It's a good time to buy a used car or truck, experts say, and one reason is that it's a good time to buy a new one. Used car prices follow new car prices and, this year, both are soft, according to New York Newsday.

Experts say there are bargains, particularly in late-model midsized SUVs and certain intermediate sedans. Heavily propped up with rebates and cut-rate financing programs, the new-vehicle market has been surprisingly strong

this year - except for a stumble last month.

Those special discount programs effectively lower the price of new cars, which in turn

depresses the value of late-model used cars.

Art Spinella, analyst for CNW Marketing/Research in Bandon, Ore., says there are oversupplies of - and therefore bargains in - midsized SUVs such as the Ford Explorer, midsized cars such as the Chevrolet Malibu or Ford Taurus, compact pickup trucks such as the Ford Ranger and in domestic luxury sedans such as the Lincoln Town Car.

In the midsized car category, the more voluminous domestic models will tend to have lower prices than Japanese or European models.