2,00,000 km with my Outlander: Shall I sell it for a Mini Countryman?

I love the Mini Countryman. If I had to purchase a new car, I cannot think of purchasing anything else.

BHPian Grandizer recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have an almost 14 year old Mitsubishi Outlander. It has done over 200,000km. I love this car, it runs fine, and still looks new.

I love to drive. I have driven this car from Uttarakhand to Tamilnadu and back. It is perfect for my needs. There is nothing it lacks. I love looking at it and enjoy driving it. There is no urgent reason for me to get rid of it. There is no reason to change it yet.

I love the Mini Countryman. If I had to purchase a new car, I cannot think of purchasing anything else. It makes no practical sense and is a terrible financial decision, as one can make a lot of money investing that money instead. Probably that much money in 5 years.

But the Countryman makes me happy. I love my outlander also. It feels like a betrayal not to drive it after all it’s done. How to decide? My outlander and I have been through so many experiences, so many adventures. We share a bond. I am afraid I will miss it when it’s gone. And even if I keep it, not driving it everyday seems unthinkable.

Can anyone talk some sense into me one way or the other?

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Is the lure for the Countryman a recent one? Then wait a while to see if it's just an impulsive, passing urge.

IMHO, you have used your Outlander enough at 14-years and 200,000 km. Max, in a year or two, I would suggest upgrading to something newer, faster, safer and fun...no matter how much you love it. And I say this as a proponent of keeping your cars for 10+ years.

Two alternatives:

• Keep your beloved Outlander, and get the Countryman anyway. Reason = you'll get peanuts for your Outlander in the used market. Better to retain it since you're attached to it. I still have my 27-year old Mahindra Classic parked down the house
• Consider a pre-owned Countryman & let the 1st owner suffer the depreciation hit.

Here's what BHPian NomadSK had to say on the matter:

Won't you have to let it go considering the NGT rule for the Petrol/Diesel vehicles?

But if such environment rules wouldn’t be in place, I would be happy to keep a good mechanical, fuss free machine forever. There is not much depreciation hit to the well-maintained car after 14/15 years of usage

Here's what BHPian pgsagar had to say on the matter:

I suggest you keep changing CVT fluid. CVTs are very sensitive to spent fluid. Flushing and replenishing every 2 years should keep your tranny in good health. Biggest problem with older automatic cars is the automatic gearbox itself. Weakest link between engine and wheels and most expensive and most hard to find part.

I like this car a lot. Missed one by a day 10 years back. In 2014, I was looking for a good pre-owned petrol dinosaur like Camry, Accord, Outlander, CRV, Kizashi. All 2.4 NA engines with automatic transmission options. Outlander came in AT only. Found none in good shape so finally settled for an Accord V6 3.0 which I am still using, 10 years on. I can feel what you feel. These 2.4/3.0 petrol engines offer smoothness you won't find in today's turbo petrol engines. If parking space is no constraint, I suggest drive it till wheels come off. Won't fetch much anyway.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say on the matter:

Your car will soon be unusable in NCR. You’ll need to not just get an NOC, but ensure it is actually transferred to the new owners name. The last thing you want is for the car to be sold to someone, yet be running in your name as the other party didn’t finish their share of formalities. In cases like yours, rare + old car, where resale value is anyway abysmal, it actually makes sense to get the car scrapped at any government authorised scrap yard. When resale value is 80-100k and scrap value is 50-60k, I’d rather scrap and eliminate the risk and potential liability entirely.

Here's what BHPian mugen_pinaki27 had to say on the matter:

Probably going against the wind here. But given your use case, would a Countryman really be a suitable alternative to the rugged, abuse-friendly Outlander? I'd suggest either the Scorpio-N or the XUV 700 as worthy alternatives. Compared to the Countryman's half-a-crore price point, the aforementioned cars can be had for almost half the amount. You can use the remaining money for traveling and making awesome memories  That's my 2 cents.

Alternatively, as GTO suggested, getting a second-hand Countryman would be a great idea. Use the rest of the money for modding her up and traveling India

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