I have a question about a car purchase. I always get anxious when I make large purchases.
About my financial situation: I am in the military and make around 98,000 dollars before taxes. I don't have any debt. I have about 120,000 K in an emergency fund. I also invest 20 percent of my income in a Roth IRA that is set up through the military. I have been doing that since I got in, but I don't actually know the exact amount that I have saved. I also have some stock and vanguard mutual funds but they are under 15,000. I rent apartments because I move every two years and am single. I am new to this site and mostly drawn to it because of the self-dependence and environmentally friendly tips that you all have. I don't actually want to FIRE because I love my job and do not see myself wanting to retire early. I drive a ton for work (I travel to different states regularly (almost weekly) and an airport that is two hours away). I am also required to drive my car when I have to move which is every two years to a different part of the country.
I bought a new hyundai accent sedan for 15,000 when I got in the military and drove it for 6 years and put 85,000 miles on it. I got rear-ended and it is totaled. I am getting 6,500 in insurance money.
I need a new car. I want something that I can drive for at least 10 years or 150,000 miles. I hate dealing with car repairs because I am super dependent on my car for work and can't take a cab or uber onto the military base. I am also single and moving all the time sometimes to isolated places so I hate it when my car isn't working. I bought my accent new because I drove beaters throughout college and law school in the northeast and got stranded so many times on the side of the road. This time I want a hatchback or very small crossover (I don't like driving larger cars). I am looking new again because I want some of the new self-driving features. If not for this, I would be looking for a slightly used this time around. I know these features are a want versus a need, but I do drive a ton. The main things I want are blind spot warnings and adaptive cruise control. Unfortunately, these are not on many used cars except for luxury brands and they push me into higher trims on everything. I am between two cars.
I can get a Honda Fit for 21,000. I can get a subaru crosstrek for 27,000. The prices are beyond the base trim because of the self-driving features. I like the subaru because it is off the ground and has all wheel drive. I don't need the all-wheel drive now but would like it in case the military puts me an extremely snowy or isolated local (I never know where I am moving next). Do you all think I am being crazy for looking at something so expensive under the circumstances? I would pay for both in cash.