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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be slightly concerned about the amount of car seats for sale in Facebook groups?

43 replies

FirstOfHerName · 15/02/2017 10:31

They're always "in good condition" or "never been in an accident" but seriously, why buy a second-hand car seat from a total stranger when you can get them brand new for under £50? Or am I just being PFB?

OP posts:
ExplodedCloud · 15/02/2017 10:34

I wouldn't buy one but I did sell ours on fb. Genuinely hadn't been in an accident though!

Katiepoes · 15/02/2017 10:34

I sold mine - it was a rear facing one that cost 400 euro new, in great condition. The buyer got a great seat for 150 euro, where's the problem? I knew the buyer, what else should we have done? Thrown it to landfill?

ceeveebee · 15/02/2017 10:35

I sold our extended rear facing ones, we had two (twins) costing £300 each so was well worth selling and meant the other twin Mum got a bargain

augustbody · 15/02/2017 10:39

I probably wouldn't buy one on FB just because i just wouldn't be able to tell if it had been in an accident.

There is nothing wrong with second hand car seats generally though and I have used them from family members and friends.

DrivingMeBonkers · 15/02/2017 10:39

Why buy anything second hand when you can get a perfectly good anything for peanuts in a supermarket?

People have children. Children grow. Children are expensive. Therefore you recoup your expenditure on barely used items in order to be able to afford the next stage.

Why do some people become so overly invested in strangers life choices?

Hygellig · 15/02/2017 10:40

I sold ours - they had never been in an accident. (Obviously you have to take the seller's work for that). It's better than them going to landfill. One was a rear-facing seat which cost several hundred pounds new.

BoneCruncher · 15/02/2017 10:46

yanbu I wouldn't buy or sell a car seat to/from a stranger.

Charity's rightly refuse to take second hand car seats now too. I don't think it's PFB to not trust the word of a random person. My undamaged, outgrown one went straight to the tip.

EvaWild · 15/02/2017 10:49

Don't see a problem with this - saving money and reusing old stuff is the way of the future.

Original poster
FirstOfHerName · 15/02/2017 10:49

Why buy anything second hand when you can get a perfectly good anything for peanuts in a supermarket?

Because there's a difference between second-hand clothes or a second-hand high chair and a second hand car seat?

A car seat from someone you know is a different matter to one from a total stranger surely? Also, I might add that the ones I've seen on Facebook recently don't look to be in good condition at all, despite what the buyers say!

OP posts:
HelloFreedom · 15/02/2017 10:51

I think using or buying a second hand car seat from someone you know is fine.

The world is drowning in plastic.

I get the concerns about safety but I do feel sceptical about the advice to always buy new.

Motherofhowmany · 15/02/2017 10:51

Some people can't afford even fifty quid for one.

Yes you could argue that if you can't afford one you shouldn't be having children, but we all know that doesn't realistically happen time and time again. Better a second hand one than those who will risk not using one at all.

Motherofhowmany · 15/02/2017 10:55

My mum also bought second hand ones to use when my nephews come to stay with my grandma so she can take them out in the car. It only happens about three times a year so bothering with brand new ones deemed excessive.

witsender · 15/02/2017 10:56

I am surprised at them, as it is so risky. But would rather someone with no pennies to rub together bought a half decent second hand one than some crappy shite off a supermarket shelf. I gave our original maxi cosi to the fire station for practice.

I wouldn't buy one off a selling site, maybe off a friend.

HughJarss · 15/02/2017 10:59

I think your logic can apply to anything. You can buy anything cheaply in a supermarket or get a better product second hand, probably for less money. More sustainable to buy second hand, too. Each to their own.

HughJarss · 15/02/2017 11:00

Witsender that's such a good idea. I'll do that once ours are outgrown.

Ifitquackslikeaduck · 15/02/2017 11:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

annlee3817 · 15/02/2017 11:02

I don't see an issue with it, although it depends on the age of the car seat, as some actually have expiry dates. I prefer new personally, but only because then I can guarentee that it hasn't been in an accident. We had to return our car seat recently as it failed safety ratings, I wouldn't have been able to return had in been bought second hand.

Hellochicken · 15/02/2017 11:03

I bought 8 of our 9 car seats (have them in both cars and 4DC also 1 spare booster seat for guests!) second hand. I could afford to buy them new but I wanted to buy second hand to save the money and avoid the landfill.

SparklyUnicornPoo · 15/02/2017 11:04

I bought ours off a friend, I don't drive, i have the car seat purely for if DD is going in someone else's car.

Even a cheaper £50 one is a lot of money for some families, I'd rather people were buying 2nd hand car seats than risking not having one because they simply couldn't afford one!

StarUtopia · 15/02/2017 11:05

The main issue is how old they are.

I sold our Maxi Cosi Axiss (paid £169, had the receipt, could prove it was only 8 months old) for £70.

She got a bargain, I recouped some of our money.

I think you can tell whether or not something is in good condition and 'worth' the risk. I wouldn't buy off a complete stranger, but would happily buy off a friend or friend of a friend if it was a fairly new seat from a smoke/pet free home.

You may be a bit pfb - would you also only ever put your child on a brand new mattress? (even though every time you sleep at a hotel you're sleeping on a mattress that thousands have slept on!)

dowhatnow · 15/02/2017 11:06

Yep better than nothing.

augustbody · 15/02/2017 11:08

I honestly think that the 'expiry date' thing on car seats is a marketing ploy to get you to buy more seats. Yes, plastic does degrade over time, but it is a very long time and usually with direct sun exposure and extremes of heat or cold. Plus they have so called expiry dates on some seats, but then on those 1,2,3 seats they claim you can use them from 9months to age 12 or whatever, which is much longer than the 5 year expiry date.

I wouldn't use a car seat that was years and years old, but I don't think there is any danger in using a bog standard maxi cosi that is past its expiry date.

BlondeBecky1983 · 15/02/2017 11:09

If you know the seller then fair enough but never from an unknown.

BoneCruncher · 15/02/2017 11:10

I also fill up landfills with non-reusable nappies and sanpro Shock

thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/02/2017 11:12

We put our in our skip on our drive when we moved, just because I wasn't going to sell it and can't be doing with those free sites because of time wasters (whole other thread) - and someone came and took it out. I don 't mind them doing that, but really? It hadn't been in an accident but wouldn't you assume that if it was skipped then it probably could have been?

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