Yes , fingers crossed ! I hope it wasn ' t just all the cheese . <| sep |> I don ' t think you made a bad decision especially as it worked out so well , however I would have gone in the middle with this . You could have gotten a 2013 car for around $ 12 k 15 k , put $ 4 k down and had payments closer to $ 200250 . The reason I say this is because a reliable 8 year old car can be a lemon is disguise . I did exactly as you described , 8 year old car 2004 bought in 2012 that cost me an extra $ 1000 that same year and I eventually junked it for $ 600 after a year fuel pump , gas tank and engine block were all kind of fucked It was however a $ 3500 car not a $ 9000 which is a big difference in quality . You could have cut the payment in half of the first option as your tight on money but also had a car that will last you an extra 5 years while still keeping an extra 5 k in your bank account . Basically you used the emergency fund for its purpose however you were left dangerously vulnerable but doing so . If you had lost your job or a different emergency arises you wouldn ' t have anything left to lean on .