Sola, vista, elea or something else??

bastet

Hi,
I am due baby number 2 in November and having real trouble trying to choose a pram.
I had a list of 3 that I liked, uppababy vista, maxi cosi elea and graco evo. However last weekend we found ourselves in Mamas and Papas and we fell in love with their Sola in denim. My partner ended up paying the 25% deposit on it and that was our pram picked - or so I thought!
After a week of googling and reading various reviews, the sola is starting to scare me!
Wheels falling off, chasis bent, problems with the seat and folding the unit:eek:
I understand that with everything in life there will be good reviews and bad ones but this seemed to be a common problem with this pram system.
Mamas and Papas were repairing or replacing the faulty equipment but after a few uses the same fault or a new one happened.
Do any of you lovely moneysavers have the Sola and if so have you had any problems?
It was Which's best buy but even they have commented on the backrest fault.
I am now looking at the possibility of cancelling the m&p order and purchasing either the uppababy vista 2012 or the maxi cosi elea to use with the maxi cosi pebble car seat?

My head is full of pushchairs and travel systems - even had a dream about them last night.

Sorry for the long post:o

bright_side

Just glanced at your post and thought you were talking about baby names :eek: :eek:

Sorry I can't help you but hopefully someone will be along soon to offer assistance x

bastet

:rotfl:

That's about the only thing we have got! I can't remember being so disorganised with my first, or it being such a challenge choosing a pram.

Aimless

Have you been somewhere to try them all? I had my heart set on an Elea, till I went to try one. I thought it felt cheap and not very solid, and even with the instructions, couldn't get the damn thing to fold up!

bastet

I tested the Elea and got that impression too. It was lightweight but didn't feel as sturdy as some of the other puschairs out there.
I had my heart set on the Graco Evo when I first found out I was pregnant but the thing that put me off was it was only compatible with their carseat.
I'm going to take a trip to John Lewis today to test the uppababy. All the prams I have looked at are of similar style, it's trying to find one that will last.

Archiebear

I've no knowledge of any of the prams above however, my daughter bought the Silver Cross Surf . It's been brilliant.

It looks stylish, folds with one click (even I managed it first time!) so fits into the car easily, has adjustable handlebar (really good as my daughter and I are both only 5ft whereas her partner is over 6ft).

Perhaps the only downside is that the basket is tiny - not so great if you do a big shop, but as we use the car it doesn't really affect us. Otherwise I can't fault it!

Elelyn

I am due baby no.1 in four weeks time and I have the Graco Evo (pushchair and carrycot). We couldn't get the car seat to match as it doesn't fit in our car but loved the pram so much that we bought it anyway and a different car seat. They advise you not to leave baby in the car seat for more than an hour or two when they're small so I would have been transferring him from car seat to carrycot anyway so it won't make a difference to me that I can't attach the car seat to the chassis. I did also like the Sola but the Graco had the edge for me. Can't wait for baby to arrive to try it out properly!

dizziblonde

Go and try as many out as you can - pushchair buyer's remorse can be an expensive business (I know someone onto pushchair number 45!)

I love love love love love my iCandy though... gutted I'm probably going to have to swap for a double soon. Soooo nice to push and you could fit a small house into the shopping basket - and it's a dead cheerful colour.

I've heard tales of woe about M+P customer service when faults develop I'll admit.

Realistically though - how long are you going to want it to last for? Are you actually going to use it right through or are you going to be someone who swaps for a lightweight stroller when you can do? Might help clear things up in your mind regarding things like seat sizes and the like.

bastet

:eek: i didn't think about the car! OH has a focus but the only time I am in it is the weekly shop or a trip somewhere. I don't drive so the pram will be used mostly for walking and obviously taking the bus but will need to fit in that boot occasionally.

Think I'll need to look out the measuring tape for when the OH gets home:D

bastet

I am looking for something that's built to last as there is a possibility of number 3 (just have to run it by OH first):D

I used to think m&p's were great but after the reviews and speaking to a few people who had a different type of pram from them but similar problems it's put me off:(

onlyroz

You need to decide the following:

- Do you need carrying capacity for shopping?
- Do you intend to take it on public transport?
- Do you intend to take it "off road"?
- How big is the boot of your car?
- Do you want the buggy to last until the child is 3-4 years old or do you intend to buy a different one when the child can sit up unaided?

Once you know the answer to the above you can then narrow down the range of suitable buggies.

In my own experience, for off-roading the Mountain Buggy is best, and for around town the Quinny Zapp is best (although this isn't suitable for a newborn unless you fit a car-seat onto the frame).

I have also had a Quinny Buzz and I had a lot of problems with the front wheel jamming. I also had a Mothercare own brand - but we destroyed this trying to push it on Chobham Common...