to buy a cheap carseat?

[bollywoodfan]

My DH is of the opinion that more expensive =better, esp when it comes to buying carseats. In DH's car we have got very expensive isofix seats. I need one for my car now and I would probably only be doing local driving.I have seen some carseats for about £30 which are suitable for 9months - 11 years. That just seems so cheap! Is it U to buy this or would I be compromising on safety?

justforinfo that has actually put my mind at ease re the crash testing, I am more than happy with those minimum standards as DS is only ever taken around town at an absolute max of 30 mph. (He had been on a motorway once in his life and he is 2 next month).

Protege you said the dummies get thrown into the windscreen with cheap seats - how is that them passing the test then??

Check the seat's rating on Which? They also advise on Don't Buys which are seats that they consider dangerous although they have passed official safety tests.

This for example although more normal seats failed too:

www.amazon.co.uk/Easycarseat-BEDI-1-Inflatable-Car-Seat/dp/B003D3P7NQ

Tufty it's a real pain with camper van seats isn't it? I got a garage to fit a 3-point seat belt into my back seat. Easy enough on one side apparently but expensive on the other - not sure where ds2 is going!

On kiddicare there is a £90 carseat with isofix already on it so no need to buy the base separately, its lovely we have it in my mums car and my nans and my own

I know 13, I think we can get a 3 point seat belt put on one side but not the cupboard side. There're normal seat belts in the front so one DC will have to sit in front. I'm sure there's a stage 2 seat that can be fitted with a lap belt but I've yet to find it.

How old is your dc?

Car seats only have a shelf life of around 6years so though it is suitable for ages 9m to 11 yrs, there will be a date aroubd six years ahead printed on as its expiry date. Therefore realistically it shouldt last you 11 years.

Tufty I heard they could do something complicated on the cupbaord side (a post in the wardrobe or something) to put a belt in there. So far I have ds1 (5) in back with the good seatbelt, and ds2 in the front in his infant carrier. But when he needs a bigger seat, might have to be ds1 in the front, and toddler in the back. (Dh gets the lapbelt!). I've noticed several cars doing school pick-up with booster seats in the front seat, wouldn't have been my first choice though.

the extra money is not really buying extra safety it is buying extra features more padding more recline positions etc, no car seat sold in UK is unsafe they have passed safety tests, expensive is not necessarily safer just as with cars themselves some of the cheapest cars are safer than ones 2, 3 and 4 times the price

I would go mid range not the very cheapest from argos ( that is fine if you need one for grandparents car occasionally

the more money you spend will not necessarily get you a better seat safety wise, it is guilt tripping on parents saying oh if you buy cheapest you don;t really care. when Mothercare suggested this to Dh when he wanted to look at the cheaper seats they offered

he just asked why they sold them if they were unsafe to which of course they replied oh they are safe, Dh says passed all tests then? oh yes says mothercare rep, so then Dh asks so why are you suggesting your basic product is substandard then? no answer to that one is there

sarah I disagree. More money will buy you an extended rear facing car seat which have been proveb to be safer. Forward facing for 1-4yo is safe enough but an ERF seat IS safer.

DP used to work for a baby furniture company (although not car seats), and he's told me before that the British Standard tests on baby products are pretty stringent. For example, apparently high chairs are supposed to be safe to use without the straps for when in case the little buggers learn to undo them, but the straps are added as an extra safety measure.

Do your research, check out the products if possible and trust your instincts. A 1/2/3 seat might seem a good idea now, but is the quality of the product up to scratch? Is it easy to clean (would think that would be important in a product you intend to keep for up to 10-11 years)? And other assorted questions I haven't thought of yet because DD is only 7 1/2 months.

Arf at sarahtigh - blatant profiteering by Mothercare there.

RF is safer in high speed collisions. Not everyone travels at high speed.

This "why compromise your children's safety" attitude (not aimed at anyone in particular) really winds me up. We are all adults and can make independent, rational, informed decisions about what we spend our money on.

