Sydney, Australia - Please help me buy a car seat....

[Paranoid1stTimer]

We are going to Sydney on holiday to stay with relatives in a few weeks and they want to buy a car seat for LO to use while we are there (they are going to be driving us around the place!!!! How lucky are we?)

Anyway, they are in their 20's and not interested in kids at all yet so obviously they want us to email them details of a car seat and they will go out and buy it provided we give them the money (obviously) and give them the exact make/model etc of car seat we want them to get...

Here lies the problem! We had a look online and all the car seats we have seen are nothing like the UK ones (ie we have a maxi cosi bla bla over here but can't find it or it's equivalent there)

Basically, please can some nice Australian Mumsnetter give us advice on the best budget car seat for an 18 month old and ideally where to get it in Sydney or is it better to order online and get it delivered to relative's house?

Thank you thank you thank you...

[Paranoid1stTimer]

PS We have been looking at the Safe-n-Sound car seats.... Any good?

[Sandgroper]

Hi

Lucky you!

I am an Aussie expat who has just spent 10 months in Perth and had to buy a car seat for our newborn (long story). We also took our Brittax, travel car seat for our then 2 year old and used it illegally in our new car. In WA they need a strap to secure them to the car (our new car had this inbuilt) and apparently UK car seats don't meet the AUS safety standards, but what about the stringent EU standards which are some of the highest in the world. Go figure.

Safe and Sound is the best brand, we did a lot of research and it seems to be the equivalent of "Maxi Cosi" (which we have 2 of over here). Try looking up Choice Magazine (Oz version of Which Mag), that's what we used and they had make/models etc they recommended.

As for where to get them, not sure about NSW. We got ours on special at Big W, so you could get them to watch out for specials either here or at Kmart or Target when you know what type you want. Frankly the babystores in WA where really expensive, and so hard to get things delivered. Not like here, think it is because population so small can't support it.

Could also check the NSW version of RAC, they might have makes/models etc. they recommend.

Happy shopping and if you have any other questions free to ask.

[Paranoid1stTimer]

Wow - thanks very much for the reply. I really didn't expect to get any.

I hope you are enjoying your life in Perth. DH got his Skilled 176 visa a while ago but we have to delay moving over due to the pound being so pathetically weak and that we cant sell our house now.

We lived in Melbourne back in 2005 and would have gone for the visa back then but they had stipulated 3yrs continuos employment in your trade and he had taken time out to go to university, so even though he has had a trade and worked continuously for 8 yrs, THEN went back to uni, and went back to his trade after graduating and not being able to get a job in IT, he hadn't been working at his trade for the 3 yrs before applying for the visa and it was refused.

Typical eh? Would've been much more financially viable back then but we are not giving up on our dream. We are no better off staying in the UK and are actually on the verge of losing our house if it doesn't sell asap.

Sorry - didnt mean to give all that info! Can't wait to go to Oz to validate the visas though.

[mowbraygirl]

The NRMA in NSW is the version of the AA or RAC over here. What about hiring a car seat for your stay that is what we used to do when we visited Sydney but that was years ago. On my last visit 'home' which was 18 months ago I am sure that I was reading in a magazine about hiring all sorts of baby equipment. Ask your relatives to look in the Sydney phone book the quivalent of our Yellow Pages and they may be able to find something. Would be cheaper than buying a car seat I know I was quite horrified of the prices in the Baby Shops but as someone else said they are quite a bit cheaper in places like K Mart and Target.

[lulalullabye]

You can use a british car seat in Aus. If the seat has no 'top thether' as they call it, it is not illegal to use it. Only if the seat has one are you required to use it ! We would have saved ourselves a lot of money if we knew that.

Anyhow, if you know someone in the uk who has a lightweight car seat, just take it with you. You just need to put it in cargo at the airport, don't need to weigh it in.

[esselle]

I second what Lula says (Hello Lovely!!). Just bring your UK car seat.
We moved here in 2007 and still use DDs Maxi Cosi car seat.
It is not illegal and will not invalidate any car insurance.
Honestly I was happy enough to drive around in the UK with this car seat and I am just as happy to use it here - it is perfectly safe.
If you do bring your car seat try and get a travel bag for it so It doesn't get trashed by the airlines. I got one for about £15 online.
If you decide to use an Australian car seat do hire one though - don't buy one. Get a Safe n sound one, they are very good.

[sandcastles]

See if they can hire/borrow one. They are very expencive over here & for a few weeks it seems daft to spend $300 on a car seat they will never use again & get hardly an resale value on.

You can try the red cross or independant traders. They would need a baby magazine for details of lenders. They are all checked & still have to conform to high safety standards.

But if they still insist on buying new, try

Target
Kmart
Toys R Us
Big W

Tell them to look out for the catologue sales.

Safe & sound is a good brand, we have one of those.

[Paranoid1stTimer]

Brilliant thanks. We are looking at a couple of baby hire companies.

[ninedragons]

If you buy one, you can get www.littles.com.au to come out and fit it correctly for you. It costs about A$40 and I would recommend the service highly.