, was "all she wrote", and they totaled the car, in spite of my repeated argument for repairing it.
After fighting and losing, I took the check they offered to settle the case, which was lower than I would have ever sold that car for, and then bought the car back from them for a rather small amount of money.
Why did I buy it back? (No one seems to understand this....I'm hoping you guys do.)
I couldn't bear to see that beautiful low mileage perfect running Lexus (I drove it to the body shop from the scene of the accident) sent to the salvage yard.
So I own it, in this smashed up state. Don't have any pics to post at the moment but it's the drivers side front, including but not limited to the hood, fender, headlight, grill, and all the stuff those things are attached to. No frame damage and the passenger side of the front is still perfect, except for whatever parts are shared, like the grill and hood, etc.
Anyway, finally, here are my questions:
What year LS400's have compatible body parts? Mine is a 1997 and the 1996 and 1998 "look the same" but are they REALLY the same? In other words, if I were to go to the junkyard, what years will work for my car other than 1997?
My other idea is to buy a high mileage example of a compatible year and strip off the parts I need and then part out what's left or just junk what's left. Good idea or dumb idea?
Please understand I will NOT be doing ANY of the work myself. I'd be bringing the parts or the parts car to the body shop and paying them to do the work. I have a long relationship with the owner and I know he would be fair in what he would charge, but he can't work for free and I wouldn't expect him to, of course. So if I buy a parts car, I'd be paying him to disassemble one car to reassemble the good one, i.e., double the labor. But I think it might be possible to buy a whole parts car for $1000 or less. Not much less, and maybe even a little more, but not much more.
Of course, I could just part out the car I have. But that's not what I want to do. I want to see my car back on the road, although it will have a salvage title if and when that happens, so the value will be even further diminished than it already was when I settled with the insurance company. I don't really care about that because my intention is to keep the car and drive it, not sell it.
Am I making a mistake doing this? Should I just give up on the car?
I'm really looking forward to your much appreciated advice regarding my situation and regarding which your cars are compatible with mine.
Thanks so much, in advance, for your anticipated help!