Signing the papers tommorrow night on an '08 RTL (Billet Steel w/o Navi). Dealer needs to put on remaining options on Monday. Most of the dickering was done via two emails to minimize the time at the dealership.
I can say that I gained an immense amount of knowledge about the RL on this site.
I've been eyeing the Ridgeline for about a year and the $3000 incentive and 2.9% financing gave me a good reason to pull the trigger. I was going to keep my '00 4.7L Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 for another year. Paid 25510 before NC taxes and options. Took a beating on the Dakota but nothing unexpected. Dakota is in better than average condition both aesthetically and mechanically. In the end, I feel like I am leaving about $400 on the table for my total OTD financed but they woudn't budge another dime.
My only other consideration was the Tacoma but price and overall road feel allows me to easily give the RL the nod.
Having owned a 4 door slightly larger than mid-size pick-up truck, the gas mileage is nothing new to me so it's not a concern. Still don't understand why so many on the ROC seem surprised by the fuel mileage. The truck is 4500 lbs......
Lots of features I like about the RL and a couple that would make it "perfect". These are my observations based on kicking the tires & having owned 4 previous Honda cars so I am familiar "brand quirks". Ex, typical Honda who are determined to make OEM fog lights a rare item on any of their vehicles
My really like list:
The overall fit & finish of the interior seems better than my '03 V6 Accord with Leather.
Leather seats with hard plastic undersides for the rear seats. With two 85 pound golden retreivers, the fabric in the Dakota was like a velcro strap and hair was a beotch to vacuum off. Won't be an issue in the RL. The dogs are in the truck a couple times per month so this is a huge benefit.
The center console!! Finally a useful design. The Dakota design absolutely sucked.
In-bed trunk to store my tie-down straps, bungies, etc without cluttering the back seat and floor board.
The power sliding rear window. See note about having dogs above
Rubber mats instead of carpet. I keep my vehicles 9-10 years and after 5-6 years, they all start to look tattered. Much easier to clean and vaccum the rubber mats.
The needs improvement list:
Provide backlighting on all the buttons, including the steering wheel controls. This is also lacking on my Accord.
Front grille design is eh, so-so.
Rear-mud guards should be standard, especially the RTL models. C'mon.
Options are OVER-PRICED!! I got the running boards, roof rack, mud guards, hitch & harness and they are right at $1600. The navi is simply not worth the upcharge when portable Garmin units are $300.
So, it should be intersting to see how the truck pans out over the long haul. Really looking forward to the refinement the RL offers and still allows me to have my 4-door pick-up.
I can say that I gained an immense amount of knowledge about the RL on this site.
I've been eyeing the Ridgeline for about a year and the $3000 incentive and 2.9% financing gave me a good reason to pull the trigger. I was going to keep my '00 4.7L Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 for another year. Paid 25510 before NC taxes and options. Took a beating on the Dakota but nothing unexpected. Dakota is in better than average condition both aesthetically and mechanically. In the end, I feel like I am leaving about $400 on the table for my total OTD financed but they woudn't budge another dime.
My only other consideration was the Tacoma but price and overall road feel allows me to easily give the RL the nod.
Having owned a 4 door slightly larger than mid-size pick-up truck, the gas mileage is nothing new to me so it's not a concern. Still don't understand why so many on the ROC seem surprised by the fuel mileage. The truck is 4500 lbs......
Lots of features I like about the RL and a couple that would make it "perfect". These are my observations based on kicking the tires & having owned 4 previous Honda cars so I am familiar "brand quirks". Ex, typical Honda who are determined to make OEM fog lights a rare item on any of their vehicles
My really like list:
The overall fit & finish of the interior seems better than my '03 V6 Accord with Leather.
Leather seats with hard plastic undersides for the rear seats. With two 85 pound golden retreivers, the fabric in the Dakota was like a velcro strap and hair was a beotch to vacuum off. Won't be an issue in the RL. The dogs are in the truck a couple times per month so this is a huge benefit.
The center console!! Finally a useful design. The Dakota design absolutely sucked.
In-bed trunk to store my tie-down straps, bungies, etc without cluttering the back seat and floor board.
The power sliding rear window. See note about having dogs above
Rubber mats instead of carpet. I keep my vehicles 9-10 years and after 5-6 years, they all start to look tattered. Much easier to clean and vaccum the rubber mats.
The needs improvement list:
Provide backlighting on all the buttons, including the steering wheel controls. This is also lacking on my Accord.
Front grille design is eh, so-so.
Rear-mud guards should be standard, especially the RTL models. C'mon.
Options are OVER-PRICED!! I got the running boards, roof rack, mud guards, hitch & harness and they are right at $1600. The navi is simply not worth the upcharge when portable Garmin units are $300.
So, it should be intersting to see how the truck pans out over the long haul. Really looking forward to the refinement the RL offers and still allows me to have my 4-door pick-up.