WIBU to insist on this pram?

[aliensprig]

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...

If it were me...I’d get it - you can buy one that you don’t want for half the price or buy the one you do want and sell it afterwards for half the price. If you really want it - get it.

If you can afford it you may as well get the pram you want but you may well regret spending so mo much if your dh were to unexpectantly lose his job for example.if you ate planning more than one child it is more justafyable. I could afford to but would not spend that much and may look around for second hand pram and learn to drive.

Just get a second hand one. Better for the environment and does the job. I’ve been through many prams and there isn’t one imo which fulfills the needs of a newborn and a three year old.

That’s why it’s better to go second hand and change up when needed.

Are you planning on having more children? If so, would you use the pram again? Does it come with carry cot, seat and car seat? If so, then I would go for it. We have just bought one that cost just over that and it’s got So many options with it, it’ll be great for our little one to grow in to and to keep if we have more. Personally, I wouldn’t like to compromise too much as I’m the same as you, DH will be at work so it’ll mainly be me that takes our son out. I say go for it, a pushchair/travel system can be almost like an investment if you get the right one and are planning a big family. You may end up resenting it if you settle for something you really don’t want.

My eldest is 27 and her Pram was £500 we used it for 6 years with two children - it was used everyday as We only had one car - so I walked miles each day.
It was worth every penny

I’m interested in why this is applied so insistently on here when it comes to prams, yet is surely not a tenet that people use for everything across the board.

Exactly. I wonder how many advocating a stroller from a skip () are doing so on the latest model of iPhone. I have a Motorola that cost about £150 I think, and a £10 a month contract. I live on my phone but an iPhone still isn't worth it to me. But I fully understand that others feel differently, and so long as it's not stopping them putting food on the table or a roof over their heads, who cares?!

There's nothing wrong with buying an expensive pram if you can afford it and it has the practical features you need. Sure you could get something cheaper but that's the case with almost literally every other product you buy.

I have the bugaboo buffalo which is also all terrain. I never used it rurally I would just take the sling since I couldn’t bare cleaning all the mud off the wheels after! It is a lovely pram and bugaboos are very good quality but because of this you can get excellent condition ones second hand. There’s a specific bugaboo selling page on Facebook which is very good, it’s worth a try just to look.

Buy secondhand. I decided I wanted the uppababy vista for all the same reasons you list. Got a great one on eBay for £150 rather than £1000.
I now don’t like it by the way so glad I didn’t shell out full price. Someone in my village has the fox and also doesn’t like it! We both wish we had something smaller.

Better for the environment to buy secondhand. Your new baby would probably rather you look after the world!

And to those of you above saying do we secondhand pram enthusiasts buy everything secondhand... I do! Everything except bedding, socks and underwear pretty much! And not for financial reasons. There is enough ‘stuff’ on the planet. Making more stuff is ruining our childrens’ future!

Best of luck with the pram purchase whatever you decide.

YANBU, if you can afford it. We spent nearly £1000 on a silver cross Pioneer. My baby is 1 next month and I still love it, and can see we will use it for another couple of years. I also baby wear a lot, and when he was teeny he often preferred the carrier and I still have no regrets. We also don't have a car, have a dog and I walk miles and miles, we live in London and I take it on the bus and tube no issues. I have loaded it up and taken it on the train to Scotland to visit family.

We also have a baby jogger city mini that we got second hand. It is brill for holidays but everyone said we would end up using it full time. We always revert to the pioneer because it just seems more sturdy and comfortable for him. And the shopping basket is so much bigger!

Go with your gut. You can sell it if you change your mind.

I’m interested in why this is applied so insistently on here when it comes to prams, yet is surely not a tenet that people use for everything across the board

It is for me. Secondhand Mulberry bags, iPhones, etc, whenever practical or possible.

@BentleyBelly the Fox copes fine off road, I have it, we’re semi rural and it’s been a brilliant, it’s been dragged up hill and down dale and has been to Scottish Highlands.

OP it’s a great pram, been using it a year, super, super easy to use. Not had one problem with it. Most of my NCT friends have had issues with theirs from other brands. Is it worth a grand, maybe not, but everything else I liked (egg, Joolz, Icandy, lots of the M&P ones) are a similar price so it’s not that they’re specifically over charging it’s just the going rate for the class of pram and it has great reviews. Yes you can get something cheaper but you’ll probably find you’ll have problems within a year and certainly within the three years. Yes you can get them sorted but who’s got time for that.

