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AIBU?

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Original poster

WIBU to insist on this pram?

515 replies

aliensprig · 14/08/2019 09:15

I really, really want a Bugaboo Fox. In the reviews it ticks all the boxes for me: sturdy, lightweight, all-terrain, great storage and obviously pretty damn gorgeous!!

BUT DH doesn't think we should spend a grand on something we'll only use for about three years and wants us to get something second hand. He doesn't understand that there are literally billions of types out there, and some of the cheaper brands are cheap for a reason!

Also he won't ever be pushing the damn thing - I don't drive, and will be doing A LOT of walking with it. We live in a hilly town with some rural areas, so just buying something at random from the Argos catalogue isn't going to cut it. It needs to be light, easily folded, have good storage and be able to tackle mud, uneven ground, hills and busy streets.

WIBU to just buy the Fox regardless? We're not rich by any means, but we're not poor either, we can afford it. Plus I expect my parents will want to cover half the cost. Or should I compromise and get something cheaper like the baby jogger city mini? I don't like that it's forward facing only, but it's another all-terrain and my husband is more likely to agree on that one...

OP posts:
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BentleyBelly · 15/08/2019 21:31

That buggy will not cope well off road....you need 3 big wheels not 4. I live very rurally and my Out n About nipper has been great for my 2 kids, it's still going strong after nearly 6 years of abuse cross country. It's a fraction of the price of your bugaboo too.

bigfatmoggy · 15/08/2019 21:33

@nosauce I agree it's not about me. But it shouldn't really be about the OP either - unless she's a multi millionaire the money could benefit her DC/s in far better ways. Having a very expensive flashy buggy is sometimes about the parent wanting to look flash (for a very short time) - there will usually be a cheaper/second hand or less 'designer' option that does the same job. (Second hand is also more eco-friendly....)

I just think the baby years fly by so fast - and you can spend a fortune if you aren't careful, when the DCs might far rather have a savings plan or music lessons or holidays when they are old enough to enjoy it. You could probably easily spend £10K on a new baby, or get by on £200 - and anything in between. As many other PPs have said - a grand on a buggy isn't necessarily the best use for your money.

Plus you can get it wrong - and find after a couple of months you really wish you'd gone for something else. Happens a lot......

It's the OPs choice - she has asked for views and can make up her own mind. Enjoy your new arrival, OP! Flowers

kidsdoingmyheadin · 15/08/2019 21:34

My Maclaren was about £300 I think & similar styles have sold for £150 plus on eBay (was debating about selling it as DC2 is now 2.5)

kidsdoingmyheadin · 15/08/2019 21:39

Of course it’s up to the OP to spend how she sees fit, my parents bought my Uppababy but I would have been happy with 2nd hand, there just wasn’t many available as it was a new brand (to the UK) when I got it. I bought a 2nd hand changing table that originally cost £400 & was like new, think it was £80.

LaurieMarlow · 15/08/2019 21:40

when the DCs might far rather have a savings plan or music lessons or holidays when they are old enough to enjoy it

But every penny you spend on anything could potentially be put to better use.

Do you advocate buying the cheapest option for everything you get for your baby or is it only the pram that has to be all about value for money?

bigfatmoggy · 15/08/2019 21:48

@lauriemarlow that's true - it's just about balance. To me the difference between £100 and £1000 is massive - other things won't be such a huge outlay anyway so the buggy is probably the biggest thing. It all adds up though.

I had a friend who bought a really expensive baby changing station - it cost about a grand I think and was gorgeous, but she only had one child and only used it for a few months, because when the baby gets active they aren't very safe. I never had one and used the bed and then the floor. My friend said it was the biggest waste of money ever.

CrotchetyQuaver · 15/08/2019 22:16

I'd really seriously check out the claims for mud and uneven ground with it, because I found the only thing any good for them was fixed wheels not swivelly ones which will just clog up in no time with the mud. Other than that, I walked everywhere with mine and we kept the pram going much longer, rather than swapping to a lightweight buggy. Prams make the best pushchairs when they're older and heavier and are usually better for carrying the shopping home.

Other than that, if it still checks out as the pram of your dreams and is likely to cope with the abuse you intend to give it then I'd say go ahead and buy it. If you're walking everywhere and using it every day rather than it being sat in the car boot most of the time, it'll pay for itself. The boring sensible me would try and find someone with a pram fetish who is selling a barely used one secondhand to save a few £££

helpIhateclothesshopping · 15/08/2019 22:21

Look around at what's available second hand as he's right, that's a lot of money and they don't hold their value. I've seen some great ones in our local charity shop, I wish had been about when we were looking. I know of others who are serial pram changers, every few weeks buying and selling to get something different. Needs change as your children grow.

MaybeMaybeNotJ · 15/08/2019 22:26

I got the baby jogger city select (it is a double though) second hand and it is amazing.

My expensive first pram was awful to steer and killed my shoulder. But looked pretty 🙈

SeriouslyEnoughAlreadyRantOver · 15/08/2019 22:30

It's not about what you can afford, it's about value for money.

true

a 1k travel system - and let's say they don't include the 1st car seat which they normally do - is £250 a year over 4 years, or less than £21 a month.

Now, if you use it extensively, don't need to bother so much with your car thanks to it, take the baby/toddler/young child everywhere, it's money well spent.

Sell it back for £300 (and that's a very reasonable figure, you usually get a lot more), it would have cost you £15 a month. And that's only for child number 1.

