How much should I spend?
Prices for car seats can vary enormously, ranging from £40 to over £400. While all car seats have to pass the minimum safety criteria of regulation R44/04 to be legally sold, many of the bigger brands do their own independent tests at higher speeds.
A lot of the larger car seats that are rear facing-only have passed the Swedish Plus Test, which is the world's strictest car seat test. These tests cost a lot of money, which is reflected in the price of the seats.
Consider your budget and talk to the retailer about the different tests and standards of each seat – they should be able to advise you.
Do car seats expire?
Legally, car seats do not have expiry dates. It is still legal to use seats that were approved to R44/03, some of which date back to the mid '90s.
However, most manufacturers specify a length of time after which their seat should be discarded and there may be separate time limits on using a combination seat with harness and then as a booster. Manufacturing dates can vary from seat to seat, but is usually between five to 10 years from the date of manufacture.
We don’t advise using a seat past its recommended time limit. Your car seat should have a label or a sticker with a manufacturing date. If you can’t find one, check your car seat manual or with the manufacturer for the limit of your seat.
As Margaret Bolt, a qualified Child Seat Safety Adviser and founder of Rear-Facing Toddlers explains, "It isn’t a case that the seat will suddenly become less robust or less likely to withstand an accident, but, as a seat gets older, it becomes more difficult to know its history.
It may have been passed from owner to owner, its crash history might not be known, instructions may be missing or spare parts unavailable.
New seats come out all the time with new safety features, new technology and new innovations. This means that the top-of-the-range seat you bought five years ago may no longer be the safest option on the market." Margaret also advises that, if a new baby comes along, it may be a good idea to consider buying a new seat if your current one is around 10 years old.
Are second-hand car seats safe?
As well as being somewhere for your child to sit while you're driving, a car seat's main job is to protect them. And for that purpose, it tends to be a single use item.
In other words, you can use a car seat until you have an accident, but as soon as that happens the seat has to be thrown away and replaced. Even if the seat looks fine, it may have suffered invisible damage that has made it weak and unsafe, so you can’t risk using it again.
A second-hand car seat isn’t necessarily unsafe though. Using a second-hand car seat that was given to you by a relative or a friend that you know they bought new and haven't had an accident with is fine. But if you buy a seat from someone you don’t know, you have no real way of knowing the seat’s history and you could be putting your child at risk.
Good Egg Safety recommends never buying a second-hand seat, even though it may be a cheaper option, in case there is damage from a previous collision or even from something as simple as being dropped.
Using a car seat on holiday
When it comes to travelling abroad, make sure you understand the law in the country you are travelling to. EU seats can be used throughout Europe, which includes the Middle East, some parts of Africa, Asia and New Zealand.
They are technically illegal to use in the USA, Canada and Australia, although they may be permitted for a holiday.
If a child is under 18kg, then using a car seat on board the plane is the safest option and a few EU seats have TUV approval for use on an aircraft. Check with your airline for their guidelines first.
A car seat can often also be taken in the hold free of charge, but make sure it is well padded and boxed to avoid being damaged.
A final option would be to order a seat from a local retailer at your destination and see if it can be delivered to where you are staying or to the car rental place.
We don’t recommend hiring seats as they are often old, may not be suitable for your child and you won't know the history of them.
How easy is the car seat to clean?
Nothing’s ever squeaky clean when children are involved, so you’ll want a car seat with removable and washable covers that you can easily shove in the washing machine when you need to
Ready to shop? Check out our baby car seat reviews before you buy.
About the author
Laura Westerman is an editor, writer and Deputy Head of Editorial Content at Mumsnet. With over seven years' experience as a full-time editor, five of which have been spent writing, commissioning and editing product reviews and round-ups, Laura has a keen eye for what parents love and likes nothing more than putting together honest reviews to make parents' lives that little bit easier.
In addition to her work as a writer and editor, she has also appeared in a number of baby product review videos for Mumsnet's YouTube channel. She is mum to a one-year-old.
About Mumsnet Reviews
All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real parents after weeks of research and testing – this includes recommendations from the Mumsnet Talk board. We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage.
All prices correct at time of publication
Photo credit (images 1 and 2): Good Egg Safety CIC