These Are The Best New Car Deals Under $20,000

Not long ago, if you were shopping for a new car with a modest budget your choices were limited and some dealers were even marking up the cheapest rides. There are still some greedy dealers, the market has shifted and with some savvy shopping, you can score a new car without breaking the bank.

Dealer inventory is piling up with over three million cars on the lots. Since summer is historically a good time to score a deal as new models typically arrive in the fall, car buyers are looking at some great opportunities. Of course, there are some cars that are still hard to source; most Toyota Hybrids are still high demand, and Ford Maverick Hybrids are bit of a lost cause. But if you don't need something fancy, and are trying to keep your total around $20,000 or less these five cars offer some of the biggest discounts from their sticker price.

The now discontinued Malibu was once a respected nameplate for those into classic rides. It went from a bit of a joke in the '90s and early 2000s to a legitimate competitor to the imports. GM has decided to send the Malibu off into the sunset with some serious discounts upwards of $8,000 off the MSRP.

The Elantra is a worthy competitor to the Civic and Corolla, offering 40 mpg on the highway, a long warranty and a ton of features at a lower price point. With a nice combination of factory discounts and rebates you can score this excellent commuter car at comfortable price.

With the Nissan Versa on the chopping block, the Mirage is now the cheapest car for sale in America with a starting MSRP of just under $18,000 with the destination fee. I've seen some big discounts on the slightly more expensive Mirage G4 sedan upwards of $5,000 off MSRP. Given Mitsubishi dealers have a bit of a reputation for playing games with the numbers, what you see may not be real in terms of the actual sale price.

While other automakers shuttered their cheap sedans years ago, Nissan was one of the last holdouts. American car buyers prefer crossovers and now that the Versa is gone most will shift to the Kicks which is a decent little crossover that can be had with some solid discounts. Keep in mind Nissan dealers are known for "rebate stacking" their advertised prices and most buyers will not qualify for every discount.

If you have German car dreams, but a Honda budget the VW Jetta is one way to get an affordable ride that doesn't feel like a cheap econobox. While the base Jetta may not be the "driver's car" it was in the '80's and '90's it's a nice balance of sporty and upscale especially if you can get one at $5,000 off the MSRP.

Tom McParland is a contributing writer for Jalopnik and runs AutomatchConsulting.com. He takes the hassle out of buying or leasing a car. Got a car buying question? Send it to Tom@AutomatchConsulting.com