Is it OK to use a second hand baby car seat?

[scottishval]

Hi, a friend has offered me her maxi cosi cabriofix for our little one soon to arrive, and I'm trying to work out if there's a reason not to accept.

As it's a friend and not an ebay seller, I know it's not been in any crashes or damaged and there's no bits missing. She's already used it for both of her 2 kids though (eldest now aged about 4 I think).

Is there a limit to how much use a baby car seat can have, how many children you'd want to use it for, or how long you can keep it?

Advice welcomed, thanks!

It's a model that's still on sale so presumable safe. Depending on how long it was on the shop shelf before she bought it might be older than 5 years so worth seeing if it has a date of manufacture stamped on it.

I would (and have) if it was from a friend, as long as you know the history of it and it's in good working order should be fine.
I've used the same baby seat/travel system x 4 and I bought it from a friend (who had only used it for about 6 months and paid a fortune for it).

If you know it hasn't been in a crash and trust the friend then it is still perfectly safe to use. The Cabriofix still passes all current safety tests, it is however not the safest seat on the market anymore due to newer ones available but it is still perfectly safe.

I borrowed a CabrioFix and seatbelted base for it from a friend when I had my third baby. I wouldn't buy a second hand one from a stranger though.

From a friend, absolutely!

Dd was given her pebble from a friend. We loved it!

You know it hasn't been in a crash.

Do UK seats have expiry dates on them like the ones in the US do? If it's not expired and I knew it hadn't been in an accident I would use it.