Curious to hear the reason why some of you bought a Ridgeline. Was it out of need or just a want. My story....
I got it into my head that I needed a truck, will wasn't so much needed but more of a wanted. I had owned a few trucks years ago like a couple of Ranger's and a few F150's but sold them because of fuel and a growing family so it was getting harder to justify owning a truck. In Recent years I've been driving cars like a 08 Civic sedan and 05 Jetta Wagon while my wife was driving a 02 CRV and now a newer Rav4. I was getting tired of running around with a utility trailer and wanted something easier to get my two kids in. I wanted something 4x4 crew cab and decent on fuel, I set off in last spring searching for a Tacoma, I got frustrated with the pricing opened up my search to Ridgeline, I had the whole it's not a real truck syndrome and had a hard time getting past that. My uncle has a 06 RT thats I've drove and a few times and liked it but still couldn't get past it plus I couldn't find any in my price range so I gave up for a few months.
Fastward a few months and I started the search again but still couldn't find much in my target budget so I had two options spend more or start looking at older cheaper vehicles. Found a 06 Ridgeline that i considered but it need some work and I just didn't want to get into that. So than i jumped the extreme high end of what I could afford and looked at a 2012 TRD Tacoma, came really close to buying it but it was another mortgage a month and decided against it, or my wife did, :act051:. At this point it was spend more money but not as much, still wasn't happy with what i was finding in both Ridgeline's and Tacoma's so I went domestic shopping. I was a Ford person long before anything else so I started looking at F150's hard and started liking what i was finding for the price, seemd like I was gettign a lot more for the money. Also looked at a few Chev's and Ram's which for the price was decent but not my preference. So I had it narrowed down to a couple of F150's and was planning to buy one but they were couple grand over my target budget and I started to get cold feet. At this point it was late fall and I said the hell with it for the winter, I'd have the Civic paid off in the spring and I'd pick the search up again than.
Than I got a call from a local dealer on a 08 Tacoma crew cab in my original budget, went and looked at it and liked it, had more mileage than I wanted but not horrible, but than when i test drove it and few things didn't work or stopped working which really stuck in my mind although the dealer said they would fix them. So I told them to get them fixed and I'd buy it, took them a few weeks to do so because they were busy with a reno and shop work which gave me time to shop around a bit. A 09 Ridgeline and turned up online at a dealer with a large reach that had a local dealer so i gave them a call and they brought it down for me. It was a year newer less mileage and the same price, so at this point I had a decision to make. I compared the the trucks and their option and the Ridgeline came up the winner which surprised me because I still wasn't over the whole not a real truck thing.
What sold me on the Ridgeline over a Tacoma so the back seat seemed better for my kids, more room and easier to get them in. I loved the trunk bed and that fact it would fit in my garage a little easier. The AWD seemed better in the snow than a traditional 4wd setup. And than there was the whole frame rusting issue on the Tacoma, frame seemed good now but who knows in a couple of years Plus price vs year and mileage for me.
So it's been 3 months now of owning it and I still think I made the right choice. It's harder a fuel than I hoped but not as hard as I planned. For daily use it's been great, for what i need to haul around. It's great in the snow, nothing has stopped it yet. My only regret is I can't get a decent afford snow plow for it, this wasn't something I had to have when i started looking but has become something I'd like to have now that it's int he middle of winter and my time is limited to clear snow with failing equipment like a snow blower. Yes there is a few options to buy like the snowsport but not being able to adjust the height on the fly isn't the best and than there is the k2 with a winch but thats way more than i want to spend, i was hoping to pick up a used one for 500 bucks and if I could either of those for around that I'd do it. That a being said I'm still happy with it but still can't call it a real truck, more a SUV with a box which I am fine with because it does just about everything i want.
Tiny pic from the dealer
Shortly after buying it and installing new tires
As it sits this morning covered in snow
I got it into my head that I needed a truck, will wasn't so much needed but more of a wanted. I had owned a few trucks years ago like a couple of Ranger's and a few F150's but sold them because of fuel and a growing family so it was getting harder to justify owning a truck. In Recent years I've been driving cars like a 08 Civic sedan and 05 Jetta Wagon while my wife was driving a 02 CRV and now a newer Rav4. I was getting tired of running around with a utility trailer and wanted something easier to get my two kids in. I wanted something 4x4 crew cab and decent on fuel, I set off in last spring searching for a Tacoma, I got frustrated with the pricing opened up my search to Ridgeline, I had the whole it's not a real truck syndrome and had a hard time getting past that. My uncle has a 06 RT thats I've drove and a few times and liked it but still couldn't get past it plus I couldn't find any in my price range so I gave up for a few months.
Fastward a few months and I started the search again but still couldn't find much in my target budget so I had two options spend more or start looking at older cheaper vehicles. Found a 06 Ridgeline that i considered but it need some work and I just didn't want to get into that. So than i jumped the extreme high end of what I could afford and looked at a 2012 TRD Tacoma, came really close to buying it but it was another mortgage a month and decided against it, or my wife did, :act051:. At this point it was spend more money but not as much, still wasn't happy with what i was finding in both Ridgeline's and Tacoma's so I went domestic shopping. I was a Ford person long before anything else so I started looking at F150's hard and started liking what i was finding for the price, seemd like I was gettign a lot more for the money. Also looked at a few Chev's and Ram's which for the price was decent but not my preference. So I had it narrowed down to a couple of F150's and was planning to buy one but they were couple grand over my target budget and I started to get cold feet. At this point it was late fall and I said the hell with it for the winter, I'd have the Civic paid off in the spring and I'd pick the search up again than.
Than I got a call from a local dealer on a 08 Tacoma crew cab in my original budget, went and looked at it and liked it, had more mileage than I wanted but not horrible, but than when i test drove it and few things didn't work or stopped working which really stuck in my mind although the dealer said they would fix them. So I told them to get them fixed and I'd buy it, took them a few weeks to do so because they were busy with a reno and shop work which gave me time to shop around a bit. A 09 Ridgeline and turned up online at a dealer with a large reach that had a local dealer so i gave them a call and they brought it down for me. It was a year newer less mileage and the same price, so at this point I had a decision to make. I compared the the trucks and their option and the Ridgeline came up the winner which surprised me because I still wasn't over the whole not a real truck thing.
What sold me on the Ridgeline over a Tacoma so the back seat seemed better for my kids, more room and easier to get them in. I loved the trunk bed and that fact it would fit in my garage a little easier. The AWD seemed better in the snow than a traditional 4wd setup. And than there was the whole frame rusting issue on the Tacoma, frame seemed good now but who knows in a couple of years Plus price vs year and mileage for me.
So it's been 3 months now of owning it and I still think I made the right choice. It's harder a fuel than I hoped but not as hard as I planned. For daily use it's been great, for what i need to haul around. It's great in the snow, nothing has stopped it yet. My only regret is I can't get a decent afford snow plow for it, this wasn't something I had to have when i started looking but has become something I'd like to have now that it's int he middle of winter and my time is limited to clear snow with failing equipment like a snow blower. Yes there is a few options to buy like the snowsport but not being able to adjust the height on the fly isn't the best and than there is the k2 with a winch but thats way more than i want to spend, i was hoping to pick up a used one for 500 bucks and if I could either of those for around that I'd do it. That a being said I'm still happy with it but still can't call it a real truck, more a SUV with a box which I am fine with because it does just about everything i want.
Tiny pic from the dealer

Shortly after buying it and installing new tires

As it sits this morning covered in snow