And of course you want to like the look of your pram as well why wouldn’t you. You wouldn’t choose an ill fitting or horrible looking coat, boots, hat etc. would you?!? Get it if you like it and can afford it.

They’ve been out a bit now though so if you are worried and in two minds have a look at them second hand, when I looked last year they were like rocking horse poo though!

Have you looked at the cybex priam? It's very similar and cybex are a great trendy brand. It's on offer at the moment on line for half the price! Plus the matching cybex car seat is one of the safest on the market.

Get the pram it's beautiful and will be worth it.

I had the SAME problem, ended up getting a cheap pram. My baby was basically in the car seat for it for the first 5 months. Then it was so horrible to push and bulky and felt horrible. I ended up getting a high end pushchair when dd turned 1. I got it second hand but I absolutely love taking dd out now, it's a dream to push!

So I think it be very much worth it! Especially when your baby gets into the pushchair (around 6 months) I see it around a lot, it looks beautiful x

@aliensprig if you have any money to spare put in a SIPP for your child. They will thank you more for that .
Years ago bought what was then a super fancy Graco Travel system for first DC. It was massive, bus drivers wouldn’t let me as no space if there was another pram already on. 7 years ago bought a nifty £60 OBaby Atlas Scribble Stroller which travelled 3 continents with us for 4 years before I gave it away on Freegle

Oh my gawd I didn't expect so many replies, my list of buggies to research is now ridiculously long 😂

I have given DH a list of models to look out for secondhand if he wants to do his own research, and we're going to John Lewis at the weekend to test drive a few (test drive, not buy, that's how I got him to agree ha).

In all honesty I don't see that it's unreasonable to spend that much on baby - everything else we buy is secondhand (clothes, shoes, white goods, furniture, our car). We're pretty frugal usually so I think I ought to be allowed to have just the one expensive thing that will (hopefully) make my life easier!

I've arranged to have a look at some good condition used models (Cosatto, Joie) near us, so hopefully that appeases the "Maclaren out of skip" MNetters 😁

For my first we spent £450 on a buggy. It converted from a pram to buggy but it was a pain in the ass. Hard to fold and big.
Second child got the buggy that Aldi did for £22. I bought a cosy toes and newborn head hugger thingy so all less than £50. Perfect. Wasn’t good for all terrain though but I didn’t have that problem by then. She refused to go in it from a year and a half 😭 so thank god we didn’t spend much.

Oh the first one cost £300 or so 15 years ago which was a lot at the time and 6 months later I gave up on it to buy a smaller Graco Citisport

Why is everyone talking about different brands from yonks ago that were massive and difficult to fold?!? Things move on.

I have the fox and it’s super easy to collapse down the frame sits flat and if you have a smaller car the seat sits on top of the frame. You can switch between parent and forward facing in an instant and for a pram in its class it’s really light. The Cybex and Joolz are heavier, (this is pretty light) and slightly less compact. And the manoeuvrability is smooth as.

I may be wrong but for me the ease of folding is when you don’t have take off the seat i.e on public transport or an uber.

Depends on your lifestyle @kidsdoingmyheadin

I picked the icandy all terrain because of its very compact fold and it is light for an all terrain and fits easily in my small car. It also changes from 3 wheel to 4 easily.

No public transport here out in a very rural area and also no uber!

So although the seat comes off to fold it is still an easy one to handle. But it'd be the wrong choice for someone in a city reliant on public transport..

Of course it depends on lifestyle which is why so many of my friends, myself included had the big travel system & then moved onto a stroller.

If we were going to a museum or a bit of shopping makes no sense to take the car.

Just to throw some more confusion into the mix, if you live rurally like me (small village, narrow pavements, lots of woodland walks) then considering shaving £100 off your peak budget to invest in a good baby carrier. We found we used the baby carrier loads more than the buggy (for both kids) as it was just more convenient, and my dd was very colicky so keeping her upright was the most soothing way for her to rest.

I ditched my Bugaboo after six months for a Baby Jogger City Mini. It was a much better pram in my experience.