--- title: New Cars Under $20,000 Are About to 'Go Extinct' description: The subcompact Mitsubishi Mirage is the only new car that's selling for less than $20,000 in the U.S. And there are only 691 of them left. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 602 covers: - Shopping - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Shopping - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2025-07-18T12:37:50.000Z' section: Shopping tags: - News word_count: 793 canonical: https://money.com/new-cars-under-20k-extinct/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of Mitsubishi Mirage driving on a path of money](https://img.money.com/2025/07/News-Car-Under-20k.jpg) In just a few months, there won't be a single car left on the market under $20,000. The subcompact Mitsubishi Mirage is the only new car that's selling under that price level, and the manufacturer has [discontinued](https://www.kbb.com/car-news/mitsubishi-mirage-canceled-sub-20k-cars-almost-gone/) it in the U.S., with the 2024 model being the final edition. Fewer than 1,700 new Mirages are still up for sale across the country, according to a new [Kelley Blue Book report](https://mediaroom.kbb.com/2025-07-14-Kelley-Blue-Book-Report-New-Vehicle-Costs-Rise-in-June,-Outpacing-Transaction-Prices-as-Sales-Slow,-Incentives-Tick-Up). Separate data from Edmunds shows that only 691 under-$20,000 Mirages were available as of Wednesday. "At the current sales pace, the final sub-$20,000 vehicle will go extinct by the end of the summer," Kelley Blue Book said in the report. ## New or used, your car is an investment. Make sure it's protected! ### Get the coverage you need without breaking the bank. Click your state to get a free quote today. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/gd49efb4d648?ap_referrer=%2Fnew-cars-under-20k-extinct%2F) As recently as 2019, top-selling cars such as the [Honda Civic](https://money.com/best-small-cars/#hondacivic) and the [Toyota Corolla](https://money.com/best-small-cars/#toyotacorolla) had MSRPs — that's manufacturer's suggested retail price — under $20,000. Those days are gone, and budget-strapped car shoppers have been left behind. "Fewer price-sensitive buyers will be able to find a new car that works for them," Brian Moody, executive editor for Kelley Blue Book, tells Money in an email. "Unfortunately, this might also mean buyers looking to finance a car that is out of their price range for a longer term than would make sense so that the payment can be 'affordable.'" While car shoppers may feel nostalgic for the era when a new car could be snagged for under $20,000, few will miss the Mirage itself. The model was criticized by various car review experts, including those at [Consumer Reports](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/mitsubishi/mirage/). "Mitsubishi's tiny, Thailand-built subcompact seems like an act of desperation, dressing a primitive Asia-market car with some upscale toys and calling it a day," the site wrote in its review, adding, "The weak, vibrating and incredibly noisy three-cylinder engine provides sluggish acceleration, handling is clumsy, and the cabin is depressingly low-rent." The vehicle has been selling slowly, too. Kelley Blue Book reports a sales pace of just over 1,000 units per month. While there's almost no competition in the new vehicle market at the sub-$20,000 price point, car shoppers with these budgets typically prefer to shop used where they can find larger vehicles with more features. "A lot of these Mirages — they're 2024 — they've been sitting on the lot for over a year, and I can guarantee you some of them have been sitting for over two years," says Ivan Drury, Edmunds' director of insights. "If there was a market for it, they would have been bought." So where does this leave car shoppers on a budget? "They are either going to have to continue fixing their current transportation or concede defeat and end up with a used car — or find alternate transportation altogether," Drury says. Beyond the Mirage, a few other cars are sometimes listed below $20,000, including discounted base trims of the [Kia K4](https://money.com/best-small-cars/#kiak4) and [Kia Soul](https://money.com/new-cars-msrp-under-25000-dollars/), Drury says. There's also the Nissan Versa, a subcompact sedan that will be [discontinued](https://money.com/cheapest-new-car-nissan-versa-20000/) after 2025. But all of these vehicles have *average* transaction prices above $20,000. Americans consistently say in surveys that they want more affordable cars, but manufacturers have discontinued subcompact budget models in recent years because relatively few shoppers actually choose them at dealerships. Driving a small car can feel unsafe in the U.S. with so many large trucks and SUVs on the road. Additionally, features like remote start and ventilated seats have become must-haves for many shoppers, which rules out base models of the cheapest new vehicles from their searches, Drury says. But the death of the $20,000 car still carries significance for the subset of consumers that's been drawn to them. "There is a cumulative impact because those sub $20,000 cars have been slowly disappearing over time," Moody says. "Cars like the Chevrolet Spark, Ford Festiva, Hyundai Accent, Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Versa are all no longer available as new cars. There are good substitutes, but the price is likely closer to $26,000. Also, with the price of used cars already heading up, the extra demand won’t help bargain hunters." In the under-$30,000 price range, Moody says there are a mix of good options, mentioning cars like the Nissan Sentra and the Volkswagen Jetta, which are considered reliable sedans. Asked if the sub-$20,000 car could ever make a comeback, he says it's a possibility if a startup or a foreign brand decides to pursue it. "The lack of low-priced new cars could be an opportunity," he adds. "In Europe, the Renault Clio, Toyota Aygo X, Dacia Logan, Dacia Sandero, Citroen AMI and Fiat Panda are all affordable — could any of that work in the U.S.? Stranger things have happened." ## One of the best ways to pay less for Car Insurance is by comparing rates ### Click below to begin finding your rate today. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/i86244fe9d5c?ap_referrer=%2Fnew-cars-under-20k-extinct%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29780/medium_e439fd1c-3ee2-41b2-bccf-5dfe3c4d8add.png) Protect your vehicle with affordable Car Insurance. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/b046d48341c1?ap_referrer=%2Fnew-cars-under-20k-extinct%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/new-cars-under-20k-extinct/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Shopping", "item": "https://money.com/shopping/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "News", "item": "https://money.com/tag/news/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "New Cars Under $20,000 Are About to 'Go Extinct'" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/new-cars-under-20k-extinct/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/new-cars-under-20k-extinct/", "name": "New Cars Under $20,000 Are About to 'Go Extinct'", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-07-18T12:37:50.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/new-cars-under-20k-extinct/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/new-cars-under-20k-extinct/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "New Cars Under $20,000 Are About to 'Go Extinct'", "articleSection": "Shopping", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/07/News-Car-Under-20k.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Car-Under-20k" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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