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Can you still buy a genuinely cool JDM car for under $20k in 2026? EP.194
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Can you still buy a genuinely cool JDM car for under $20,000 in 2026?
In this episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys Podcast, Bobby and Aaron go hunting through the current U.S. market to find ten right-hand-drive cars they’d actually consider buying for less than $20K—and the results show just how much the JDM market has changed.
The guys dig through everything from an Evo IV, R32 Skyline GTS-T, Toyota Altezza, JZX90 Mark II Tourer V, and 180SX to some more unusual choices like a Honda Orthia wagon, widebody Mitsubishi Pajero, Mazda Bongo camper, and even a Mitsubishi Minicab food truck.
Along the way, they compare today’s asking prices to what these same cars were selling for only a few years ago, talk about how difficult it has become to find cheap entry-level JDM cars, and debate whether paying $15K–$20K for vehicles that were once considered disposable in Japan actually makes sense.
They also get into the growing value of clean, mostly stock cars, why heavily modified builds can sometimes hurt resale value, and whether certain JDM cars are reaching the point where you can drive them for years and still sell them for more than you paid.
Are affordable JDM imports disappearing for good? Have prices finally leveled off? Or are we going to look back in another five years and wish we bought everything we could at today’s prices?
If you’ve got $20,000 burning a hole in your pocket and want something right-hand drive, this episode might either help you find your next car—or convince you that you should’ve bought one five years ago.