A Car Expert Says Never Buy These 3 Trucks Right Now

Trucks are expensive. Like, absurdly expensive. The average new pickup now pushes past $60,000, and some loaded trims flirt with six figures. At those prices, buying the wrong one isn't just annoying. It's a financial disaster that follows you around for years in the form of repair bills, plummeting resale value, and that sinking feeling every time you turn the key.

So when car experts, mechanics, and industry analysts all start pointing at the same trucks and saying "don't," it's worth paying attention. We dug into expert opinions, Consumer Reports data, mechanic feedback, and recall records to figure out which trucks are causing the most regret right now. If you're shopping for a pickup in 2025 or 2026, here are three trucks that experts say you should skip, ranked from the one that's merely disappointing to the one that could genuinely wreck your budget.

3. Honda Ridgeline: The Truck That Isn't Really a Truck

Let's start with the Honda Ridgeline, which lands at the bottom of this list not because it's a terrible vehicle, but because it's a terrible value proposition for anyone who actually needs a truck.

The Ridgeline rides on a unibody platform shared with the Honda Pilot SUV. That means it handles smoothly on the highway and the interior is genuinely comfortable. Edmunds notes the easy handling and pleasant cabin. But here's the problem: it can't tow worth a darn, it's mediocre off-road, and its 21-mpg fuel economy is nothing to write home about. You're paying full truck money for something that drives like a crossover and works like one, too.

Automotive expert Rob Dillan, founder of EVhype, puts it bluntly. He warns that the Ridgeline "is on the verge of being discontinued due to declining sales," especially as competitors like the Ford Maverick eat into its market share. And that discontinuation risk is a huge deal for buyers. When a model gets the axe, parts availability dries up, dealer service support thins out, and resale values crater.

According to CarsDirect, Automotive News has reported that Honda will sunset the current Ridgeline in 2026. Honda hasn't officially confirmed this, but the writing is on the wall. Sales dipped 9.8% month over month in September 2025, and while year-over-year numbers were slightly up, the trajectory isn't encouraging for a model that's supposedly fighting for survival.

If a redesigned, body-on-frame Ridgeline does arrive (possibly as a 2028 model), it would be a completely different vehicle from the one on sale today. That means buying a current Ridgeline is essentially buying the last of a dying breed, and not the cool kind. You're getting the version that the manufacturer itself decided wasn't competitive enough to keep around.

If you want a comfortable, car-like truck experience, the Ford Maverick does it for thousands less. And if you want a real midsize truck, the Toyota Tacoma and Chevy Colorado both outclass the Ridgeline where it counts. There's just no compelling reason to sign on the dotted line for this one right now.

2. Nissan Frontier: Stuck in the Past While the Competition Moves On

The Nissan Frontier has a reputation as a rugged, no-nonsense midsize truck. And for certain model years, that reputation was earned. But right now, the Frontier is coasting on nostalgia while newer competitors lap it.

The 2025 model added some driver-assist features and more comfortable seats. That's nice. But according to MotorTrend, there were no meaningful mechanical upgrades. That's a problem when previous Frontier models have been dogged by complaints about loud engines and poor fuel economy. You're getting a slightly fancier interior wrapped around the same bones that needed improvement years ago.

The reliability picture is more complicated than Nissan fans want to admit. Jalopnik reported that the Frontier's Consumer Reports reliability scores actually slipped for both 2025 and 2026. While it kept its CR recommendation (barely), the last three model years have been recall-heavy. The 2024 and 2025 trucks were each recalled three times, and the 2026 already has one recall with more than half the year remaining.

Those recalls aren't minor paperwork fixes, either. One recall affecting 2025 and 2026 models involves door strikers that may have been improperly welded, potentially allowing doors to open while the vehicle is moving. Another involves a software error where daytime running lights dim unexpectedly when the idle start-stop system cycles. These are the kinds of quality control problems that make you wonder what else slipped through.

The Frontier's history is a rollercoaster. It had the best reliability in its segment back in 2019, running essentially the same powertrain it had since 2005. Then Nissan modernized it with a new powertrain for 2020, and reliability fell off a cliff. The 2020 model was recalled twice for rollaway risks. The 2022 model was a disaster, receiving the worst possible Consumer Reports scores in five separate categories including electronics, electrical accessories, and body hardware.

