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Original poster

Cars with 3 'proper' seat belts in the back? Or how else do you manage with 3 children and 2 adults if you cant afford an MPV?!

30 replies

pesha · 14/11/2006 10:15

My 3rd baby is due in april by which time my dcs will be 6.5 and 3.8. I cannot fit 3 car seats in the back of my car, i cant afford a people carrier. Under the new law if you cant fit 3 car seats in you can have 1 child without a car seat which im ok with as dd will be 6 and a half and it wont be all journeys just those with dp aswell. But im not happy with her just having a lap belt as i've heard horrid things about the injuries these can cause to a child in an accident.

So...does anyone know of a car that has 3 full seat belts in the back that i could feasibly buy for £1000-1500 thats not too big or expensive to insure and tax, pref 1.4? (I have a nissan sunny at the mo, this with an extra belt would be ideal!) Or is it only new fancy cars that cost 10 grand that have them?

Or does anyone have any other suggestions??

TIA

OP posts:
katzg · 14/11/2006 10:17

We have a Britax Reinannase (SP) car seat which can go on a lap strap, could you put one of the younger children in teh middle and then put bigger child in a diagonal belt next to her?

Enid · 14/11/2006 10:18

MULTIPLA

Nemo1977 · 14/11/2006 10:19

I have a R reg renault scenic..had it about 3 yrs and am expecting no.3 in jan. At the minute in the back of my car I have a booster seat[ds3.1], forward facing baby seat[dd 11mths] and a rear facing seat for when baby arrives.

3 yrs ago my car cost me £2800 so would expect now it is around £1200 or less. It is fab as it has a huge boot and is also a 1.6 engine.

MrsSpoon · 14/11/2006 10:22

We have a Peugeot 406, S reg, only worth about £1,000 but has three proper seat belts in the back. We have two children but have had a third in the car, two boosters and one big car seat, it was a squeeze but they fitted, DS2's car seat is very bulky and if I always carried three children I'm sure I could get a slimmer seat for him and it would be easier to fit the seats in the back.

zephyrcat · 14/11/2006 10:24

Ours is a Peugeot 406 too and fits 3 car seats in the back - just about!! We have a big chunky Britax, a britax hi-liner and a little britax rear facing one.. bit if a squeeze but they do go and the seat belts are all 'proper'.

samuelthomas · 14/11/2006 14:47

I too am expecting number three and have just been doing the three car seat investigation. As I understand it the law suggests that you are better to put child number three in the front seat with booster seat and two in the back than to have one in the centre with lap belt.

I have to say that we found that it is not the three seat belts but the width of the car that restricts the three car seats fitting in. I spent over an hour in Halfords with my Honda CRV (not a small car!) and the car seat fitting "expert" who decided that it was not possible to get the three seats in the car even though we had three three-point seat belts in the car. I have friends who have also had this problem with other makes of cars.

The only way to be sure is to put all three seats in the car. Expensive business having three children!!!!

Original poster
pesha · 14/11/2006 18:23

Hi, thank you for all your replies, have been looking on autotrader and ebay and think the scenic may be for me although still have a few months to decide.

Samuelthomas most journeys I will have one of them in a car seat in the front but when dp needs to be in the car too i either need a car that can fit 3 car seats in the back which i think needs quite a big car which usually means big engine so more expensive to tax and run, or a car that has 3 full seat belts then i can have 2 in car seats and dd sitting in the middle without a car seat. But it is expensive isnt it, I really thought I'd be able to get all 3 in my car but they just wont go, its not even close!

OP posts:
Trinityrhino · 14/11/2006 18:25

i have a renault scenic which has a proper third middle seatbaelt and I have checked that it will fit the back facing seat in aswell as the booster for the 6 yr old and th eforward facing for the 2 yr old I love it

Gem13 · 14/11/2006 18:27

I'm with Enid on the Multipla (fab car, thanks Enid!). They're not cheap and they can be hard to find so they won't meet pesha's budget but they might meet samuelthomas's.

Original poster
pesha · 14/11/2006 22:24

Anyone else got any suggestions of other cars I could look at?

