Would you consider this seat safe to use?

[NannyR]

I've been given a HBB seat by a friend, that is approximately 8 years old. It's a Britax one and I trust her when she says that it hasn't been in an accident.

I noticed that the red plastic parts where the seatbelt threads through are very faded, almost pink. Do you think this is cosmetic or is it likely the plastic is degrading?

It's only for occasional use, for when I take my 7 yo niece out, but even though it may only be used once every six weeks, I need it to be safe.

I have a Britax HBB that must be almost 6 years old by now, I still use it and the red plastic shoulder belt guides are not faded. But I once emailed Britax about using the seats I bought when DS was born in 2005 (this was in 2012, when I was expecting DC3) and they said that their seats do not have an expiry date because they are made from a type of plastic that does not degrade.

In a very worst case scenario, I don't think it would matter if the red plastic guide broke in an accident. A HBB is just a 'device' to position the seatbelt correctly for a child who is not quite tall enough for the seatbelt to fit them properly, it's not like the seat is being held in place by the seatbelt.

You can usually pick up the Britax Adventure HBB for £29.99 somewhere if you wanted to buy a new one. I'm guessing this might be the one you have given, but it might be badged as an Evolva 2-3 because this is what my old one says on it (the seat has changed name, but the Adventures on sale today are exactly the same as my old seat. In fact my old one is better because the cover is fixed, I also have a newer one and the cover comes off every time DD1 gets put of the seat and it drives me mad!)