Thanks, guys. For two grand or more, it won't get fixed. I will sand and buff the divot and apply touch-up paint to prevent corrosion. Other than that, it'll ride as-is.
The big benefit to the Ridgeline, for me, is the engine and the chassis. I don't need to tow even the 5,000 pounds the Ridge is rated for, much less more. I don't need to haul 2,000 pounds of material in a truck bed. I don't haul lumber. What I would like to do is toss dirty stuff in the back for runs to the trash dump or elsewhere. Too, we're planning on relocating to the Jax/St Aug area of Florida in the coming few years, and trips to the beach will likely be a regular occurrence. It'll be real nice to toss the beach stuff in the bed, sand and all, and hose off later. Those are the things I like "trucks" for.
But I don't want or need the capability that a solid rear axle and 4 or 5 spring leaves offer. And I don't care to live with the ride quality penalty. What bugs me most about leaf sprung axles is the "after shock" or "after jiggle" associated with them. The Ridgeline is a cure for that. Having owned our MDX for many years now, I'm a huge advocate of Honda's large vehicle platform, on which the Ridgeline, Odyssey, Pilot, and Acura MDX are all based. Early on, I felt that it offered too much isolation and not quite enough feel (and I cherished our CR-V for that), but as I grow (age), I find that I like the MDX more and more for its ride quality and low noise. One of the things that I think contribute to that is the long suspension travel in this chassis. The CR-V is fairly stiffly-sprung and feels like it has limited wheel movement. Our MDX, in comparison, has fairly long wheel movements. You can feel them occurring, but it never feels undamped. It's hard to explain -- despite how bad the sharp dip or jolt might be, the MDX just glides over it without becoming uncomposed. The CR-V handles flatter, but that results in more "head toss" when going over uneven roads. You can't have it all I guess.
And the engine is just a peach. I love Honda's J-series engine. It's not the most fuel efficient 3.5L engine out there, at least in a vehicle of this size, but it's utterly smooth, super quiet, and it'll sing a symphony when you let it run. The timing belt's a cinch to change, and I'll do that and plugs when I buy it (neither have been done yet). And coolant and any other fluids that haven't been changed. (And Honda programs its transmissions better to my liking than anything else I've driven, save for something with a clutch.)
Our CR-V is paid off next spring (we bought it CPO used). My brother bought his Ridgeline for a song from his father-in-law, but works from home, doesn't drive it much, and plans to sell it at some point within the next year or two. I believe I'll be able to sell our CR-V next spring and essentially turn the cash right over to my brother for the Ridgeline, making it a net-zero trade for me. It should be a win-win for both parties. That it's always been in the family, even one by marriage, means that it's not an unknown and we know its full history.
The big benefit to the Ridgeline, for me, is the engine and the chassis. I don't need to tow even the 5,000 pounds the Ridge is rated for, much less more. I don't need to haul 2,000 pounds of material in a truck bed. I don't haul lumber. What I would like to do is toss dirty stuff in the back for runs to the trash dump or elsewhere. Too, we're planning on relocating to the Jax/St Aug area of Florida in the coming few years, and trips to the beach will likely be a regular occurrence. It'll be real nice to toss the beach stuff in the bed, sand and all, and hose off later. Those are the things I like "trucks" for.
But I don't want or need the capability that a solid rear axle and 4 or 5 spring leaves offer. And I don't care to live with the ride quality penalty. What bugs me most about leaf sprung axles is the "after shock" or "after jiggle" associated with them. The Ridgeline is a cure for that. Having owned our MDX for many years now, I'm a huge advocate of Honda's large vehicle platform, on which the Ridgeline, Odyssey, Pilot, and Acura MDX are all based. Early on, I felt that it offered too much isolation and not quite enough feel (and I cherished our CR-V for that), but as I grow (age), I find that I like the MDX more and more for its ride quality and low noise. One of the things that I think contribute to that is the long suspension travel in this chassis. The CR-V is fairly stiffly-sprung and feels like it has limited wheel movement. Our MDX, in comparison, has fairly long wheel movements. You can feel them occurring, but it never feels undamped. It's hard to explain -- despite how bad the sharp dip or jolt might be, the MDX just glides over it without becoming uncomposed. The CR-V handles flatter, but that results in more "head toss" when going over uneven roads. You can't have it all I guess.
And the engine is just a peach. I love Honda's J-series engine. It's not the most fuel efficient 3.5L engine out there, at least in a vehicle of this size, but it's utterly smooth, super quiet, and it'll sing a symphony when you let it run. The timing belt's a cinch to change, and I'll do that and plugs when I buy it (neither have been done yet). And coolant and any other fluids that haven't been changed. (And Honda programs its transmissions better to my liking than anything else I've driven, save for something with a clutch.)
Our CR-V is paid off next spring (we bought it CPO used). My brother bought his Ridgeline for a song from his father-in-law, but works from home, doesn't drive it much, and plans to sell it at some point within the next year or two. I believe I'll be able to sell our CR-V next spring and essentially turn the cash right over to my brother for the Ridgeline, making it a net-zero trade for me. It should be a win-win for both parties. That it's always been in the family, even one by marriage, means that it's not an unknown and we know its full history.
