Advice needed - baby car seat questions (merged)

Alias_Omega

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

:rotfl: at the thought of Alias giving birth ANYWHERE! :rotfl:

Im a man...

bank_of_slate wrote: »

I would go for a vasectomy! :whistle:
...Linda xx

How would that help me fitting the extra car seat into a space that even i cant wedge myself into..

Alias_Omega

The issue we have is that were moving to Cyprus for 3 years, which is a country with uses the Euro funny enough.

The Euro exchange rate is 1.10 for works pay, which isnt that good.

Im going to a place where prices are based on the exchange rate being 2.00, so a £2000 car here, is £5000 there etc.

We could do with finding the right car here, then look towards shipping / driving it to cyprus. Its only 2200miles, but the import duty can be quite expensive. Up too £1000 with shipping.

So the call is to either..

1) Buy a car here, ship it out there, import it, give it some plates, run it and sell it there. Probably getting the cash back that its costs us.

2) Buy a car out there, own it for 3 years. No import taxes.


Option 2 would be a good one if there was just 2 kids, but with 3 it makes car choices not that good, and therefore looking at 7 seater / larger cars. Larger cars meal larger taxes, import duty etc.

Feel free to have a look at the prices of some of the larger / 7 seater cards..

http://www.autotradercy.com/

Not as cheap as the uk..

Regads,

Alias

jenhugs

Thought this may be of use. I looked into this a while back when struggling to get a 3rd car seat in my car. We have a mazda 6 and 4 year old twins. The difficulty is when we bring 2 friends home for tea. Whilst a small booster seat fits it is a struggle. After reading the law I am now not to concerned as long as the 3rd child has the seat belt on.

A summary of the new car seat laws From 18 September 2006 Front seat Rear seat Who is responsible? Driver Seat belt MUST be worn if available. Driver Child up to 3 years* Correct child restraint MUST be used*. Correct child restraint MUST be used*. If one is not available in a taxi, may travel unrestrained. Driver Child from 3rd birthday up to 135cms in height (approx 4'5") (or 12th birthday whichever they reach first)** Correct child restraint MUST be used***. Where seat belts fitted, correct child restraint MUST be used. Must use adult belt if the correct child restraint is not available:

- in a licensed taxi/private hire vehicle; or
- for a short distance for reason of unexpected necessity; or
- two occupied child restraints prevent fitment of a third.

A child 3 and over may travel unrestrained in the rear seat of a vehicle if seat belts are not available. Driver Child over 1.35 metres (approx 4ft 5ins in height) or 12 or 13 years Seat belt MUST be worn if available. Seat belt MUST be worn if available. Driver Adult passengers (ie 14 years and over) Seat belt MUST be worn if available. Seat belt MUST be worn if available. Passenger

bank_of_slate

Alias_Omega wrote: »

Im a man...



How would that help me fitting the extra car seat into a space that even i cant wedge myself into..

It will prevent the untimely requirement of car seat number 4 :rolleyes:
...Linda xx

Alias_Omega

jenhugs wrote: »

- in a licensed taxi/private hire vehicle; or
- for a short distance for reason of unexpected necessity; or
- two occupied child restraints prevent fitment of a third.

That little bit will cover us for the uk, but unsure about Cyprus. I bet they probably still ride bikes with no crash helmet nor seat belts in cars.

We shall try the eldest (6) in the car with no booster seat and go from there.

I remember when she was 3, and we put her in the booster seat, she was far too frail them, but now is the height of a 7-8yr old..

miss_peekaboo

we had a similar problem to yours,

2 kids and a brilliant car ( vw passat) - but when baby no 3 appeared it just wasnt big enough...

vw sharan is amazing - it has 2 x built in car seats - so you dont need to fit ones in. they can be used as a booster using the seat belt or with a 5 point harness

we have the baby in the middle with 1-2-3 britax and the boys either side in the built in child seats.

you still have 2 full sized seats in the back for any extra passengers plus plenty of boot space and leg room:T

you can also buy extra seats with the built in childseat from ebay so when baby is bigger they can have the same seat as the other 2 kids

as for feeling old... my other half is into the vw show scene and thought getting this car would make him lokk like an old git ( hes only 30)!! actually, he lowered the suspension 100mm (actually made it better to drive)stuck some 18'' bently wheels on it and some minor body work turned it into a sweet looking ride that was cool to drive!!:cool:

you can pick up used ones really cheap

hope this helps

grannyjo

I faced this 2 years ago- and contacted the AA as I could get 3 car seats across the back of my megane, but couldn't get between the seats to fasten the child in. After some discussion, they suggested special car seat adjusters( Halfords at the time) that allow the adult belt to fit a young child. It worked. -( only for the 2 eldest though) According to the AA (at that time)
that would satisfy the law.
Since then, I bought a Toyota Lucida for 4 children 2 adults and 1 aged gran. I'm really pleased as the 4 children face each other in the back two rows of seats. Its supposed to be safer to face backwards in a car too. As one person said - its like a room in there. Good luck with your choice

Savvy_Sue

they do drive the same side of the road as us then?

If they don't, I'd say buy out there, every time.

pollyanna24

Trying to be economical with my car seat, but know it's the one thing you should buy brand new.

My bf has been out to get my car fitted with a car seat for our one year old. Due to the age of my car (W reg Fiesta), apparently the cheapest one he can find is £180 (something to do with the seatbelts).

He has been told that it's either that or to get the seatbelts changed. Is this expensive/worth it?

BeenieCat

Suuuurely that's not right?? My sister has had several cars older than that and has used a variety of car seats for her 2 kids. Were they not trying to get more money out of him?