New buggy versus second hand

[RMarieClaire]

Would love to hear from experience what people think about 2nd hand versus new buggies.

DD is due in July and we are keen on either iCandy Peach or Uppababy Vista, both of which could convert and do us a second child if we have one in next 4 years.

New the travel systems are around a grand which is eye watering - second hand more like £250. But so many people buy new there must be some big benefits to splashing out. It's all so confusing!

If you can view the second hand buggy, test it out, collapse it etc and it's fine then it's a no brained for me. We got our Quinny travel system second hand and it was great, glad we didn't pay out the money for a new one. Particularly with things like travel cots which get barely any use compared to the rest of the buggy

Sorry, I meant carry cot

We were in exactly the same predicament. We saw the Uppababy vista and loved it. Looked online for second hand. Saw some that were either cheaper and old models or not that much cheaper and newer models. In the end we decided to go for brand new as we want it for years and could also try to sell it on ourselves! You just know what you're getting too. We did find the uppababy vista for £835 and bought it. Cheapest we could find for a new one!

If you’re talking about getting the whole travel system second hand, then you shouldn’t as you do need a new car seat for safety reasons. Then the slight issue becomes making sure the (potentially slightly older) pram you buy second hand is compatible with a new car seat you want but provided it’s not a really old pram you’re buying it shouldn’t be a massive issue, just something to be aware of.

Other than that, I don’t think there’s any issue with getting a pram second hand.

We've had 3 second hand pushchairs and one new one for 2 babies! Tbh, I wish we'd just bought our first pushchair (bugaboo bee) brand new because if we had, we'd have just had the two pushchairs (we bought a stroller brand new as I don't drive and the local buses are busy). All four pushchairs combined have come in less than the price of a new bee but I hate the fact we've had four pushchairs!

In my opinion they aren't in them long enough to justify the brand new price tags, and as you've found from looking you can't sell them second hand for anywhere near what you bought them for.

Granted it was 7 years ago now, but we got DS pram brand new for about £300 and then the car seat as well. It saw us through with DS2 as well.

Each to their own, but in my opinion £1k for a pram is ridiculous. And if I can buy new cheaper than second hand, I'd prefer to buy new. I did buy a second hand double buggy for when I had DS2. Mainly because I knew it wasn't going to be used a great deal didn't want to splash out for something new.

Getting secondhand is a no-brainer tbh. So many FTParents buy new basically because they buy into the marketing that you need 1,000 shiny things for a baby and buying stuff = being prepared/being a good parent. They also underestimate how likely they are to buy one that doesn't end up suiting them.

You should buy a car seat new, but otherwise you can get barely-used buggies (often because people bought something they subsequently found didn't suit them...) for 50% or less of the new cost.

I think people buy new as they just want new rather than there being much benefit. I wanted new just for the sake of it but will be using ours for DD2 and it’ll be in just as good condition.
I imagine for one that starts cheap it might not last but the brands you mention would last

I went for a second hand Quinny in a fit of economy before DC1 was born. It wasn’t in great shape, but I didn’t realise that, and it fell apart completely when he was 6 months old.

We got a second hand iCandy, only a year old and a quarter of the price new...! And it’s lasted great through 2 of my own children. Was really pleased to have saved £750... which will inevitably be spent on other things over time

Second hand. We got a second hand Quinny and it was amazing for £100, we donated it when we had our second baby but could probably have got £50 for it. We replaced it with a Phil & Teds which we got for £80 off e bay. I would really recommend getting a better quality buggy second hand rather than a cheaper one new. We walk a hell of a lot (don't drive)so we wanted a buggy where we could replace the tyres which you can't on some cheaper buggies. Always worth looking at replacement parts, if you can get it serviced and if you can fit a buggy board on if you're wanting it to do for two babies!

We got a new travel system for ds but mainly because we were very lucky and my parents wanted to buy it for us.
We are now about to use it for our new baby 4 years later so in some ways it has been worth the money.
The knowledge that something is new and clean and pristine for your first baby is very attractive to first time parents but you get less bothered the second time around. Ours has been in storage so we found a specialist pram cleaning service locally to do a deep clean and it's honestly as good as new.
Like others have said though, do not buy second hand car seats

Get second hand and buy a new mattress.

We got the Peach second hand after 3 years' use. It was in perfect condition and is really robust. Only caveat is that it is quite unwieldy on public transport - we tend to use a sling and sometimes I wish we'd got something that folds up properly without being broken into two pieces.

We got a new mattress for the carry cot.

People spend a fortune because they think they should, they equate price with love, and theirs an element of keeping up with the Jones' too. Second hand is fine as long as you check it's in good condition, car seats should be new unless it's a known history eg close friend or family

I will be getting new bugaboo but only because i will be using it almost every day as i go long walks etc and my last bugaboo i used for 2 babies did them until they were over 2 years old.

I actually got mine ex display at mothercare it was immaculate and half price they even threw in a free rain cover as I had no idea nowadays these are seperate.

I bought second hand and no regrets. To spend so much on something that is used for such a small amount of time doesn't make sense to me. Only thing I got new was the car seat but I waited till it was on sale.

Thanks all. We just picked up a second hand iCandy Peach All Terrain and so thrilled with it! Seems in great condition and £800 cheaper than new! So great even if it only does one year/baby.

Going to get a new Maxi cosi to finish the set.

I bought new and am glad as our pram now pushchair gets 2-3 hours use most days. If you don't plan on using it much I'd go for second hand.
I would definitely buy new mattress, rain cover and foot muff though.

I got my first babys pram new as my mum wanted to buy it then bought 2nd hand double pram when my daughter was born. I am now pregnant 4 years later and have purchased the bugaboo cameleon 3 from Ebay which cost me 400. to buy new this would of been a fortune and its immaculate!! loads of stuff with it to. I would always go 2nd hand as prices for prams are just ridiculous and babies are not in them for long

Second hand. Car seats not an issue - Maxi Cosi adapters which are aka "universal" adapters haven't changed in about 15 years.

Called universal because Cybex, Kiddy, Joie, Recaro, Besafe all go on them fine.

Graco, Britax, Silver Cross and Cosatto have their own adapters. Generic tend not to have adapters.

I use the shit out of mine and having a second hand one is no issue. First baby had an ex-display model too. I don't see the point in spending much more than £200 on a pram. I find them so overpriced new.

I would just check the mattress etc. We didn't use ours for night time sleep and it had a waterproof cover so we just wiped it down and put a sheet on it. The raincover is in good nick as well.