It all depends on your needs, but I could use my own buggy everywhere and jog with the baby, so £1k was one of the best money spent on baby equipments.

MaybeMaybeNotJ · 15/08/2019 22:30

Oh I should add I got the stroller of my dreams two years after I first saw it second hand at a quarter of the price. It was so satisfying waiting for it and getting a bargain

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 15/08/2019 22:33

We could easily afford it & spent about 800 all in on an uppababy vista.

Honestly? I regret it. I found bub & I both preferred baby carrier. I wasn't up to loads of long walks the first month, by 3-4m had outgrown the carrycot. By 6m he wanted to be on the floor trying to move/crawl. By 11m he was walking and by 18m we barely ever used the pram, he hated being sat static in it for long periods and wouldnt nap in it. I should have got something mid range for 3-400 or had my sister's moderately used vista 2nd hand!

SleeplessWB · 15/08/2019 22:37

I would also disagree about everyone ditching the travel system for a stroller. If you walk a lot, want somewhere to put shopping etc then a stroller is not much good, they are also much harder work to push over rough ground... I have used my oyster pram almost every day between 2 dc since I bought it 4 years ago and would never give it up for my stroller.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 15/08/2019 22:37

Also - don't be sold on the 2nd hand prices people quote here. You don't get 300 quid back unless it's very very lightly used and really not old at all, sub 18m old, big doubles etc. All my friends have given up trying to get much for theirs. The only one who got an ok price (about £230) was selling a very chic limited edition silver cross, barely used and being sold as child 2 was expected with a v small age gap. There are far more of the trendy brand prams on the 2nd hand market than there were 10 yrs ago and prices have plunged

hopelessatthinkingupusernames · 15/08/2019 22:40

We have the Baby Jogger City Mini and I love it. I had the bassinet for when they were babies and the adapters to put the car seat on it too. I’ve never felt the need to switch to a cheap stroller, it’s so easy to push and my giant almost 4yr old can still fit in it on the rare occasion he’s walked too far so no worries about them outgrowing it. It’s being used for DC2 at the moment and is in great condition so I’ve definitely had my money’s worth

Anotherusernam3 · 15/08/2019 22:41

We spent a similar amount on the iCandy Peach two years ago and I have no regrets, it’s lasted well, has been used most days, and we bought the bits on eBay to double it up when our second arrived 8months ago. If you can afford it and will be the one using it most then go for it.

PurpleFlower1983 · 15/08/2019 22:47

I don’t know if you’re in the North but the Mamas & Papas outlet have it at £839.

WIBU to insist on this pram?
PurpleFlower1983 · 15/08/2019 22:48

We have the Bugaboo Chameleon 3, paid £550 as it was ex display and we love it.

threatmatrix · 15/08/2019 22:58

Stupid money for a pram. I’ve just bought a second hand Phil and teds double buggy for £180. It’s absolutely immaculate. I’d rather put money away for them and that why my eldest had a BMW for his first car. I love nice things but always source immaculate second hand. I’d rather have a fab holiday than pay out that sort of money for a pram just to show off.

TurquoiseDress · 15/08/2019 23:43

YANBU to want this specific type of pram for your baby, but I'm with your DH regarding the cost of it

You can get second hand prams which are in very good condition, brands like Bugaboo, Uppababy and Stokke do keep their value well and it would still be a few hundred pounds (and some more), but that would be better than spending a grand, in my opinion

and yes I am someone who bought DC1's pram second hand- still going strong now with DC2

PookieDo · 15/08/2019 23:54

My two penneth

When I had my DC travel systems were quite new and I had a mamas and papas which was giant, but really lovely to push and plenty of space for your bags. But as it was not £1000 I didn’t feel the need to force myself to use it for 3-4 years, and went to a lovely practical Maclaren which is way way more practical for you and a 3yo, transport wise. Small wheels, folds down lovely

Dsis on the other hand has spent so much in a bugaboo she is getting her money’s worth. Which means pushing a huge child in a huge pram with stupid huge wheels. I absolutely hate the thing. When you put it into the boot, if you don’t have to dismantle it every single time I forget the wheels will not stay locked and I actually lost control of it with her other child on the buggy board and fell off a kerb. The buggy boards are also horrible on those things

I also notice that my DN escapes the straps way too easily on it too

Thumbs down from me! It looks nice but I don’t like it

InforaPenny7 · 16/08/2019 00:00

I had a stupidly priced double bugaboo and later on a city mini. Both excellent pushchairs, but like you, I walk and having dc facing me was important to me given how much time we spent going to and fro with it. I don’t regret it at all, it was the one that suited me best in a number of ways.
To be fair when I bought it, it was a while back and there weren’t many, if any, on the 2nd hand market. I might have gone that route otherwise.
I sold the bugaboo after 3 kids and 4 or 5 years for more than half it’s value and it was pretty battered by then.

helpIhateclothesshopping · 16/08/2019 00:00

My favourite buy was the Cocoon for the Phil and Ted's my son loved it and used it constantly for the first 6 months. If I'd known I could have fitted it in a cheap buggy I probably wouldn't have forked out for matching buggy. It's a shame you can't rent baby gear

PrimalLass · 16/08/2019 00:07

I used my Bugaboo Frog for 3 years. Worth every penny.

Gillian1980 · 16/08/2019 00:14

If you can afford it then why not. You can save it for any future children or sell it on.

We had a £100 Graco which lasted for 2 children then got passed on with loads of life left.