Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Car seats

Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here. For Mumsnetter-approved essentials, sign up for Mumsnet Swears By emails here.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Have you bought a Kiddy (German one) car seat online? If so how was it?

64 replies

SaffronCake · 15/08/2011 12:23

I want to buy a Kiddy Guardian Pro (because of Which?) for my daughter who has just passed the 9kg mark. I need to soon because I am expecting a new baby and I will need daughters old MaxiCosi for the little one.

I looked for stockists in my area and found there were NONE. I would have to go hundreds of miles, with both our cars, to try them for fit.

The trouble is at least one of our cars is a total pig for fitting car seats into, as we discoverd not that long ago. So I need to see that the seat does go.

I noticed Kiddicare.com sell them, but I can't find details on their site to tell me for sure if I could return this if it didn't fit. The FAQ section just suggests people go to Peterborough to try them out... I live in Cornwall!

Does anyone know of an online stockist for the Kiddy Guardian Pro (or Kiddy Guardian Pro 2) who will take back a seat which doesn't fit our cars?

Or alternatively does anyone know how I can find out if the car seat would fit our specific cars without physically trying it?

If at all possible I really really want the Kiddy Guardian but we just can't take 2 cars to London to check it out.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

sleepevader · 17/08/2011 00:15

Get him to check it rearfacing too as it may be suitable from birth,

Let me know how you get on.

Bed beckons!

Original poster

SaffronCake · 17/08/2011 10:54

I rang the shop this morning, the man you mentioned is the manager and he's having a day off today. When he gets in tomorrow he'll ring me. If we took the cars over there he would be happy to tell me if the Tobi is properly fitted because I have now noticed when it's in my car the buckle touches the seat slightly and I'm worrying about it. Halfords wouldn't have sold me a seat which isn't safe... I hope?

I also spoke to the main Citroen dealers who said they haven't heard of this being a problem but to take the car to a local garage near me (a reputable general repair place) and get them to look at it and they can phone the Citroen bloke if they need any help. He also said if it were going to be changed the dealership, couldn't change it because of the possibility of litigation after an accident. So this is not sounding straightforward either and I'm wondering if I could even trust a changed seatbelt... But then I think perhaps I'm being paranoid now because people fit new seatbelts frequently, you're supposed to do it after any prang at all (even if people don't) so it seems likely there would be known safe replacements out there? And people sometimes fit seatbelts for greater safety, like 5 point belts into a car built with 3. I knew someone with a special needs son who did and that was only a boring car too.

Thank you so much for your support, it's a horrible situation.

OP posts:

Original poster

SaffronCake · 17/08/2011 11:05

I was just looking on eBay to see if I could see anything that looked worth mentioning to my garage (don't worry, wont be buying from eBay, just using it to look). I found my ones here. You can clearly see the problem. For comparison this is what they fit in Berlingo's. Looking at the clasps they appear identical on first glance so it could be possible that they could be changed. I might even ask Citroen in France about this.

OP posts:

nannynick · 17/08/2011 11:20

Buying car seats is very stressful. I have a Kiddy Infinity Pro - 3 year old now loves it but when he first sat in it he hated it. Day 2 onwards was fine though, guess he got used to the cushion thingy.

IsoFix isn't a solution for us - tried to fit a carseat which the manufacturer said was suitable for my car make, model and year... yet it didn't connect into the connectors. Possibly the isofix anchors in my car were fitted wrong at factory... who knows... all I know is that it didn't work.

Baby is getting too big now for her rear facing carrier seat. Will need to buy another car seat later... oh no, will have to go through all the trouble of getting one again. Will need to find something very thin, so I can get 3 seats across the rear seats!

Original poster

SaffronCake · 17/08/2011 11:45

Isofix is such a great idea nannynick, it's such a shame it's not in cars cheap enough for me to buy, and an even bigger shame it's in your car but not doing it's job properly.

On the bright side anything that goes into the Saab needs to be narrow and we have found that there were a few about, probably a lot more than the 3 I can name, so you might be alright. Good luck. I've never had so much difficulty buying anything in my life.

OP posts:

nannynick · 17/08/2011 12:10

I've got fairly cheap car - daihatsu Sirion - which has Isofix. Alas it's just not as universal a fitting system as it was billed to be.

Which 3 have you found that are thin? Are they Group 1, Group 2 etc?

Original poster

SaffronCake · 17/08/2011 13:59

Group 1 (and perhaps other groups too, but I was looking at group 1), Britax First Class Plus, MaxiCosi Opal, MaxiCosi Tobi. I'm not sure about width higher up but at the base they go into the Saab. A Recarro was mentioned as a thinish one too, but I haven't seen it and I don't remember the model.

Update on the seatbelts- Citroen HQ said the Berlingo seatbelt would fit in the car, even if I had to replace the whole thing, but that there had been no safety testing on this and so it was not advisable.

OP posts:

sleepevader · 17/08/2011 14:52

Blimey they are long belts stalks! I think mine were a little shorter in my ancient citroen.

I really hope the man can help you tomorrow.

Alternatively could you and your partner swap cars so you have the saab on a daily basis.

Original poster

SaffronCake · 17/08/2011 15:27

He's a total prat about his car. In short the answer is no, he wont consider it.

If matey the expert from the shop can't find suitable seats my options are divided between changing the seatbelts to Berlingo ones regardless of a lack of actual proof that they're sound in this specific vehicle, or going to the car auctions and hoping to pick a winner. I'm leaning toward the first one because in every regard but seatbelts I know the Citroen to be sound, I know nothing about an auction car.

OP posts:

sleepevader · 17/08/2011 15:30

GRRRRRRRR I hate man who are like that about cars.

What would be your max budget?Do you have a mechanic friend?

Original poster

SaffronCake · 17/08/2011 15:34

Seriously, there is NIL max budget. Carseats IS the max budget. I would have to sell the Citroen to generate the money, so maybe £350? Which is why it'd be an auction car.

Nope, no mechanic friends. My local repair people are very helpful, they try to keep the bills down and they do their job properly but sadly, not quite at mates-rates.

OP posts:

sleepevader · 17/08/2011 15:39

I think your DP will need to realise your predicament and be more flexible with the car otherwise you could be stuck in the house with two little ones.

Good luck tomorrow with man

Original poster

SaffronCake · 17/08/2011 16:19

Bingo... Mill Auto sell a proven safety-tested universal seatbelt and clip. It's approved for use in most things and might solve the problem, I'm off to investigate further. I will still speak to The Carseat Man tomorrow before I commit to anything though.

OP posts:

sleepevader · 18/08/2011 14:03

Hi hope you have found a solution today. Let me know

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread