Advice on vehicle decision

I’m sadly having to put down my old 2005 Lexus with 280k miles due to some unsolvable issues. It kills me because I can’t stand the thought of a car payment. I try to live as frugal as possible maxing out IRA, deferred comp contributions, etc. I figure a lease is a waste of time. I know this might also just be preference as well.

I have around 9 months of living expenses in a high yield. I could throw 10k cash at a used well-taken care of vehicle with high mileage…however, that would wipe out nearly 50% of that emergency fund…. Or put down a decent down payment on a 4-5 year old reliable vehicle then throw as much money at it is as I can to lessen the length of financing while still maxing IRA. I’m between being tired of driving around 10-15 year old cars….but then I’m also scared of a car payment. My only debt is my mortgage. Any advice would be awesome 😎