Help me figure out if my car is face punch worthy? And what are the alternatives

[chasingsnow]

The car:

2006 Mitsubishi Delica JDM Import
107,000 Kilometres
I bought it for $10,000k and have put about $4k into it to get it up to standard (these things are known to run for a long time.
Its 4WD V6 Gas Engine
Its got ok but not great fuel economy.

Is my car face punch worthy? Should I sell it for $16k and downgrade it?

For context both me and SO currently work from home, but I am thinking of starting an apprenticeship and down the road opening my own carpentry business. We are planning to remove to a remote part of B.C that it snows tons, so winter tires and 4wd are essential. We do a ton of backcountry skiing and offroad camping for what its worth. Any advice is appreciated and happy to provide more details

[chemistk]

There's someone in my town with one of these (a little older, given the US import rule), I LOVE to see it popping around, and if I could swing it I'd seriously consider it.

So what's the problem?

Did you finance it and are not happy with the payments? Does the ongoing higher cost of maintenance worry you? Is the fuel economy too poor for how often you drive it? Does it not meet your needs, individually or as a family?

You may start a carpentry business, would you be worried about this being your work vehicle?

Do you enjoy driving it?

If you like it, aren't worried about the maintenance, find it meets your current needs, and isn't a financial parasite (at least not much more than any other 4WD truck would be), why get rid of it?

Your biggest hurdle to selling it is finding a buyer, and it's got low miles and had a lot of work done. From that point of view, I would say that now is the best time to sell, because you're really only going to get interest from other enthusiasts. Barring that, there's absolutely no reason to get rid of it. Sure it might not be able to haul plywood, or large furniture, but it's still a van and has plenty of space to move anything that's not lumber or large equipment.

[chasingsnow]

@chemistk we are thinking of moving to a more rural part of BC, where I currently live on Vancouver Island there are lots of JDM mechanics and parts suppliers. In rural areas, its a different story and many mechanics are not super interested in working on these cars

No I paid $10,000 cash for it and maintenance does not seem like a huge issue. The fuel economy definitely isn't great, but once we move to a smaller town I anticipate us driving less than we do now. It's a van so it would meet our needs as our family grows. As my SO says, this van is like if someone took a Honda Odyseey but gave it the off road capability of a pick up truck or a RAV 4.

Its fun to drive and it would be fine to haul around tools and construction materials. I guess I am trying to contrast if its a better bet than say a 2008 Ford Ranger or something that's a bit cheaper. I think I could probably sell my Delica currently for $16-17k and buy a Ford Ranger for $8-10k and invest the difference. Its more that I am worried as the vehicle gets older and sees real BC winter (not Vancouver island winter) that it might require maintenance and finding a mechanic in the Kootenays and sourcing parts might prove challenging, that's my only concern. Thoughts?

[chemistk]

The 'mini'-van is probably going to be a heck of a lot more reliable long-term than a Ranger, and Rangers are getting harder to come by these days.

Do you have any capability to do the work yourself? If not, and having something happen to it would leave you stranded, then that's more of a reason to sell it and get something that's going to be able to be worked on anywhere.

That being said, it's likely a better work vehicle than the Ranger, given that you can store stuff inside in bad weather. Is it possible to call a couple shops around where you plan to move and just ask if they would be capable of working on it, even if they didn't specialize in really niche stuff like that?

[Askel]

Is my car face punch worthy? Should I sell it for $16k and downgrade it?

You're probably paying a premium to drive the quirky thing, but it sounds like the quirky thing fits your needs pretty well.  Now's not a great time to be buying a car anyway, so you might not be paying all that much of a premium based on current used car prices. I'd keep it.

And I wouldn't worry about finding a mechanic in a small town. I live in a small town (pop. ~5k), no shortage of guys who would work on something like that. You probably won't be able to waltz in to the nearest megashop and get an accurate estimate and the work scheduled for that day though. But get a copy of a factory service manual and leave it on the front seat with a sixer of beers when you drop it off and plenty of guys will take a stab it. Might take them a little longer to source parts and figure out how to do things, but it's still a car- they're mostly all the same.   

[ToTheMoon]

There is a couple of these cruising around my town (you know where I live) so with some winter tires on it, I don't think you will have any issues taking it with you.

If/when you actually start said construction business - that would be the time to switch vehicles. When the time comes, I do not anticipate you having a particularly tough time selling it in your new location. These vans are super appealing to those who live the outdoor lifestyle - for all the same reasons you picked one up in the first place!

Keep it until your life circumstances change to the point that it is not working for you anymore, and cross this worry off of your list until then!

[chasingsnow]

This is all really good feedback. To some of your points I know a really good parts supplier for JDM parts that has already done work on my vechicile in Victoria. I could always get them to do a big once over before moving and they say they ship their parts all across BC, so I am sure with a 6 pack of beer and some patience I could convince a local small town mechanic to at least take a look!!