Right now could be the best time ever to buy a vehicle, if you aren't worried the maker will go out of business, shutting off parts and service and ruining resale value.

"There are going to be fabulous deals. ... It's a buyer's market," says Tom Libby of Power Information Network.

"I've been doing this 15 years, for more than 101,000 customers, and I've never seen a time like now," says James Bragg of Fighting Chance, which helps car buyers get discounts. "This month is better than the week between Christmas and New Year's, historically the best time."

Because of the economy, sales are falling faster than automakers can cut production, leaving dealers with a good selection. October new-vehicle sales were at an annual rate of 10.6 million, the worst since World War II, adjusted for population growth.

"Virtually everybody can find what they want," says Jack Nerad, executive market analyst at car-shopping site www.kbb.com. "The only place they're thin is pickups and large SUVs," since production of those vehicles was cut months ago.

It's also a terrific time to buy what you're leasing. Automakers "really don't want that car back, so you can negotiate hard," says David Champion, senior auto tester at Consumer Reports magazine.

But if the maker of your car or truck goes under, you could be in trouble.

"There is a federal regulation that parts have to be available for 10 years. But who do you enforce that against if there's no entity there?" says Nerad.

If the maker was absorbed by another or kept running under bankruptcy protection, parts, service and warranty work would be available. But if a car company went into liquidation, "people will be left holding the bag," says Champion.

South Korean maker Daewoo went into bankruptcy in Korea in 2001 and quit the U.S. market in 2002, leaving 525 U.S. dealers with thousands of unsold cars they'd paid for and sentencing 170,000 owners to the Internet and salvage yards for parts.

Even if you shrug off that threat, expect the value of your car to drop if it's from a brand or company that dies. When GM killed Oldsmobile in 2004, the resale value of Olds cars fell far faster than that of other GM brands, even though GM was still there to take care of owners, according to Automotive Lease Guide, experts in forecasting a car's value in a few years.

"If you have a car serving you well, keep it," advises Champion. If you need to trade, "the best value is a reliable used car two or three years old."