How old is your DC? I love the 9 months to 4yrs seats we have (maxi cosi priori) but my dainty 3.4 year grew out of hers already. If you really hunt around, you can find real bargains on quality seats. Non-isofix is cheaper too, we never use isofix because our seats go in and out so much.

The 9months to 11 years always seem really flimsy and not appropriate for the lower half of the age spectrum. I would put my three years old in one. She's in a Britax evolva now. Would have preferred a recaro, but it was christmas and I was skint.

We have a cheap car seat however we don't drive. Its use is for the odd occasion we go in a car or taxi we use it less than once a month so was happy not to spend. If we were going to be using it regularly I would have looked into other options.

OP there is an offer on a britax seat on kiddicare at the moment it has 60% off.

tuftyfinch The only seat I know of that will do what you desire is the Britax Two way elite.

If you want to use it front facing with the harness it may be fitted with the 2-point lap belt, and has a max weight limit of 18kg. However, if you install the seat rear facing, you may install it with the lap belt and use it to 25kg. There is an extended leg room option for rearward facing mode. You can only buy this seat from in car safety center in Milton Keynes and is around £220.

You do have the option of the Britax Traveller plus, with harnesses up to 36kg/12 years old but this is a special needs seat. It doesn't stop you using it of course! here is a link to it: www.especialneeds.com/special-needs-carseat-britax-standard-traveller-plus.html It does come with a £500 price tag though

P.S. that website is American, but is where I got the info about 2 point belt installation :P just finding a british site to confirm

www.pramspushchairscarseats.co.uk/britax-traveller-plus-seat-p-346.html here you go, again, you'll really need to look into this with Britax to get the absolute best installation.

I would recommend getting the 3 point seat belt fitted then buy the Two Way elite to harness the child until 25kg front or rear facing.

Thank you so much for that justforinfo it must gave taken quite a lot of your time. I really appreciate your help.

No problem at all Sometimes the answers aren't always straight forward and require a little digging!

Can I ask a question?
6yo -are they ok in a high booster that is secured with just a seat belt?
No harness as such.

The two way elite when fitted correctly is a very good seat. Most of the places that sell it will check it fits your car and fit it for you as well

Where to start with this answer

Firstly, it is best to select a child restraint based on your child's weight and height. Children can stay in a group 1 until 18kg or their eyes are level with the top of the seat. They can legally go in a high back booster at 15kg so long as they are tall enough for the chest belt to be correctly positioned on their shoulder, and they are mature enough to be trusted to sit in the seat correctly at all times. So long as a child is the correct weight and height for the high back booster and it is correctly used and fit's the vehicle seat, then yes, it is safe.

As with all child seats, some are boosters are better than others. You can buy high back boosters with ISOfix which add more protection and will reduce lateral movement in an impact. It also means that you don't have to secure the high back booster when the child is not in the car.

The main things a high back booster will offer is: correct positioning of the adult seat belt across the child's lap and chest, side impact protection and head support. If you look at the high back boosters available you will see that they have varying levels of side impact protection from the side wings, high back boosters with deep, padded side wings will offer more protection than ones with shallow side wings.

Hope this helps!

justforinfo is £220 the best price around for the 2 way elite?

We have a Chrysler Grand Voyager with middle seats that fold into the floor of the car. This seems to make rf seats with legs unsuitable (unless you know different?) and the 2we the only rf seat we could use.

Would love to find it cheaper and we won't need it for a while - ds3 is 14m but still only 8.5kg.

Neddle

They fit like this with no bar

m.youtube.com/watch?v=brT5J2fJUp8

This as far as I'm aware is the cheapest place to get them

www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/46?osCsid=sn8s2msokedkn80anh7mb0d920

Phone them and ask about your car as they have info about sizes ext of most popular cars

Thanks sock, we visited them last summer as we were in the area. I do like the seat, I just wondered if there was anything else I could use. I'm annoyed that my 7 seater family car is so crap for fitting carseats and not having many options.