What's the most important factor to you when shopping for a car?If you consider the overall purchase price and the make/model ofthe vehicle to be the most important traits in making yourdecision, you are similar to 77 percent of car buyers, according toan online study conducted by the Progressive Group of InsuranceCompanies.

Not too shocking. But what about the other factors that candirectly affect the cost of a car? Though most buyers walk into adealer with researched opinions on the cars they want, many fail toadequately research the cost of insurance for that shiny new latemodel. In fact, the study cited insurance costs as one of the leastimportant factors that buyers contemplate when shopping for a car.Thirty-three percent spend no time at all researching insurancerates, even though an overwhelming majority agrees that this costshould be an important factor in deciding which vehicle topurchase.

Where you live also can affect your tendencies. The survey foundcar shoppers in the Northeast were twice as likely (46 percent) asthose in the Mountain States (24 percent) to admit to neverresearching the cost of insurance when purchasing a new car.