2026 Corolla is $25k.

I saw a manual transmission Nissan Versa for $17k.

How much cheaper can they get?

A friend of mine bought a used car in 2007 for ~$4500 in 2025 dollars.

In my mid-20s I bought a 3-year-old Accord for $16k (using a $12k loan) and that was a big stretch for my finances at the time, despite having a good early-career tech job.

Your $17k figure is a lot of money for most folks in the US.