i'm looking at 2 cars. one has crystal white pearl and the other is moonlight pearl. what is the difference or was it the same and just renamed?

They are 2 different colors and have separate paint codes. To my eye, the former is a brighter white.

I have the moonlight pearl, I honestly prefer it. It has a bluish tinge to it when viewed in direct sunlight, as well as the metallic flakes. It's really pretty nice.

When you go to do a touch up, most of the time you would need the base coat, and the mid coat. For tiny chips, one can get away with the top coat. I recommend moonlight!

The other white is flat....depends on what you prefer...

I believe the crystal white is a single coat without the clear coat and is definitely more 'white'. I think the metallic pearl white used to be called Diamond Pearl and is my color of choice.

Crystal White Pearl (aka Blizzard White) is code 070 and is pretty common throughout the Toyota range. Its a 3 stage pearlescent (just like any pearl white really, its not possible to have that effect as a single stage), Moonlight White is a Lexus only colour I think, and there is a big difference between the two. Crystal White is a lot cleaner and uses white pearl and silver white flake pearl in its effect layer, while Moonlight White looks a bit greener on the face in comparison. I've never sprayed Moonlight White before so I couldn't tell you what is in the effect layer