Honda Ridgeline

[haunted]

Has anyone owned one of these trucks or know someone who has? If so can you share any experience?

I am fairly informed about these vehicles. I know the downsides.... 1 crucial one is that they're not powerful. Literally poorly engineered which is why they get bad gas mileage (far worse than a Tacoma). It's a little bigger than a Tacoma with a smaller engine. People have bought them and use them for towing. If you hit the TINIEST hill then your tranny has to downshift 2 gears. The transmissions go out on them. If you don't tow then you're fine with that.

So I've been researching these things and shopping for 2 months straight, lol. I'll go into my thought process with how I kind of settled on this vehicle.

I'll start with saying that I own a 2004 Chevy Silverado, extended cab, 8ft long bed with the 5.3L v8, 4 wheel drive. That engine is wonderful and has an excellent reputation, I have 232,000 miles on it. I've kinda been a "Chevy guy" my whole life, although later I began to really like and respect Toyotas. My 97 Toyota Tacoma 17 years ago was a great truck. Toyotas and Hondas both have the big reputation for lasting forever overall, unless you have an exceptional engine like Chevy's 5.3.

That being said, this is my absolute dream truck:

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/5TBBT58117S449827

To me that tundra is badass. Lasts forever everything I'm looking for. The problem is Toyota's reliability has caught on and the prices have inflated big time. That one is an ok deal though.

I travel a LOT. So I need something I can put miles on, but at the same time these are MUSTS for me:

1. Quad cab pick up
2. 4 wheel drive

I then stumbled upon the Honda Ridgeline. To me this is a similar concept to a Toyota truck, only they're not popular. A lot of people don't like how they look. In fact they didn't even make them in 2013-2015. So, the affordability is there, and the reliability is there IF they didn't use them for hauling loads. Like I said they're just not made for it, although advertised to do so. A local dealership was selling a 2007 Honda Ridgeline that had 183k miles for 6k, plus 500 in dealer costs. More miles than I wanted, 3 owners, but I test drove it and listened to the engine and was pleased. The dealer guy was a dick head to me and it ruined it for me. He was drunk and just had a divorce over Easter weekend, so I didn't have a good gut feeling. Had leather and navigation, read great but I said fuck you. KBB for one of those is 9.5k from a dealer with those miles. Anyway...

Another thing I noticed about these is space. Interior passenger volume is 112.5 cu ft, compared to 116 cu ft in an f150 super cab. So for a medium sized truck that's great. It also has this nifty space under the bed of the truck:



First thing I think of when I see that space is a nice spot to put one of my shotguns.

Also, this is what they look like:



A lot of people think they're ugly, but I think they're alright. So to overview: I'm a dad with 2 kids and a wife. Space is crucial, racking up miles is crucial, 4wd is crucial, and affordability is crucial. After an insanely tedious 2 months of shopping and research, I found a 2007 Ridgeline with 90,000 miles, 4 wheel drive, 1 owner, zero rust, and documented servicing on carfax every 3-4 thousand miles on the dot. No leather, no navigation, no moon roof. I'll buy leather seat covers so that's fine. It's 8,900 dollars. If you've been shopping around as much as I have this is a great deal with an already affordable truck. I've seen 285,000+ miles 20 times just today, but here's the norm for pricing on one of these things:

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/2HJYK165X8H513233

And here's one with similar miles to the one I found:

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/5FPYK1F50EB004359

I figure I'd share my thought process and see if anyone around here has any experience with them. Lesser informed opinions are welcome.

[0rbisson]

Before you buy anything i recommend you check out scotty kilmers youtube channel and kris fix about what to look for before buying any car.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIRBsn3xfoc


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IZZHF5ffVE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJrf7sRIixk

[haunted]

Very familiar with the guy and have already watched 2 of those, and also many of how others. I didn't click them but I recognize from the picture. He puts emphasis on what I already know, the transmission issues. Also I don't agree with kilner on everything 

[|iR|Focalor]

Yeah, Toyota's are reliable, and one of the ways they've cultivated that reputation as a company is by being one of the first to include the service packages with the new vehicles, where you get free oil changes, tire rotations, etc as long as you bring it in on the regular schedule. It was a costly thing to do, but it ensured that later on there were more reliable used models in the market which improved brand reputation. And now EVERYONE does it.

