LexusManny

Thanks for all the information. This is a great site. I'm on the market for a 2004 LS430 UL and I've learned a lot from this site.

I'm wondering about exterior/interior color combos. What are considered hard to get color combos (exterior/interior)?

I'm considering these exterior colors:
1. Black
2. Blue Onyx

I really haven't ruled any colors out, but these two colors at the top of my list. What are the available interior colors and which combos are considered hard to get?

caddyowner

Welcome! Look at the FAQ thread near the top of the forum and follow the links to sales brochures. You can view the available color combos in the 2004 brochure. Take note of which interior colors are available with which option levels. Saddle is the rarest interior and is very rare on any car other than black. According to owners, the orange-ish color of the saddle leather is pretty close to reality. I've never seen it in person.

I did some exterior color research based on number of cars for sale on autotrader (another thread you can search out) and had it confirmed with some sales reps. IIRC, the most popular colors, in decreasing order were:

- Black (best seller by a good margin)
- Silver (may be behind flint mica)
- Flint Mica (may be ahead of silver)
- Whites (together, not far behind silver and flint, crystal white is common, moonlight pearl is more rare)
- Blue onyx (a fair distance behind the whites, but not a hard color to find if you do a national search)
- Mystic gold (a bit behind blue)
- Cypress, briarwood, black cherry (all low percentage colors, but the number of cypress cars for sale may seem higher because they are slow to sell)

Don't forget to consider the 05 and 06 cars. Some can be found as cheaply as an 04. Good luck in your search.

LexusManny

Thanks for pointing me to the FAQ, but I cannot download/open the brochures...something about that site exceeding it's download bandwith.

By the way, I'm a little confused on the sport suspension. I've read the descriptions, but I'm not sure if the sports suspension is something that gets combined with other packages.

I saw a picture of a 2004 LS430 with this "Sport Suspension" emblem, so I couldn't tell if it was a UL or not. In this case, can I still tell if it's a UL by looking for the 3 buttons in the center console? I suppose I also have to check the rear armrest to see if it has rear controls. Is this correct?

caddyowner

Sport suspension was only available on the premium and ML levels. The suspension button on the center console is for the air suspension on the UL (02-06) or supposedly any level car ordered with the optional air suspension (01-03).

As for checking if a car is a UL, there are a bunch of threads about this. The center rear armrest and smaller trunk are the best indicators. Headlamp washer covers on the front bumper will tell you it is a CL or UL.