OP posts:
Original poster
pesha · 15/11/2006 19:52

Bump!

Any other cars with 3 proper seat belts i could look at?

Im one of those annoying people who will find something they love in the first shop they go in but will still go into every other shop before buying just to make sure its the right thing!!

OP posts:
lockets · 15/11/2006 19:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

popsycal · 15/11/2006 19:59

we have a peugot 307
2 proper belts in the back and i think there would be enough room (not tried it as we only have 2..)
not overawed withthe car otslef but it is ok

cupcakes · 15/11/2006 20:02

we have just bought (today!) an old Discovery - it doesn't have 3 full seat belts in the back but does fot all three seats. Which is fine at the moment as dd in second stage car seat which fits on lap belt.
Think that when she moves to a booster I'll have to put ds in the front and I or dh will sit in the middle seat with the lap belt in the back. Luckily, it's very roomy but still far from ideal for long journeys.

anniebear · 15/11/2006 20:05

we have a Xsara Picasso and fit 3 in the back quite easily

nutcracker · 15/11/2006 20:10

We had a Citroen Xantia estate that could just about fit 3 car seats in the back and had 3 shoulder belts. It was an N reg and we paid about £800 for it.

mamijacacalys · 15/11/2006 20:50

Have a Ford Mondeo. Generally excellent as a family car imo.
Has 3 proper diagonal seat belts in the back.
Normally have DS in a booster seat and DD in rear-facing baby seat.
When DSs friend came with her booster the other day was a tight squeeze for all 3 in the back (couldn't but baby seat in the front due to airbag and haven't checked in the handbook whether it can be switched odd like in my bro's Peugeot 307).
HTH

earlysbird · 15/11/2006 20:57

My Seat Leon has 3 proper seatbelts in the back, we can fit 5yr old niece in between DTs on her booster. Older ones of these might be available at the price you want, new model out recently so older ones less popular

bananaloaf · 15/11/2006 21:01

honda frv, golf plus, volvo V70 (has integrated booter seats)

Tommy · 15/11/2006 21:01

We have a Citroen Berlingo which can easily fit 3 car seats in the back, all with proper seat belts. DH has often travelled in the back between the DSs as well so it's plenty big enough id you have 3 adults and 3 children as well!

The boot is huge as well which helps when carrying all the stuff that goes with having toddlers and babies

vickiyumyum · 15/11/2006 21:06

i have an 05 vauxhall vectra that fits 3 seats in the back, i know that not under £1500 but maybe the older style vectras have the third seat belt? huge boots too, easily fit in my 3in1 pram and a weeks shopping!

magicfarawaytree · 15/11/2006 21:24

pesha - mondeo has great boot and 3 full seat belts in the back. we currently have 2 boosters and 1 stage 2 car seat in but it is not ideal. you cannot reach the seat buckles very easily for the boosters but if your oldest sits in the middle that wont be a problem. This issue will be the same in all cars as the booster seats use the seat buckle and is therefore low down between the seats. dd / or ds has to crawl under the strapped in seatbelt. but as my oldest is only 4 no other choice until can afford an mpv than can carry adults and luggage. have my eye on one but will be a while before we can afford it.

Original poster
pesha · 15/11/2006 21:27

Thank you all, loads of suggestions, am off to search on autotrader now!!

I only passed my test in july and I inherited my current car from my grandma when she died last year so will be sad to see it go but at the same time getting quite excited about a new (to me!) car

OP posts:
LoveMyGirls · 15/11/2006 21:27

my dp has just bought a 2nd hand rover 400 it can fit car seats for ages 7, 3.5 and 1 across the back, i will admit it is a tight squeeze but do able. i've been borrowing it while my 7 seater is in the garage. its a 2L tho.

VeniVidiVickiQV · 15/11/2006 21:30

Another vote for the Citroen Xsara Picasso.

Has 3 x 3 point seatbelts in the back. lots of storage space in the car, and a decent sized boot too.

Had ours for 18 months and love it. You can get one brand new for £9k so i would imagine 2nd hand ones 5 years and older would be within your range.