Daughter slid into a pole in my 96 LS400. Impact was with front right door. She was uninjured but It caved it in pretty well, shattered the glass and took the mirror off.

Body shop can R/R the door for $175 if there is no other body damages (hinges bent ect). Paint on non matching door was $330. Used doors are all over the place on price but it seems $300 or more plus shipping is normal. Used mirror $75 or so plus the window.

I love the car but not sure of the wisdom of putting 1k plus into it. It's in decent shape with 194k.

 

So....no insurance, I take it?
You know, $1k is not that bad considering. And, I just have to ask the question...do you have good snow tires on the car? Better your daughter hit the pole in an LS than a Honda Civic. Keep the LS. Its a tank. No dilemma as far as I can tell.

 

Of course I have insurance, plus a million dollar umbrella policy on top of that. I don't have collision coverage on the car. The money is not the issue. The issue is does it make sense to put well over 1k in a car that books a little over 2k.

 

sorry to hear but glad she is safe. this is really your call on what the car is used for. if you plan on keeping the car longer, then fix it. if you are planning to just get through the winter, put a plastic cover over it and keep driving it. you can do the middle and just get a new door/glass/mirror and not paint. it comes down to, how much do you like the car? 194k is just about to reach her prime.

 

I would source the parts for cheap and fix it since money is not the issue.

 

Best recommendation for parts source?

 

www.hollanderparts.com

 

I spun out my car back in October, and went up a curb. I didn't have any real damage to the body of the car, but the whole ordeal was terrifying. Glad your daughter's okay!

What I think you should do, is try scoping out the local junkyards. 95-00 (if I'm correct, 98-00 doors are the same as 95-97) models are out there, and it would be loads easier to just get a full door assembly and have it paint-matched. Also, make a post about it in the LS400 section of the Classifieds board, and see if someone local to you is parting out a 95-00 model.

 

As long as it is just the door, personally I would find one that has all the stuff mirror etc. and the correct color as well, that is the same factory color not a repaint if possible. If you can't do the change out, then find someone that can. I guess the other post above said about the same thing.

 

www.car-parts.com

 

Glad to hear your daughter is OK. First thing I'd do is try to get more info on potential other body damage, as you mention. If it's just swapping in a junk yard door, you're fine, but if hinges, pillars, etc. are tweaked, you're in a much higher price range.

If it's <= $1k, then definitely repair it. You'd lose that much on selling it in a broken state, so even if you repair it for that and sell it, it makes sense. If "well over 1k", it depends on how much over.

Best case would be if the damage is contained to just the door - no hinges, etc. are damaged. In that case, I'd search high and low to find a color-matched door I can just pop in there (maybe swapping the interior door panel for a perfect match there. It may take some time, but I bet there's a door out there for you. That's what I'd do, and I'd swap it in myself, with my daughter's help.

 

i say keep the LS going because of all the awesomeness about it and it's built better than any new car

 

Relativly cheap for a car in good condition to keep going. Your cost over time will be lower to keep this car and repair it, even repairing it will probably bring the value up more then what you could sell it for now, so a win win, and better tires if needed.

 

Lexus dealers use LKQ for parts recycler. http://www.lkqcorp.com/us/en/search-inventory.aspx

The LS is the car ... What car can you buy for $2K to replace the LS that would be equal to it? That is the question whether to spend $$ to repair it.

 

UPDATE:

$350 door from ebay
$75 side mirror from ebay
$400 to install and paint door

I was back on the road within 2 weeks.