Thanks guys.... You know now that I think about it.... I never saw one with black either. One of the reasons I bought the car was the leather and lack of a sunroof. The black did catch my attention and that is one of reasons steering my purchase.

I can see what some of the guys are talking about in regards to rattles in the dash and rear deck. It is a shame in an otherwise seemingly "very nice" car. The only other car I can remember having dash problems this bad was a Volvo 850 I had years ago. The mounts would break (up by the firewall) and the **** thing would drive you insane with the squeaking. I finally had to remove the dash and reinforce the mounts.

This one definitely has "the cricket" and it has a "rattling plastic cup sound" behind the instrument cluster over cracked pavement. Same goes for the rattle in the battery vent. All the sounds come and go and they only happen on rough roads.

I'm still loving it and not have to pay for Diesel anymore. Now #2 Diesel is $3.75 per gallon down here and regular gas is up to $3.29.

 

I'm guessing that the black leather is a dealer or after market install. Black was not a standard factory color in the TCH. The Camry SE had/has a black leather option. That's why you were able to find it without the moonroof.

 

That is what I thought at first too. But, I have yet to see a leather kit that comes with the leather inserts for the door panels and shifter ****. The leather on the door panels matches the seats. Plus, every other part of the interior is black as well (except for the headliner). The steering wheel and center piece are more of a dark charcoal. Just a shade lighter than the rest.

Something else.... I noticed that the car has full sized head rests for the sides in the rear and then the small one in the middle. All of the cars I looked at (before I bought this one) had the small head rests all the way across.

I don't know? Maybe the entire interior was swapped? Either way... I like it.

I was pulling some stuff loose today in preperation of doing generic dynamat in some areas. It looks like things come apart fairly clean. Looks like I'm going to do the trunk, roof, hood, under the door panels and maybe beneath the rear seat.

 

Hey, if it comes apart so cleanly why don't you swap interiors with me? Eh?
I"ll even throw in a few dollars, and some of my spare dynamat.

Just a thought.

 

Hey Haroldo, how much you paid for the leather seats? I am trying to do the same, i got kids, i think it will help me in the long run...so far the best price i got is $1100. no butt warmers!!!

 

Not sure, I'll check when I get home tonight. Butt warmers aren't a bad thing to get, relatively cheap compared to the leather and they work well.

 

The best thing about Butt warmers? It's not that they heat up your butt, it's that they heat up your lower back. Combine some heat with the lumbar support and it helps loosen tighten back muscles. I love seat heaters for what they do to my lower back.

 

Thats funny..... I wish the seats had little A/C holes in them and were cooled.

Its all about location.

 

I did some shopping before buying with leather from the dealer.
The place I had bookmarked is still there:
http://www.shopsar.com/toyota-katzki...katz-fto41.htm
Katzkin leather has a good reputation, and ShopSAR is a good price.
They will send you a sample book of swatches for $11.
I haven't actually dealt with either, though, so I can't really vouch for them.

 

It was $1200 including the butt warmers