Saying goodbye...

[IanGT99]

Well, I guess I shouldn't say that I'm totally out. I think it's been said here by many of the guys that have been here for a REALLY long time that you never really leave if you have as many posts and experiences here. I just know I won't be on nearly as much cuz I won't have to search for "why the hell is my car broken" anymore. I guess I'm just joining the ranks of the former GA owners who still hang around here... . Definitely a good community.

I'm nearly positive the people who say they don't like the Ridgeline have never DRIVEN a Ridgeline or had a demonstration on them. I'm not totally in love with the look of the truck like I was when I first saw the GA. There are things I'd change about the exterior, but the overall capability, safety, and utility of the truck are what make it truly unique. It's got nearly everything someone in the northeastern part of the country could possibly want. Excellent highway ride, plenty of power, surprising off-road capability, lots of hauling, 5000 lbs. of towing, ingenious use of space with the folding rear seats and the in-bed trunk (for those of you who don't know what this is, look it up), cupholders and storage space everywhere, bullet-proof reliability, expected gas mileage for a truck, and the fact that it's one of the most sophisticated winter-driving vehicles out there. If any of you haven't done research into Honda's Variable Torque Management (VTM-4) system, I highly suggest you do. It's not only useful in hazardous weather, but also in extreme steering, braking and acceleration conditions. Most people just simply don't like the looks of the truck, so they don't even give it a second look to see just how good it is.

Anyways, I'll be around. It's certainly been shown that you don't have to still own a GA to dish out knowledge, experiences, and total BS.

[oldschoolguy]

My sister has a ridgeline, and while it doesn't look like an aggresive truck, its really nice. Very roomy inside, a 3.5L putting out something like 260 or 270 hp. She tows our boat, which is a good 5000lbs without all our paraphernalia in and on it. If you do end up getting it, try putting roof racks on it. It looks a lot sharper. I recently seen one jacked up with mud tires and bush bars. Looked kinda...different, but cool in its own way

[IanGT99]

06-08 are rated at 247 hp and 245 ft.lbs. It received a good bit of upgrading for 09 and up. The engine and tranny were re-tuned to provide smoother shifting and more usable torque for towing. They're rated at 250 hp and 247 ft/lbs. I personally think it's vastly underrated cuz it absolutely doesn't feel like a heavy truck with 250 horses when accelerating. I've witnessed RL's beating cars it really shouldn't have beaten. Anyways, they are so far advanced as far as their drivetrain and capability that any other truck in its class really isn't worth looking at to me. Keeping up with the maintenance on RL's is simple and straightforward. It's so easy to work on. Parts are fairly inexpensive if you need them, but the RL is absolutely engineered to last a VERY long time. They hold their value and people who own them absolutely love them from what I've seen. Used ones are hard to find because people keep them. Luckily, my brother-in-law's best friend's mom owns a dealership close to home here. She's going to send her auction guy looking for a good used one for me and sell it to me at auction cost. I just have to make the GA's tranny last a little longer til I can get it.

I just became a member at the ridgelineownersclub.com forum. There are some guys on there making the RL a truly impressive machine in many different ways. Some put 22's on, drop it, and add insane audio systems to make a show truck. Others lift it, put 35's on with brush guards and take them off road. Others just do some simple upgrades and use them for towing and hauling their family and friends around. To me, I'm not interested in lowering or dropping the thing. The stance is perfect for me. If it doesn't already have them, I absolutely putting running boards or tube steps on it. The roof rack is also a must along with wind deflectors on the windows and a bug shield in the front. The tonneau cover is optional for me, but I'd love to have one.

[grandam01]

I sold my GA 11/08 and I still hang around here from time to time.

[ryanbgb22]

The RL is a great truck. They say its the truck to buy if you're not really sure you need a truck. Get a certified preowned from a honda dealer and get the 100,000 drive train warranty and have no worries for a very long time.

[IanGT99]

Originally Posted by ryanbgb22

The RL is a great truck. They say its the truck to buy if you're not really sure you need a truck. Get a certified preowned from a honda dealer and get the 100,000 drive train warranty and have no worries for a very long time.

That's certainly true. It's also the vehicle to get if you have a family or are planning on having a family. It's got SUV room and storage with the utility of a truck plus the ride and safety features of a nice car. Getting a certified one from the dealer I used to work for was what I wanted to do. The problem is that my budget is pretty tight. My wife is in school, but makes good money as a front-of-the-house manager at a restaurant. She can only claim her paychecks at $6.50 an hour to the government, but she makes easily twice that in tips. I'm working for an engineering company that pays crap for what I do for them, and I'm also heading back to school for my civil engineering degree in August. All that together means that we're pretty strapped and my budget is about $17k max. I'm looking in the range of an '06-07 RTX or RTS model with 50-75k miles. I could go for an RTL (which is what I'd love to have) but to get it down to that price, it'd be well over 75k miles. I just can't justify buying a vehicle with that many miles. The RT has the great basic features of the Ridgeline, but its creature comforts leave a lot to be desired. I'm just going to continue searching the internet and Autotraders and hope that my insider at the auctions can find one for me.

[IanGT99]

As could be assumed, I'm definitely having trouble finding my RL. Most of the ones in my price range have ridiculous miles on them. There's one on autotrader with 181,000 miles for $16,900. I almost puked and shat myself when I saw that. Most of the possibilities are listed around $18,500-$20,000. I know I can use my sweet car salesman skills and knock that down, but it's just insane how well these vehicles keep their value. If anyone in the Pittsburgh area sees one sitting around somewhere, let me know!

[02andahalfgt]

Originally Posted by IanGT99

There's one on autotrader with 181,000 miles for $16,900.

[PhantomLover007]

Huh. Is the sh1t bulletproof? Sheesh! Someone's out of their mind w/ that one...

[IanGT99]

Yeah, that's what I said, but look it up on edmunds, KBB, NADA, etc. They value the truck at $15-16,000 dealer retail. Insane, I know, but there's no way that dealer will ever get that for it. No vehicle is bulletproof by any means, but the Ridgeline is pretty damn close. There's one guy on the RL site who's a travelling sales guy. He's got 230,000 miles on his '06 and has only ever changed the fluids, brakes, and tires and put gas in the thing. That's not something you can pass off just on pure luck.