UPDATED. Confused about car seats? Your questions answered

[LauraEMumsnet]

Car seats and car seat safety can be a bit of a minefield, but when it comes to buying and fitting a seat for your little one, it's vital that parents get it right.

So what exactly is ISOfix? Can you buy a second-hand car seat? And what's the difference between R44 and i-Size?

In the next couple of weeks, we'll be filming an FAQ-style video with car seat expert Jan James, Chief Executive of Good Egg Safety, who will be answering your questions on all things car seats.

If you have something you would like to ask Jan, just pop your question on the thread below and we'll do our best to answer as many as possible.

Happy posting!
MNHQ

[Aquifolium]

No, it’s not that model; it’s a much more basic model from the early 2000’s. It has a kind of flap at the base which can be positioned in 2 ways, one recline and one upright. This made it fit in lots of different models without the ‘buckle crunch’ issues (this was what I was told when I bought it)

[Aquifolium]

I didn’t know anything about car seats having an expiry date until I went on this thread. Do you know more about this? The car seat I am currently using was bought in 2007 I think, so might have expired? The instructions mention nothin about it.

[BertieBotts]

Ah or even the Elite/super elite (not two way) or Trio - those are old seats, do you have a big age gap? I would guess that low sales caused them not to be sold here any more, but it could have been changes in standards, they were 44.03 seats. (But then again, so is the original Eclipse). I've read something about the US standards changing in regards to top tether and head excursion, maybe UK ones did as well, or Britax just decided to change their own standars and their older seat models didn't fit them any more.

There are other Britax seats which aren't made any more due to their newer seats being much better at safety standards, e.g. the super cruiser which used the adult seatbelt fron 9kg. That did really badly in a Which? test and was then removed from sale.

[BertieBotts]

Generally it's said to be OK if the seat has been in continuous use for one/two/three children within the same family. But I wouldn't pass that one on when you're finished with it. It has well and truly done its work and should probably be discarded now. I doubt it would be unsafe, but by the end of another 3-year period of the next child using it, it might be if that makes sense :)

[BertieBotts]

www.goodeggcarsafety.com/blog/do-child-car-seats-expire.html