That said, that's one thing to consider about ANY vehicle. If it's only had one owner, they've likely stuck to a better service record. Because some people who buy used do so because they don't have the intention of taking care of it, they want to use and abuse something without spending any more money than they ever have to. THEN AGAIN... that's also the problem with single owner previous lease vehicles. They know they're handing them back when the lease is up. They don't give a shit what happens to it as long as they don't go over the mileage agreement.

I'm not REALLY familiar with Honda Ridgelines, but everything you've said is pretty much everything I have already heard. The motors are pussies. They can barely haul 4 passengers up a hill. They sold horribly, partly because of the ugly profile they have, but also because they aren't the capable trucks people are looking for on par with the typical 1500 class trucks like a Ford F-150. Like you said, the motors about the size of something like a Tacoma or a Ranger, and even compared to those, they're still weak.

My sister & bro-in-law own a Honda Pilot, and they don't take care of their vehicles like they should. It's been around for a while, but... she doesn't really have long commutes, so it doesn't get enough wear to really gauge it for durability.

If you're driving state to state a lot, daily commutes of 3hrs+ total, sometimes getting into some tricky terrain... I dunno that a Honda Ridgeline is gonna hold up as long as you need it to.

Might be better to spend the extra money and get that Tundra you've always wanted.

OR...

If a used Tundra is gonna run you 14k to 20k, consider something like a brand new Ram 1500. They aren't as notoriously reliable as a Tundra, but it would brand spanking new, and as long as you RELIGIOUSLY care for it in the recommended ways, (oil changes, diff lubes, fluids checked and changed cautiously and regularly, no mods, etc) then you should minimize the risk of unreliability. If you get a barebones one with auto transmission, NOTHING fancy, it will be affordable and more reliable.

Automatic is choice though. Personally, I won't own a stick vehicle. I suck with a stick shift for one. But if I drove one long enough, I know I'd get used to it. Still, I just don't think I'm a safe driver with that extra shit to do while keeping it in one lane and out of other people's fenders... which I've been known to do a few times WITHOUT a stick to distract me.

[haunted]

I test drove one today. 110k miles, excellent condition. Tranny fluid was vivid red on the dipstick, team very nice. Front brakes need replacing. You could hear them and the center of the wheels were hot (needs new calipers as well). Listed at 9.5k.... I got em down to 8.5.

But, I learned something about them thats a little discouraging. The 4wd drive function is automatic, similar to AWD but it engages the entire rear axle/differential by sensor and puts x amount of torque. There's one button that forces it into 4wd, which gives the rear axle max torque. These are fwd, btw if you're confused by that explanation, which is surprising. You're only supposed to engage the forced fwd if you're in some soft shit or you're stuck and you can't go more than 18mph. I haven't reattached it yet, but I don't like this. Really seems like an extra thing that can go wrong. Toyotas post 2003 you can just flip that damn switch and go to 4H at 35 mph flawlessly every time. (Yes, I put it in neutral to baby it, haha).

The tundra being the million miles truck is old news... I'm looking around and it's tough to find one that only has about 150k, 4wd, crew cab, that's not marked up. I found a few today, but I really would lean on just getting one like I'm that link in the first post with a clear documented history and tuned up from a dealership. Maybe I'll try to get one for 12, put 6 down and take a 6k loan from the bank. I've been meaning to sign up with Navy Federal. 1.5% auto loans (from my dad's service I can bank with them).

I've looked at a few rams. Ive owned a Dodge and I bought my wife one that she drives currently. Chrysler has always had power but has always scared the hell out of me with rust.

[|iR|Focalor]

I don't see how you ignore the fact that its so damned ugly.  It looks kinda like that Pontiac Vibe thing or whatever it was that Walter White drove in Breaking Bad. It's just FUGLY.

I dunno. I wouldn't expect to get any more than 200k miles out of it before repairs became overwhelming. Front wheel drive vehicles are HELL on brakes too, dunno if you've ever heard that. My old Pontiac Bonneville was front wheel, and I was literally replacing the front brakes every 3 months, then the rear ones 3 months later, then front ones again in another 3 months, repeat, repeat, repeat, infinity. And sometimes BEFORE the full 6 months, the pads would wear down and start sawing through the rotors to cost me EVEN MORE every 3 months. God, I hated that fucking car for that shit.

