Help car seat nightmare

minxtress

Does anyone know of any good websites that can advise which car seat is suitable for which car?
My sister has a 9 month old son, and owns a 55 reg nissan almera tino, she has been told my mothercare and halfords only 1 seat will be legal in her car.....and its £300?
Having had 3 of my own and never having this problem i find it very strange and annoying,
She purchased one online from mothercare to use and after being made to sign a disclaimer saying they hadnt fitted it and hadnt seen her car, they said it will be illegal if not the right one, she is now terrified to use it.
A website to check ourselves would be ideal.

bengalknights

http://www.britax.co.uk/car-seats/fit-finder

try that although its mainly for the britax range

1984ReturnsForReal_2

http://www.maxi-cosi.com/gb-en/carselector

.............

I think you can have a maxi cosi tobi apart from the far rear seats & front passenger seat (if there is an airbag)

You can get them for around £150-£180 or 2nd hand on Ebay for about £30-£60


Or a Priori XP for around £80-£100

Tigsteroonie

Out of interest, OP, which was the one seat that that they thought would be legal?

And did she have a specific seating position in mind in the car - front or rear, to the side or in the middle?

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

Out of interest, OP, which was the one seat that that they thought would be legal?

And did she have a specific seating position in mind in the car - front or rear, to the side or in the middle?

They probably meant one seat in the car that is legal not one carseat.

It probably has a front passenger seat airbag, you cant seat them in the rear 3 or the middle of the 2nd row so it only leaves the mid off & near sides.

sillygoose

Tino is only 5 seater.

Well I would like to know which 'law' they are referring to you breaking?

To my knowledge there are no 'laws' other than those specifying that a child below 12 years or 135cm must use a suitable child seat.

Its not law, but its up to the parents satisfaction that the seat fits securely not Halfords trying to rip people off. I bet it was an expensive Isofix seat they were trying to sell? (I'm fairly sure Tino has Isofix points on the 2 outer seats)

Now Isofix seats are the best by far, its what the car manufacturers use when submitting their cars for crash testing to get the best score. But they are not a legal requirement, other seats can give good protection too.


For reference...

The law requires all children travelling in cars to use thecorrect child restraint until they are either 135 cm in height or the age of 12 (which ever they reach first)

In the Front Seat
The child MUST use the correct child restraint.
It is illegal to carry a child in a rear-facing child seat in the front, which is protected by an active frontal airbag.

An appropriate child restraint is one which:

• conforms to the United Nations standard, ECE Regulation 44-03
• is suitable for the child's weight and size
• is correctly fitted according to the manufacturer's instructions.

themacster

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

http://www.maxi-cosi.com/gb-en/carselector


You can get them for around £150-£180 or 2nd hand on Ebay for about £30-£60


Or a Priori XP for around £80-£100

I would be VERY wary of buying secondhand - there is no telling how the seat has been treated - been in an accident, damaged, dropped etc etc. The accepted advice is not to buy secondhand, though I accept you may get a good one, there is no guarantee. Do you want that on your conscience?

When we've finished with ours, we're going to throw them away - although I know they should be okay, I would not be happy for someone else to take them on.

weegieblue

I don't think it's 'illegal' to have certain seats in your car. As Sillygoose said, the lasw states who needs a seat, not what seat they have to have.

My first port of call would be to telephone the manufacturer helpline as they will know the exact details. The only issue we ever had with our car seats was making sure they fitted ok. Sounds like a dodgy sales tactic to me!

sunshinetours

See if local council has safety centre for car seats. Ours runs one and you can turn up and try various seats to be propely fitted to see if they are considered a safe fit. The staff ardo not sell anything and so are impartial and advise in writing which ones could be suitable and won't recommend ones that aren't.

Very useful local service.
Britax Fit Finder and such are just guides - you really need to try them out