It's a lot of money for sure.
My current four wheel drive cost me $100,000AUD to buy and I've modified it and added accessories to the value of $25,000 on top and there's still other things I could add. I've been conservative and have focused on what I need mostly.
The thing is, when I take my vehicle out to the places i choose to go it will either break (costing way more money) or simply not make it and either way that doesn't make good sense to me.
We all live in different worlds and in mine, Australia, it costs this sort of money to go to remote places with one's own vehicle and my life is too short to waste it sitting around doing fuck all; I'd rather be out living it the best I can so that at the end I can say it was fulfilling and meaningful. I make that happen in various ways and having hobbies like this is one such way.
I am agree with you, a man said
What is expensive?.
Expensive is not have enough money to pay a good or services.
My last car was a geo tracker, and the other was Toyota Rav 4
A short cars but for recover short wild street.
And yes the life is very very short to stay in front of a tv seeing how others living their life.
Is better living by your own account.
You've done some off-roading? The Geo Tracker was brought down here as the Suzuki Sierra I think, fairly capable small light-duty off-roaders.
off-roading? The most wild route that I was do was this,
From Guazapa to Tultepeque, this place is very wild and dark, because exist a dust street in the middle of the forest and exist in the river of the street a big trees, and the roots cover the street, you need to be very carefully with your car, and the up of the trees produces a big shadow in the street, it was at 3 pm and you think the time is 6.00 pm because the shadows disappear the light of the sun.
This was hard because you think I am alone here without nothing, no water mo food, and if your car will broke you are in trouble.
And then we cross the forest , cross a hill in la Loma del Espino, and then cross Hoya galana.
And come to Quezaltepeque it is the most wild of road I was doing,
In other parts, I am an amateur biologist and I love to practice the foraging and love going to go to the forest and for this reason I move with my car the most closer to the forest.
But I am not take a risk, with the off road because I have only one car and I know the cost for repairs it is a little expensive, for this reason I prefer walking in the wild places, and my car only uses in a street clear.
With my dad one day, we enter in a land with the Geo trackers, and yes it was very strong car, and the stomach of our car was damage because a lot of big plants in the soil we found in our adventures, for this reason I take a risk calculate because as you said you can dye or damage your car.
In the process,
I would like to do but in this moment, is a risk I am not take completely,
Looks like you might have had some fun on that trek. Every off road adventure comes with risk to people and vehicles, but can be very rewarding too.