So I tried to repair my other LG V40 because its battery swelled, and I've determined that they are impossible to repair without damaging the screen. Now with two dead V40s, I decided that I wanted another phone with similar specs. The Pixel 3 seemed like a good choice, being (supposedly) easy to mod, somewhat easy to repair, and having the exact same SOC. I began the hunt for one.
I originally got one on eBay for around $85 that was advertised as "Factory Unlocked", but when I got it, it turned out to be a carrier unlocked Verizon one (IMEI began with 35). Verizon is a shit company that doesn't allow you to actually own the products you "buy" from them, so I couldn't unlock the bootloader.
I promptly returned it and found a "for parts or not working" Pixel 3 for $65. It was advertised as being in good condition on the front and having a cracked back. I asked the seller for the first digits of the IMEI, and it begins with 99, which means it's a non-Verizon phone. Upon hearing that, I bought it.
The condition is as described; actually maybe better. The front is near immaculate while the back is pretty rough. The screen has no burn-in.
The Pixel 3 has a Snapdragon 845, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 1080p OLED screen with no notches or cutouts. It also has front-facing stereo speakers, but sadly no headphone jack.
But most importantly, being a non-Verizon phone, I was able to unlock the bootloader and root it.
I plan to use this as a test bed for things I want to do with my main phone (Pixel 5a). I want to try out LineageOS and GrapheneOS, and now I can.
I also figure that if I ever have to replace the battery, I might as well replace the back glass too.
EDIT: I was wondering why entering the IMEI into Google's repair site didn't work, so I did a check through another site, and it turns out this is a factory unlocked Pixel 3 from Germany. Kind of interesting, I guess.