Advice needed - baby car seat questions (merged)

pollyanna24

That's what I thought. But he went to Mothercare and they tried 6 seats apparently.

emlou2009

halfords do a car seat fitting service too, they might have more cheaper brands? you can also buy online once you find one that fits, its bound to be cheaper online than in a shop

fernliebee

It may be due to the length of the seatbelts, if this is the case then it would be much cheaper to just get the seatbelts in the back changed, and then buy a cheaper car seat. I know some cars, especially smaller ones tend to have shorter seatbelts. I have a rather large car seat for my DD (britax First Class) and in some of the new hire cars my dad has had when he comes to visit, we have had to put her in the front as the belts don't fit round, so it's not just older cars where it is a prob. I always just presumed seat belts were a standard length, but apparently not.

If you can find out the exact problem then you can get a quote from a garage as to cost and weigh up the cheapest way to do it.

ETA: The car seat we have was £149.99 in mothercare, but we bought for £99.99 on kiddicare, so once you have identified which one will fit, then it is much cheaper to do this.

csh_2

There is a problem with Ford and the length of the seat belts regardless of the age of the car. They're not just trying to scam more money x
What about the fixed base type thingy?

fernliebee

I had to have a new seat belt fitted in my old astra (N reg) so it would pass the MOT and it really didn't cost much to get done at the garage. Usually I would get my mechanic brother to do it but it was only about £30 (for parts and labour) so I just got them to do it. Like I said before it may well work out cheaper just to have that done, then you won't have this problem when it comes to getting next car seat either.

ETA, most of the fixed bases that don't use a seatbelt are isofix, which old cars don't have so may not be an option. Worth looking at all the options though as there will def be a cheaper way of doing it.

pollyanna24

Thanks everyone.

I think what I will do is find out about changing the seat belt in the back and then ask bf for the brands of car seat and then see if I can get it cheaper online.

I read through the threads really quickly (sorry, at work), but there was something about it being the seat belts in the back. Could I possibly stick her in a seat in the passenger seat next to me? Or would the seat belts be the same? I know there is something to do with air bags with this idea though, so don't shout at me if I am wrong.

emlou2009

its fine to have the car seat in the front, as long as there is no air bag. but if there is one, then the garage should be able to turn it off, they should have a key to do it

Caroline73_2

Phone your local council and speak to the Road Safety Officer. Most counties have a place that is recommended by the RSO, explain the predicament and they will give you the best impartial advice.

bylromarha

pollyanna24 wrote: »

I know there is something to do with air bags with this idea though, so don't shout at me if I am wrong.

If it's a rear facing seat in the front seat, then you need to turn the airbag off. If it's a forward facing seat, you leave the airbag on.

niklam

Actually - if any child is in any car seat in the ront of the car then the air bag should be switched off.

OP - Have you looked on the britax website. They have a thing called the fitfinder where you enter the age or weight of the baby and the make, model and year of the car and it will then tell you which of the britax car seats will fit in your car, and which seats you are allowed to use them in.

I dont know if any other car seat manufacturer offers this service.

I have bought car seats in Mothercare before and had them fitted by mothercare - and ended up taking them back because they didnt fit!

hth

Niki