Newborn Car Seat for Taxi trip back from Hospital

[SeatOfMyPants]

We don't have a car so we're going to have to taxi it back from hospital - we're looking into getting a 2nd hand car seat, as I really can't justify spending a lot of money on something we're not going to use much...

BUT! I have no clue about car seats:

Is there a one car seat fits all cars?

Can we be certain the seat will fit in the taxi?

Does anyone have any recommendations? Ideally, we want something that'll last a bit, as we can use it in friends/relatives cars etc (or that's the idea)

SOOOO confused.

The ones for newborns are not that straightforward to fit - they face backwards and the seatbelt kind of goes round the back of them, but the way they fit is the same in all cars, so if you get hold of one, you could practice in any car you can get your hands on.

Secondhand is fine as long as you know/trust the people you you get it from and check it over for signs of obvious damage.

And if you do end up in hosptal without one, don't worry. I came back from hospital in a taxi with DS in my arms - the hospital don't have any idea how you're getting home - it's not a case of them "letting you" and it's not illegal at all to travel in a taxi with a baby in your arms.

There's really no way of predicting if it will fit or not. Even the "universal" fit ones that fit with a seatbelt won't work necessarily in a car with a short seatbelt or there may be "buckle crunch" which makes the seat very dangerous.

Could you ring the Essex road safety officers for advice? They're v v helpful 01268 297593 0r 07766 423 797.

Short seatbelts are mainly found in the back seats of small cars - you'd be fine in most taxis.

not necessarily. the seatbelts in our renault scenic were stupid short! and that's supposed to be a family car.
ditto the ford focus... there were several infant carriers we couldn't fit in there.

I have a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix for DS, and almost all of my peers have the same or the Maxi Cosi Pebble.

I believe you can download the "manual" from their website - its a series of drawings showing how to fit the seat in a car.

There are basically 3 blue plastic blobs on the Maxi Cosis indicating where the seatbelt should go.

Unfortunately it's impossible to recommend the perfect seat for you - some seats fit better in different cars, but by virtue of the fact almost everyone I know has the Maxi Cosi, it's safe to say that they fit in most cars.

With regards to safety, I believe the Cabriofix has come out on top of most safety tests, whereas some cheaper seats just scrape through with the minimum criteria.

If you can't justify the cost of a new seat, do try to pick one up second hand from someone you know so that you can be sure that it's not been in an accident, it's been stored properly and it's not too old.