Car seats

[pizzawinecake]

Our car was involved in a minor accident last week. We didn't think the impact was very strong but the isofix base seems to not be fitting in the car very well now. Insurance should pay for a new car seat.

Qn- baby is 8 months but very light (7kg). Should I replace the newborn car seat we had, or should I buy the next stage of car seat, which I believe is suitable from birth but to 4years old (still
Rear facing?). I'm very confused as to when they move car seat

This is the one I'm looking at

https://www.johnlewis.com/nuna-todl-next-isize-car-seat-caviar/p111228701?sppc=2dxxmixedfashionnBAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gadsource=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw4PjyfSehAMVBCSDAx0WXgi1EAQYAiABEgJAlPDD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Will they pay what the original seat was worth, or just a new car seat? (That one needs an isofix base as well at an extra £220!)

Yes I'd just go for the next stage. But I wouldn't get that one because you'll have to buy a base as well and it will be nearly £600 in total which is crazy - you can get a spinning car seat suitable from birth to 4, with the base attached for about £250-300. Britax Dualfix Plus M or Cybex Gi i-size are good brands, comparable to Nuna in quality and slightly better weight limit.

Or if you really want to spend £600 look at Axkid One. It will last much longer - up to around age 7 - though you don't get the spinning feature. (There are other long lasting rear facing seats like this closer to the £400 mark, the Axkid is the only one with Isofix).

They've told me to get 'like for like'. We have the nuna baby seat but I wouldn't mind topping up any extra payment due (I think they may give us vouchers). The like for like baby seat would also need an isofix base and it's the isofix base that's not working (we can't get three green 'lights' to come up to show it's fitted safely.

They will likely give you Halfords vouchers.

They just mean they won't give you the cost of a really premium seat if you've had a cheap one.

Send them a link to the nuna seat and base you need replacing (if the seat was in the car, you need to get rid of it too) and that will cover the value side of things.

If you don't want Halfords vouchers, there is a way you can not accept them but I'm not sure how it works -the car seat groups on FB usually have good advice here.

The thing is if you get another baby seat, as your DS is quite little you'll probably be able to use it for a while (maybe up to 15/18 months or longer) but most people find the baby seat starts to get cumbersome by about 9-10 months and the baby wants to sit up more and see out of the window. So you're really getting to the point that a lot of people prefer to change to the next stage seat anyway.

Obviously you do need to keep him rear facing. But the 7kg should be no issue as car seats which do both RF/FF are usually suitable from birth (or from 61cm)

There used to be a 9kg minimum for the next stage but this is outdated. You don't need to worry about this any more. Car seats are usually height based now and the threshold tends to be from 61cm which is about 6 months.

You could either show your insurance the receipt for when you originally bought your seat and base, or show them an up to date listing of the same model e.g. from John Lewis.

It is generally Halfords vouchers you get from insurance companies, they must have some kind of bulk deal. Halfords sell a lot of crap seats because they tend towards the budget end of the market, but they do have some good ones too. This is what I'd look at in your situation:

Maxi Cosi Mica Eco
Joie i-Prodigi
Cybex Sirona Gi i-size

Honestly, probably only those three. They don't currently have a Britax or Nuna seat.

Joie i-Spin Safe/Joie i-Spin 360 are also OK from a safety perspective but they aren't as nice quality wise as the Nuna seats and they have next to no leg room rear facing, which a lot of parents find tricky.

If you are totally set on getting a baby seat + base then get Cybex Cloud T i-size and the base for that, because it's the longest lasting infant carrier and it will last an average sized baby up to 2 years so if your LO is smaller you could use it longer than that if you want to.

But honestly it makes absolutely no sense if you are going to get the toddler seat to get a seat + base combo, when the seat + base attached versions are exactly the same seat (just permanently attached) and about £300 cheaper.

Unless you're definitely sure you want another baby in the future and want to use this as a chance to avoid spending out loads later on another premium baby seat + base combo? If this helps with that decision: You can get Maxi Cosi Cabriofix + base for approx £200 which goes onto the same pram adapters as the Nuna seats do.

If they offer you Halfords vouchers - you can refuse and they can send you a cheque or a back payment.

Halfords are notoriously bad for car seats and fitting - they sell you anything to get a sale.

Have you joined some car seat groups on Facebook?

You'd probably be better getting the next stage car seat - but you'd need the height & weight to see which seats would be good for now and going forwards :-)

Ahh. You've been very helpful. And now I want the next seat up.

I've just reread what the solicitor says.

'Buy like for like and keep the receipt and you'll get reimbursed'.

Well technically that means I can only buy the baby seat and base I originally had (I have the original receipts for those if they need to see it was like for like). Is it bad form to just buy the next seat up anyway and say it's like for like?

Write back to the solicitor and say "My baby is very close to growing out of this seat and would it make sense to go for the next stage up as long as it's not more expensive?" and see what they say.

I would definitely join one of the car seat Facebook groups like extended rear facing, car seat safety.

You can then look at buying an ERF from an admin that will keep them RF until ready for HBB at 5+.

You will need to share height, weight and centiles to get advice on best option as they might be too small for a Axkid minikid for example.

please refuse Halfords vouchers they are not the best place to get car seats from.

My insurance company asked if I wanted vouchers or cash. Then they asked for the exact car seats I wanted replacing, found the closest equivalent they could online and sent me the money. They even suggested using it for a larger car seat when they realised one was a baby seat.