pros and cons on Quinny Buzz 3 wheeler anyone??

[ranirani]

I am thinking to get a complete travel system with Quinny Buzz 3 wheeler? any feedback from experienced mums ?

Had one for DS - loved it for first 6 months then started having problems with front wheel (v sticky and then developed awful squeak). Then a screw fell out (apparently common design flaw). DS loved it in the seat - facing me or away - but outgrew it at 1 and a half so we're on a Maclaren now for him (at 2 and a half). No good in mud/country walks but fine in city - though chassis too wide to get on buses in London with. Pro - v easy to unfold (folding takes a bit of practice) and maxi cosi car seat plugs on it.

We've got one. Absolutely loved it, very easy to push and steer, great having forward and backward facing pushchair, great being able to put car seat on chassis by itself when necessary.

Feels wider than it actually is - I've never not been able to get in a doorway and when you actually go places it squeezes through smaller spaces than you think when you look at it. Folds up and down really easily.

Handle height can be very easily changed if you and DP or anyone else are different heights. Can be pushed over relatively bumpy terrain without disturbing child, not jerky. We've taken it on grass/mild mud for dog walks quite easily.

Carrycot/car seat/pushchair bits all click on and come off fairly easily.

But.

Very heavy to push now that DS is 17mo. Can no longer steer it with one finger!! Takes up quite a lot of boot space. We bought a Zapp a few months ago to keep in the car and to use for travelling - we keep the Buzz by the front door.

I have the whole system and love it.

Agree (almost) totally with what Flowerybeanbag has said.

Only thing is I have to disagree with Flowerybeanbag about it seeming wider than it is. I feel the opposite, always ramming DD into doorframes cos the wheels are wider than the pram.

I have friends who have bought the Pliko Pramette and the Silver Cross who wish that they had bought the Quinny Buzz.

Go for it!

i had one and hated it, but sounds like i'm in a minority.

it did have plus points, which were a very comfy ride for the baby, nice and snug in the winter, if you buy the footmuff and the seat unit does lie flat, so you don't really need the carrycot. also looks great, which is why we got it (DH being a gadget lover)

HOWEVER, the downsides for me personally far outweighed this and they were:

it is very bulky and heavy, hard to fold up, takes up a lot of room, so unless you want to disassemble it every time you put it in the car you need a big boot, which we didn't have, so i used to have to take 3 or 4 trips to the car to get the frame, then the wheels, then the seat unit, and then the baby...

the whole thing folded, with the seat unit on weighs A TONNE. 12kg. you can only fold it with the seat unit attached if the seat unit is facing forwards, not if you have turned it to face you

also, the opening mechanism is lethal if you accidentally put your finger in the wrong place, as i found out to my cost. got my fingertip stuck in it and a) couldn't get it out without help and b) it was properly bruised and lost feeling for a good few weeks

also, the harness is rather short. DD had it on the maximum setting by a few months old

the storage underneath is tiny and has to be bought seperately. the changing bag is in the strangest position, and you end up kicking it as you walk. and you can't hang anything from the handle

anyway, we ended up getting a light buggy in the end (mamas and papas aria, which looks nowehere near as good as the quinny, but which DD loves), and with hindsight i would have got a cheaper travel system where the car seat clips onto a stroller. the fact you can clip the car seat onto the quinny was a big selling point for us, but actually cheaper travel systems do the same thing

i now know why you rarely see anyone with more than one child with a quinny buzz. lovely to look at, not really practical day to day unless you have a massive boot and very strong back

I like it whe ds was tiny but when i turned the seat round and he was heavier it was a pita.

The steering used to kill me! It was like steering a shopping trolley.

So buy second hand for when baby is wee and then change. Not worth buying brand new for only a few months.

Not as rugged as they would make out. Great if you are tall but that's about it. Very expensive. Not fab for steering. Got a PhilandTeds and love it.

Have to say I disagree with pinata about the seat lying flat - ours certainly didn't do that - it's a fixed seat, you can recline it in a couple of positions, but it doesn't go flat, so we had the carrycot. Unless it's changed this year and the angle of the seat can be changed making it flat. Certainly ours was a moulded seat and couldn't be laid flat.

The straps issue, the manufacturer will send out strap extenders free if you ask them, that's what we did, bags of room now. We contacted the manufacturer first but they said they had to receive requests from the retailer, so I just rang Glasgow Pram Centre where we bought it from and they requested them for me immediately.

Agree with flowery. Mine wasn't flat, but was 3 years ago.

when i say flat, i meant the seat unit reclines to flat, when you have it facing you. i suppose the unit itself is not 100% flat, as it is moulded, but we felt it was flat enough to keep DD's spine straight and in the best position. we didn't really use the pram for very long walks so she was rarely in there more than an hour or so. i don't regret not getting the carrycot, as i think in our case it would have been used a handful of times and then gathered dust

Hi i have bought the quinney buzz carrycot and pushchair (someone has given us the carseat) from ebay for £100 .. it is nearly new condition so im really pleased with it so far. Baby is not due until dec but i have 3 older children so im judging it on what i would have liked for them and think it will be excellent, at least for the first 18-24 months

See we used the carrycot loads. When popping into Tescos or Homebase or whatever, we just used to transfer DS in his car seat on to the wheels, but whenever we go into town shopping or whatever, we're always more than an hour, especially with a young baby, stopping for feeds etc, so we always used it then.

Having said that, he was fed up with not being able to see out, and by 4.5-5mo he was refusing. We put him in the pushchair bit and he was happy as larry looking out.

So we used carrycot for not very long, but quite often.

We had the Quinny Speedi SX.. Very similar comments with the carrycot it was great as long as you didn't need to fold it and put it in the car. Very heavy, a pain to dismantle and took up most of the boot. I also struggled getting in and out of shops. Our first one footbreak did not work at all. Very poor build quality. It took 9 months to get the it replaced. We ended up buying a mclaren and its much more useful for around the village..

i've just bought a second hand buzz(with carrycot) for my 3rd (due dec) so i dont know what its like to actually use.
but i was really impressed by how small it folds,with the rear wheels off the frame is tiny,and i've bought a maxi cosi car seat to go with it,i found it very easy to fold/unfold and i cant wait to start using it.
i also have a zapp which i love,and i will only use the buzz until she is a yr or so,so thats why i bought a second hand one.it was £99 and is like brand new.

good luck x

I had a buzz for a while. I struggled to fold the chassis even when I had done it lots of times because I've got small hands and not very tall! The width annoyed me, lack of space for shopping, very heavy.

I've also had a bugaboo frog and a bugaboo cameleon. I would recommed the frog over it every time much easier to push/steer (esp with an older baby or toddler), more storage space and narrower.

I had a buzz when DS was tiny.
The crew fell out of mine too.

DS outgrew it by 1 (he is tall and the metal frame was digging in his head) plus it was heavy and no room for shopping.

Swapped it when he was 1 for a Phil and Teds which is handy now DS1 is older and I have a DS2 as well!