Car seat advice

[fleur34]

We are travelling to France this summer and hiring a car. The cost of hiring a car seat (we would need 2 high backed boosters) doesn't seem that much cheaper than buying two cheaper (but maybe less safe?!) high backed boosters and taking them with us.

But I can't decide if the car seats we would hire would be better in terms of safety than cheaper car seats we could buy here and take with us....

Any thoughts/experiences on hiring v taking car seats? Don't want to take our usual car seats as they were expensive and we are worried about them being bumped about and damaged in the hold of the plane....

Thank you (sorry for long boring post!)

All car seats have to meet standards, doesn't mean cheaper is 'less safe'

But they might be damaged in the hold whether expensive or cheap and it will be a pain in the bum dealing with them, children and luggage.

So just hire them with the car

What age are the children? You can buy blow up bubble booster seats in Halfords and they are very handy for holidays. I don't have one but they always sell out so people seem to love them.

Also Aldi and Lidl sell car seats sometimes and they meet the standards here. Just put them in a bag in the oversized baggage drop.

Renting them with the car is very expensive anytime I have checked. About €100 extra per child for the week.

Could you send one parent with the car when you get there to the nearest supermarket to buy them?

We did that when we went to Florida - managed to order online from a shop near the airport and picked them up when we arrived. Hiring the car seats was ridiculously expensive. Buying them turned out to be cheaper and we brought them back with us afterwards (had a high backed booster and a rf toddler seat). The high backed booster we still use, the rf seat was used on the plane and then sold on eBay (couldn't be used in the UK because we don't have locking seatbelts).

I would say it's more safe to take seats with you as then you'll know the history of the seats.

I asked if your new colleagues saw it, thinking how awful it would be but your baby is seeing it all the time (and she is more important than the strangers)

Poor you. I hope you are ok.

Wrong thread I'm very sorry!

Thanks everyone, think we will definitely buy some cheaper ones here and take with us then. Always handy to have spares for visiting friends etc too

Good shout...the hire seats I saw last time we were away were awful and I was so relieved we took our own!