Can I repair my existing wooden garage door?

I have a once beautiful, sectional wooden garage door which is about 12 years old. It was very expensive and is, in most ways, as good as new. It has hot Southern California sun on it many hours a day. Our contractor had a painter apply marine varnish on top of the stain. Now, the varnish is peeling off in large chunks. Because the door has deep raised panels, the contractor has advised that it would be nearly impossible to remove the varnish and that we need to buy a new door.

I wonder if we took the door off and took it in sections to a place that strips paints, would they be able to to clean it up. Then, would that be worth, financially, all of the work or would it be better to just buy a new one and call it a day? I love the wooden door for our old Tudor home but would a steel door be better? I don't know what to do and the door keeps looking worse. What do you think?