Newborn in 2nd hand car seat

[cluckypoo]

Hi, i'm sorry if this has been covered a thousand times.
My first baby is due in 4 weeks time and my sister has given me the car seat she used for my niece. It has never been in an accident but my niece is now 7 and i was wondering whether it would be safe to use given the length of time since it was in use and any changes in safety standards (i'm not sure if there have been any). It looks like a pretty standand Mothercar car seat for a newborn which came as part of a travel system and is of the seat belt variety. It has been stored in her garage for the last 6 years or so.

I have a car which uses ISOFIX and could afford to buy a new car seat if necessary but didnt want to pay out £200 if the old seat is fine, especially as i won't be using the car much, maybe once a week.

What would you do? is it worth the risk? is there any risk or am i being over cautious?

I think they have a use by date as the plastic degrades or something? Call the manufacturer and check.

The problem with second hand car seats, even if you know their history, is that the plastic is known to deteriorate after a few years. So even if they look fine, in an accident they might not withstand the force of impact. Somewhere between 5 and 10 years I think.

I would buy a new one if its more than 5 years old.

I'd replace after 5 years if you can afford it.

You don't have to spend £200+ though.

As Isofix tends to be the safest option I'd go for that if I could afford it but I doubt it matters too much which seat you get with a compatible Isofix base so I'd just go for the cheapest 'good' seat.

Britax Isofix base and Britax Babysafe Car seat are only £158.69.

personally i wouldnt use one that old,esp if its been stored in a garage for 6 yrs and has been exposed to extreme temperatures, as this weakens it quicker,
if you dont use a car much,i would probably look at getting a good birth-4y seat like the concord ultimax/britax first class that stays in the car,they are about £120 but will last 4 yrs,until you are ready to move your lo into a booster sytle seat :)

Isofix isn't safer than using a seatbelt unless you fit the seat incorrectly or there's something wrong with your seatbelts. I definitely wouldn't use the second hand seat after so many years. Would you be unlikely to want to put it on your puschair. If you do want to, which pushchair do you have? If not, just get a birth to 18kg or birth to 25kg seat new. There are loads on the market.

Thanks for all the advice. i do have a pushchair, mamas and papas sola and i think you can buy a car seat that goes with it. It's difficult to know whether I'll want to put it on the pushchair; i don't like the idea of the baby being in that position for too long. Having said that, if he's a screamer, i might do anything to keep him asleep!

It really is impossible to tell. Most people do use the carseat on the chassis but I never have and never wanted to.

The Cybex Aton fits on the Sola. There's an ex display one here for £80 or £90 here. You'd need adapters for it to go on the pushchair. The cheapest base I can find is directly from Mamas and Papas for £98.

You can also get the M&P Primo Viaggio car seat to fit the Sola, or the adapters for the cybex aton will also allow you to put a maxi cosi seat on (cabrio or pebble). You can get isofix or non-isofix bases for any of these car seats.