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981 Posts
I traded in my 06 Ridgeline RTL in 2014 and was sorry I did. So a year and half later I decided to replace it. I called up 2 of the largest Honda dealers on Long Island only to find out that they were hard to come by and sold very quickly. That's how I came to Truecar. Here are some tips and insight into how that site works.
There are between 650 to 700+ RL's on at any one time. To view them all deselect distance and just punch in your zip. That is how you get to see them all and what are average prices. I did not find one private seller on Tc. They were all either new or used car dealers.
My first mistake was requesting information on too many trucks at once. You have to post your phone # and email address in order to get a response. Since the dealers don't post their names it is hard to keep track of whose who. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS NEGOTIATING ON THE PHONE! Unless you're prepared to go down to the dealer you will not get the lowest price. Period.
I narrowed my search through price going from lowest to highest. There was no point in looking at $20,000 trucks since my budget was way lower. I had the advantage of trading in an RL so I had an idea of what the dealers got them for. Bait and switch is alive and well on Truecar.
RL's hold their value to the 10th degree. You will not find an RTL with under 100,000 miles on it for less then $14,000. The one I had my eye on was listed for $13995 had 94,000 miles on it and was 120 miles away. I was satisfied with the test drive but was not going to spend $14,000 on it. I made it clear that I was willing to walk away from the deal. Same BS we've all been through. Salesman has to speak to his manager blah, blah, blah. Comes back with $12,700. Now I have to s*** or get off the pot. The owner of the dealership see's me close and says will you buy it today for $12,000. That's when I pulled the trigger.
Lucky for me the truck was as good as I thought it was. Put on a new set of Bridgestones changed the fluids and I'm a happy camper again.
My suggestions to anyone in the market for a used Ridge is to use the car buying web sites to your advantage. You cannot trust a salesman to help you with these trucks. I had a Honda salesman insist that RL's had timing chains not belts. Ask as many question on this site as you can about what to look for. Many of these trucks are leakers. Look for wet carpets. My guess is the dealers have around 4 or 5 thousand to play with on these vehicles. And at the very least get a 30 day power train warranty.
There are between 650 to 700+ RL's on at any one time. To view them all deselect distance and just punch in your zip. That is how you get to see them all and what are average prices. I did not find one private seller on Tc. They were all either new or used car dealers.
My first mistake was requesting information on too many trucks at once. You have to post your phone # and email address in order to get a response. Since the dealers don't post their names it is hard to keep track of whose who. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS NEGOTIATING ON THE PHONE! Unless you're prepared to go down to the dealer you will not get the lowest price. Period.
I narrowed my search through price going from lowest to highest. There was no point in looking at $20,000 trucks since my budget was way lower. I had the advantage of trading in an RL so I had an idea of what the dealers got them for. Bait and switch is alive and well on Truecar.
RL's hold their value to the 10th degree. You will not find an RTL with under 100,000 miles on it for less then $14,000. The one I had my eye on was listed for $13995 had 94,000 miles on it and was 120 miles away. I was satisfied with the test drive but was not going to spend $14,000 on it. I made it clear that I was willing to walk away from the deal. Same BS we've all been through. Salesman has to speak to his manager blah, blah, blah. Comes back with $12,700. Now I have to s*** or get off the pot. The owner of the dealership see's me close and says will you buy it today for $12,000. That's when I pulled the trigger.
Lucky for me the truck was as good as I thought it was. Put on a new set of Bridgestones changed the fluids and I'm a happy camper again.
My suggestions to anyone in the market for a used Ridge is to use the car buying web sites to your advantage. You cannot trust a salesman to help you with these trucks. I had a Honda salesman insist that RL's had timing chains not belts. Ask as many question on this site as you can about what to look for. Many of these trucks are leakers. Look for wet carpets. My guess is the dealers have around 4 or 5 thousand to play with on these vehicles. And at the very least get a 30 day power train warranty.