So if it's got 110k, let's say you only expect to get 80 to 90k miles out of it. Is that worth 8 grand? And nobodies knocking old ladies out of the way to be the first one to get after a Honda Ridgeline. If you're set on it, I'd try to haggle another 1k off the price. Just be firm on that number, tell him it's all you have, bring only that amount and show it to him so he knows you're serious, play the whole family man angle just looking for a ride so he can work to feed his family.

[haunted]

It makes it more affordable! Add a 2 inch lift, so it looks NORMAL, then the fugliness improves. With normal looking clearance it's way better.

Regarding miles, I've come across 20 for sale in a couple days all over 300k miles. There's forums with threads "the 400k mile club/thread" and even some 500's. Everyone says the same thing: if you don't tow anything and change your diff fluid every 30k miles, your tranny should be ok and your rear differential should only go out ONCE. It's what people slack on the most with, so that's problem #2 after tranny with them. Those ARE avoidable, though, but the 4wd being auto/sensor has kinda killed it for me. I said no WONDER you have to be anal with the special Honda diff fluid every 30k miles. I use 4wd multiple times a day(zero exaggeration) so for me like 6k miles for all I know (ugh). So that was a deal breaker for me. 300k miles is very doable for them, though. Problem is previous owners and it'll be a dice roll to some degree. It's not what I'm leaning on anymore solely because of the 4wd though. It took reading the owners manual wondering how TF you put it in 4 to find out everything.

[haunted]

Well I bought a truck. Glad I waited because I got the breast deal ive ever gotten in my life on a vehicle. 2015 silverado, 5.3, 4wd, 4 door, 83,000 miles. Got repo'd, clean title no accidents.

[haunted]

I stumbled upon something that's happening currently. Everyone is broke and getting their shit repo'd from corona. Before I go into that, I'll reference a trick ive heard about from people that work in the repo business. They'll disconnect the battery for their friends so at the auction it's not just wholesale, but "doesn't run" as well because nothing happened when turning the key. Back to what's happening currently, the repo lots are so fucking slammed that they have to move them, a lot of times before they can even get a key for it. This truck was 1 of 400 vehicles without a key and was bought wholesale, doesn't run, and also the owner while it was being towed vindictively keyed the fuck out of it down each side. So it was bought dirt cheap. A friend of a friend who owns a body shop/mini-dealership probably got it for 6-7k. He then only had to pay for materials and paint and fixed all the body work like new. Got a key made, serviced it, detailed it, etc then sold it to me at 13k at maybe 9-10 grand under the blue book price. Man, I'm glad I waited!! If y'all know any repo guys or auction guys HIT EM UP!!! Everything is being auctioned as doesn't run, and in my position I was able to get a deal where me and the seller both made out tremendously.

2015 silverado, clean title 1 owner clean carfax, 4wd, 80k miles is NUTS for 13k. It runs great.  Here's some more pictures:

[haunted]

So to summarize a long story that is basically out of a story book, this is the guy that was selling me that truck:

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-04-16-1995106066-story.html

He was using an alias, I discovered his true name with a reverse phone directory lookup weeks ago and discovered him to be the Jeffrey Dalmer of car sales fraud. He's mentioned in college textbooks, and you can read up on him in "The Master of Deception", a book available on Amazon. There's a hundred of other things on him just from Google but this is a summary(jail time from Federal DOJ, IRS, multiple states...)

I was pissed. Police report, SC consumer affairs report/complaint, BBB, I contacted the city attorney, county attorney, State attorney general, Lindsey Graham, trey gowdy, SC DMV, etc. to get my deposit back. Normally with a matter as low as $500 they'd want it to be handled civilly, but law enforcement put together criminal charges for me for false advertising. I've been busy with it, but I got it handled.

Now then! Onto the truck I DID purchase today. I went with a fully loaded used 4wd tundra, I'm happy with the decision.

[haunted]

Has everything from power sliding back windshield to fold down DVD player in the back cabin. 1 owner (fleet use by CrossFit, hwy miles), no accidents, zero rust, 200k miles. 14 month warranty that covers everything, I got it for 8k. Nicest vehicle I've ever owned haha. High mileage is the only minus, but with it being a yota and having a good warranty I can live with that. Once I polish the headlights it'll look pretty sharp.

[Sgt. Dick]

  very nice for 8K