After my 2008 Ford Focus (101k miles) began needing repairs and its AC went out, I bought a used 2014 Honda CRV with 36k miles for about $16,300. I could have afforded a ton more and thought I made a pretty reasonable and well thought out purchase.
Of course, I came on here to discuss the purchase, and posters on here love nothing more than shitting on people who purchased anything better than a ten-year old Toyota. People criticized every aspect of my purchase ("You don't need A/C!!!") much the same way people are in this thread.
You don't need to justify your purchase to anyone on here. Like you, I could have technically bought a much cheaper car, but I bought one I wanted, love driving it, and plan to own it for at least 15 years. That alone puts me ahead of 80% of people. I'm fine not being in the 99th frugality percentile, and you should too.
Everyone thinks I was here with this OP looking for people to agree with me. My point was to make a point. It's that this one size fits all box created and nearly universally accepted here is stupid and that all new non tiny cars are not "Clown cars." Not all will agree with me but the having to buy a used Fit or Leaf or youre not being frugal is absurd.
This is correct with basically everything on this website. I'm going to boil over and have a global rant post once, but for now, I'll just say the most annoying aspect of this forum is that everyone takes what the actual MMM does as doctrine, but conveniently ignores that he makes some sub-optimal choices with respect to frugality (e.g., having a huge $400,000 home). This leads to a bunch of closed-mindedness and people slamming others for not taking the most frugal route possible.
When I was looking at threads regarding engagement rings, half the posters would rather buy a sulpher stone from a hippo's ass on Craigslist for $40 instead of a nice ring. A real treat on top of that was moissanite, which is basically engineered diamonds. I think MMM recommended this. No thanks. I spent $1,800 on an extremely high quality .5 carat diamond and beautiful ring that my wife absolutely loves. Worth it.
When I wanted my then-GF and I to stop paying $100 for gym memberships, I looked on here again. All the threads recommended squat racks, used Olympic lifting equipment, and running outside--because this is what MMM does. I considered our climate here and determined we'd spend hundreds over the long haul just on clothes to deal with the weather. I also considered the fact that both my wife and I have issues with our lower body (her hips, my knee), and frequently running on pavement or bumpy trails was not an option. We ended up buying a top-of-the-line Precor elliptical for $2,300. We've had it for almost two years now and it's paid for itself. Worth it.
On and on and on, there's an army of frugal warriors on here who will criticize you at every turn when you don't make the most absolute frugal decision. It's nonsense. Only you know all the aspects of your situation and every angle that should be analyzed.
So I agree with the purpose of your post--sometimes, the most frugal decision is not the best decision for your particular circumstance. And that's fine.