new car seat?

carpool72

I'm expecting #2 in April and am starting to think about the things we might actually need (not much compared to last time when I thought we needed all sorts lol). One thing is a newborn car seat, as last time's was a hand-me-down which I then binned as it was getting on a bit. This time I have the option of my sister's, which was new in Sept 1999 & used for 2 babies or buying a new one. Is my sister's one getting too old? If we decide to go for new has anyone seen any good buys?

Thanks
C

Juicy_Tube

Many congrats and good luck with final months!



I have just bought a maxi cosi car seat. Did research on the 'which' website. Britax and then maxi cosi rated highly.Have been informed by an independant store that maxi cosi are coming a very close second to britax. Not sure how true this is?

Not too sure about hand me downs, although I think I have read somewhere recently that the issue is general wear and tear on the seat etc. HTH.

Hope someone else can offer you some advice.

Good luck!

JT x

beaker141

hi congrats on number two.
I have two boys and have used both car seats on both,
I think you should get new - i wouldnt want one that old
I saw a good deal on
https://www.kiddicare.com
they have two britax babysure sears for £44.99
I have always got britax so i can recommend its a good seat and i think thats a good price for first seat
good luck

funky-footprints

i dont see the need to get a new one, my sis in laws eldest was born in 99, she wrote to britax and bought a realy lovely new cover for it, should i get pg this year, number 3 will go in the car seat i bought in 2000, its was used for such a little time, and apart from fading is in lovely condition i will then buy a new car seat for stage 2.

darthpaul

I would buy new, the trouble with 2nd hand is they could have had little bumps being taken in and out of cars. Safety advice says that these could damage the structure even a small amount which can compromise how the seat would react in a crash. So if it was me I would buy new just for peace of mind.

pdoff

we got graco mirage travel system for ds2 with car seat base - so much easier to put in / take out of car than faffing about with seat belt every time!

HappySad

Don't get a hand me down as you can't guarentee that is has not been in an accident. also after 5 years you should throw away your current one and get a new one. ... read this on my carseat manual as the plastics start to go off of something like that. Also hand me downs don't have the lated safety features.

Which? magazine will tell you all you need to know about what to look for and which makes are the safest and why. You can then spend your money on a safe car seat and not waste it on a cheap or expensive one that is not as safe.

Go down to the library for for Which? magazine.. then photo copy the relavent pages. This at home read and work out which one suits your needs. The surf to find who sells the seats and offer trained car seat fitting service... (Mother and Papas, Mothercare, Halfords, Some toy shops, ..). You MUST get it properly fitted by a TRAINED car seat fitter. DO NOT do it yourSELF. We found a good carseat in Mother and Papas but the trained car seat fitter said that she could not sell it to us because it did not fit properly to our car and that it would not offer the correct protection..... So in the end we when back the Which? article and choice a car seat that HAlfords sold. They fitted it and showed us how to it it properly ourselves. If they don't show you get them to show you how to do this.


Now is a good time to get one as the sale is on.

rabialiones

theres one at aargos on offer half price - britax - round about 30.00

Viz_2

Yes defo buy a new one !

Might be a good idea to choose a seat that can fit various cars (for a baby-sitter purpose ?).

I would reccommend going to a big Mothercare World. You will generally find one on a big shopping industrial estate.

The shop assistants will help you choose and even fit (and show you how to) the seat for you.

When i lived in Havering once a month they had a car seat specialist in the car park from the government (council project) to advise and check seats for anyone passing.

Good luck.

crankup

Please - Don't buy into the scaremongering that you MUST have a new one. If that was the case, then every child currently sat in a car seat is in danger, once you put a "for sale" sign on the seat. How can it suddenly become at risk just because someone is about to buy it? 2nd hand doesnt mean duff, although the shops might imply that. If its good enough for your sisters kids then its good enough for yours.

Yes, don't buy one thats been in an accident. I'm sure you knew that! But how many are likely to have been in an accident? And then offered up for sale afterwards? Not many!

If the quality of the seat is so poor that its integrity is at risk if it gets a little bump, then dont even buy that one new! It'll get a little bump every time the kids climb in I expect!

If you know someone is about to get rid of one then simply check the model and see if it fits your car. Britax list the cars suitable for their models on their website at https://www.britax.co.uk . You don't need "training" to click a seatbelt in place. If a spotty git at Halfords can read the packaging, lift it into a car and clip in the seatbelt then so can most people lol! Never believe that these people are specialist engineers, too funny!

Do you have airbags in your car where this seat will be fitted? Check if your chosen seat is ok with airbags in this case.


Its all about common sense and I bet you can spot a dud from a goodun without a shops "specialist" help.