Car shopping can be very stressful. A wrong decision can have far reaching negative consequences that affect people's lives. Therefore, car shoppers should consider all options before signing a contract. The following provides an explanation of some of the most important steps that a car shopper should consider. Step 1 - Make A Decision on Car Type A decision on car type is an obvious starting point which should be directed by your 'needs' as a car shopper as opposed to your 'wants'. If you let 'wants' direct the needs, this can lead to an expensive mistake. If you are a car shopper and you want to understand your needs, these mostly evolve around: 1. Engine - the most dominant factors in this is are the fuel type (diesel engines are more efficient than petrol) and the size of the engine (which determines the power for speed and acceleration); 2. Transmission - there is one of three options, manual, automatic or semi automatic with automatic be