[pasty64]

After 11 short months I sold my 09 Ridgeline for a 2015 Jetta. I am going miss my Ridgeline but it just wasn't the right time or the right fit for my family. For a number of reasons my driving increased from when I first bought the truck and all summer long we didn't drive as much because of the we were missing a easier vehicle on the fuel. My wife still had a Rav4 but it's not the most enjoyable vehicle on long trips. We started looking for a replacement mid summer but took a long time to find the right deal that didn't leave me with the negative equity from the Ridgeline on top of a new car. We started off looking for a used cars but I found someone to do a convenience deal on the Ridgeline and I had planned to buy a used TDI from my local VW dealer but we decided to buy a brand new gas Jetta. I am some what regretting this decision now because my wife has stolen the Jetta and left me with the rav4, I'm ok with this but if I knew she would have been happy with a car I would have traded in the Rav before the Ridge. She said before she didn't want to get rid of the Rav4 so I didn't even push the issue, it's almost paid off and had half the mileage of my Ridgeline. Maybe by the time the new Ridgeline is released I'll be back in the market.

I loved the truck and everything it had to offer, but the fuel econ sucked and I could never get past that. If my driving would have stayed the same I would have kept it no problem. I will have another.

 

[qlake]

It looks like VWs could be a good value since dealers are dumping them.

 

[pasty64]

I bought it a day before the news broke about VW's lying, still got an decent deal. Maybe would have gotten a better deal on a used TDI.

 

[truejab]

Gas prices have gone down.........so MPG is no longer a concern for me. More concern is safety, reliability, access to service, 4x4 capabilities, versatility and fun factor. I have not found a vehicle that have met all of them yet.

 

[pasty64]

Gas is at all time low, kind of a stupid time to get rid of the Ridgeline but my decision wasn't just based off fuel consumption. Age of the vehicle and the amount of kms that was on it was a large factor for the amount of money I was paying for it. I should have bought a newer low mileage one but the are hard to find in my price range so I took the best I could get. In reality I should have spent more to get one with lower mileage and newer. The Jetta's payment and low gas bill is allowing me to save some money and once my wifes Rav4 is paid off next spring I'll be putting more money aside. My plan is to start looking next spring once the rav is paid for and I will be able to afford more. Mine was a base model and I'd like to get one with better options.

 

[Wrascal]

You'd need to burn an awful lot of gasoline to exceed new car payments.

 

[zroger73]

Gray. How exciting!

 

[Parsec]

You'd need to burn an awful lot of gasoline to exceed new car payments.

+1

I always wondered why gas mileage would be a deal breaker if you can afford to buy a new car to replace it. The additional cash you need to put on top plus rapid depreciation on the new car will put you behind financially vs just keeping the truck that you just paid taxes/title on less than a year ago. The exception to this is if you drive a lot, at least 30k miles/year. If everything else about the truck fits the bill it makes sense to look past the poor gas mileage. I hope you ran the numbers in actual dollars, not how your monthly payment "stayed the same".

 

[NothingRemains10]

Its just people not looking at it correctly. Gas is as cheap as its been in years. Bottom line, if they are going to a VW, they really had no reason for a truck anyway.

 

[NothingRemains10]

Gas is at all time low, kind of a stupid time to get rid of the Ridgeline but my decision wasn't just based off fuel consumption. Age of the vehicle and the amount of kms that was on it was a large factor for the amount of money I was paying for it. I should have bought a newer low mileage one but the are hard to find in my price range so I took the best I could get. In reality I should have spent more to get one with lower mileage and newer. The Jetta's payment and low gas bill is allowing me to save some money and once my wifes Rav4 is paid off next spring I'll be putting more money aside. My plan is to start looking next spring once the rav is paid for and I will be able to afford more. Mine was a base model and I'd like to get one with better options.

Why pay off a vehicle, to just jump right back into payments on another?

You should check this site out, its life changing.

http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu

 

[coolbob]

Best of luck, hope to see you back in a RL down the road.

 

[pasty64]

Much cheaper payment on the Jetta plus half the cost fuel but it wasn't all about cost savings. We wanted to get into a newer vehicle with warranty and the Jetta was the best option for us. I'm driving a lot more than when I first got it, my son started school a month ago and we had to put him in a school farther away than we had planned, so I have to drive him everyday which really put on the mileage in a hurry. Plus I'm going to be driving more for work and the Ridgeline wasn't going to be good for that. My wife wouldn't drive the Ridgeline because she didn't like the size so I couldn't even swap with her. Once my wifes SUV is paid off I'll be looking for another and she'll keep the Jetta, pretty much have done that now. Just will not be buying one in the same price point, I'll pick up a cheaper older one for what I need.

But no, I didn't really need a "truck", but I don't know many people who buy a truck because they need one, more they want it. Most people can make do with a small trailer or something else. The times I needed the Ridgeline to be a truck the box was too small and that wasn't often. Going to miss the AWD tho, great vehicle in the snow and I loved being able to throw the odd things in the back when i wanted to. Nothing can't live without.