Would you buy a secondhand car seat?

[94hpg]

Generally advice is obviously not to buy them secondhand but so many are sold on FB marketplace etc. I'm curious, would you personally buy one or not?

I wouldn't. You just don't know the history, and also, they expire. Sounds daft but plastic does eventually degrade and become brittle, more prone to snapping or shattering, especially if exposed to heat and cold like carseats are if they are fixed in place ones

No

No.
There are loads of ways to make sensible savings but travel safety isn't one of them.

No. My mum did and lied to me but it was obvious as it stunk of weed and had exposed polystyrene. Some people do because they don’t care about car safety, it’s usually the “we didn’t have seat belts in our day and we survived” people. (Obviously only alive to tell the tale because they were the lucky ones)

No.
I've know many people have minor knocks and keep the car seats "as it wasn't that bad".

I would perhaps accept one from a very close friend or family member if I trusted them completely with car safety.

No, although I have sold two in the past, so I suppose that’s a bit hypocritical.

A second hand car seat is better than no car seat, but new is best if possible.

No, I wouldn’t. I have sold them once my DTs have outgrown them though. I always offer to provide proof of my insurance docs though upon collection, and provide proof of when they were purchased.

Yes I did. Obviously chose very carefully.

I have also sold various car seats on marketplace-
Some were bought new, some were not. All were sold quickly so clearly other people do.

No unless you know the person selling and they can tell you it's history

I've never bought a new one. I've probably bought 8 in my lifetime, all secondhand. One from a charity shop. All wonderful.

Some people just can't afford new, and the new i can afford, seem more filmsy and unsafe than good quality second hand.

I never have but I did sell one on Facebook. It was a barely used RF seat and the woman I sold it to got a total bargain tbh.
Sometimes I see people selling them in a total state, filthy and scratched and people still seem to buy them.

I wouldn't as I can afford to buy new, but wouldn't think twice of second hand as the next best option if I was struggling financially.

Yes I would if I couldn’t afford a new one . Would be very careful though. I have lent my spare car seat to someone who needs one for their grandchild who was visiting from abroad.

No, you can’t no its history and after 5 years their safety starts to decline anyway.

Would you trust the person you are buying the seat from with your child's life. If not then that answers your question.

Would you forgive yourself if your child was injured because their car seat didn't protect them in an accident.

If you are literally penniless then do the best you can. But if you are just trying to save a few pound then I'd prioritise a car seat over pretty much any other equipment you buy for your child.

I'm lucky that I don't have to but good quality car seats are very expensive and I wouldn't judge anyone for buying second hand.

I gave our first car seat/carrier away to someone in our (religious) community. We have a community FB group and quite often people will offer car seats for free. It's taken on trust that they're in good condition and haven't been involved in a collision.

I would. The vast, vast majority are going to be 100% intact.

Unfortunately, as a result of this 'OMG, never, never buy a second hand car seat!' thing, the 100% safe posh Volvo driver 😉 will dump their outgrown car seats; whereas those nreeding the cash, third car seat owner might flog it on.

Would you trust the person you are buying the seat from with your child's life. If not then that answers your question

Thats a good way of thinking of it. I've had a carseat from SIL in the past who I trust. I've bought the vast majority of our baby stuff 2nd hand too, but car seats and mattresses are a complete no

No. They're not even meant to be sold. This is the reason we chucked ours instead of giving to anyone else, it had been in a cupboard and if it failed and a baby was harmed that would be on me.

Better safe than sorry. I would just buy the cheapest one that I was sure would be safe enough. I bought one for £80 when I needed it which was affordable given it was essential as my daughter was being taken on a motorway journey when young.

I passed my ds car seat on for free as I bought it new and used it 3 times, once to come home from hospital with him and a return 10 min trip in a taxi to collect something from pharmacy

Can't help but feel this alarm at the thought of going second hand is making the stores very happy.

How likely is it that a parent of a child, is going to have had a crash, then lie about it to sell it knowing they are putting a child at risk? Call me naive but I think that's actually unlikely and more psychopath.

Not a hope!

I did, half price, used a handful of times and still had over a year left on the warranty. Thank god that we did as she doesn’t like being laid back and we need to buy a different one in the next month or two

We have done - carefully researched and in very good condition. It really worries me how much stuff is bought for babies only to chucked into landfill after their relatively short period of use. I wish manufacturers would take more responsibility for ensuring the longevity of them, or send them off for checks or recycling etc.

Yes, I have done and would do again. Also sold on our previous ones.