Rob Dillan also flagged the Frontier for relying on older technology and offering limited capability compared to newer competitors. The Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz are eating the Frontier's lunch in this segment, offering better fuel economy, more modern tech, and fresher designs at competitive prices.

The Frontier isn't a bad truck in the way a truly unreliable vehicle is bad. It's more like the friend who peaked in high school and keeps telling the same stories. It was great once. Right now, you can do better for the money.

1. Ram 1500: The Biggest Money Pit in the Truck Market

Here it is. The truck that every expert, mechanic, and financial analyst we found had something negative to say about. The Ram 1500 consistently shows up on "worst" and "avoid" lists, and when you look at the details, it's easy to see why.

Let's start with the numbers that should scare anyone with a bank account. Per CarEdge data, maintenance and repairs for the Ram 1500 will cost an estimated $19,358 during the first 10 years of ownership. That is $9,670 more than the industry average. Read that again. You're paying almost ten grand extra just to keep the thing running, on top of whatever you paid for it at the dealership.

Michael Kruse, an automotive expert with more than 34 years of experience, told GOBankingRates that despite the Ram's attractive interior and solid towing specs, "it is not very dependable. Research indicates that it experiences above-average repair incidents and expensive service problems, especially on its air suspension system."

The Ram 1500 sits at the very bottom of Consumer Reports' reliability rankings for full-size trucks in 2026, actually dropping a spot from its already poor 2025 position. The recurring villain? In-car electronics. Consumer Reports members reported widespread issues with electronics simply not working properly. There's an active recall right now for instrument panel displays failing to show critical information.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Mechanics report a whole catalog of frustrations with the Ram 1500. Parasitic battery drains from electronic modules that refuse to go to sleep, leaving trucks dead after sitting over a weekend. Oil consumption as high as a quart every 500 miles in the worst cases. Early turbocharger failures on the new Hurricane engine, sometimes before 10,000 miles, with replacement parts on chronic backorder. The eTorque 48-volt mild hybrid system is failing often enough that some shops have entire yards full of Rams waiting for parts.

The engine situation is a mess in its own right. Ram replaced its beloved 5.7-liter Hemi V8 with the new 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged Hurricane inline six for 2025. Online forums report that some owners are dealing with melted catalytic converters on their Hurricane-equipped trucks, especially in the RHO trim. One owner reported a dead battery and multiple fit-and-finish issues after just 15,000 miles on a 2025 RHO. The Hemi V8 is returning for 2026, which tells you something about how well the transition went.

Stellantis has also recalled approximately 33,777 Ram 1500 trucks due to damaged front wheel bearing encoder rings that could disable the electronic stability control system. When your truck's stability control can just quit working because of a manufacturing defect, that's not a minor inconvenience.

Here's what makes the Ram 1500 situation so frustrating. Car and Driver actually ranks it as the best full-size pickup truck on the market. The interior really is gorgeous. The ride quality is legitimately impressive. The Uconnect infotainment system is one of the best in the business. On paper, and on a 20-minute test drive, the Ram 1500 feels like a winner.

But owning one is a completely different story. The gap between how this truck reviews and how it actually holds up in the real world is wider than any other truck on the market right now. Magazine reviewers drive them for a week. Owners live with them for years. And the owners are the ones filling up mechanic bays and complaint forums.

The Bottom Line

If you're in the market for a truck, all three of these models come with baggage that experts say isn't worth dealing with. The Ridgeline is a dead-end purchase with discontinuation looming. The Frontier is outdated and recall-prone. And the Ram 1500, despite its gorgeous cabin and impressive spec sheet, will bleed you dry in repair costs and electronic headaches.

What should you buy instead? The Toyota Tacoma remains a rock-solid midsize option with legendary resale value. The Ford F-150 (while not perfect) offers more powertrain variety and a proven track record, though you should do your homework on specific engine choices. And if you want a full-size truck with fewer electronic gremlins, the Ford F-150 with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 gets consistently strong feedback from both experts and long-term owners.

At today's truck prices, doing your research before signing isn't optional. It's the difference between a truck that works for you and one that works against your wallet for the next decade.