How long should a buggy last? Surely more than one year?

[AllYouNeedIsLoveAllegedly]

My Mothercare buggy has been brilliant but now it lists to one side, one of the tyres keeps coming off and it feels generally a bit rubbish. I think I'll have to replace it as it's just over a year old so just outside the guarantee (and anyway who knows where I would have put the receipt as a sleep-deprived, hormone addled new mum).

Is this normal? I had been kind of hoping it would do for future dcs so am a bit that I'm having to replace it so soon.

Could you get it serviced at mothercare? I don't know if they actually offer this or not but they would probably know of somewhere if they don't do it themselves. I'm sure that'd be cheaper than buying a new one.

I have used lots of buggys (I think I have a little bit of a problem where buggies are concerned!!), they generally longer than a year and when I sell them they're still in really good condition. I am currently using one for CMing, it's a cheap 3 wheeler that I bought 6 years ago for ds. My friend then used it for her ds, it was kept at our caravan for a year and used a few times and now it's back in my house being used a few times a week and is as strong and tidy looking as it was when I bought it (apart from a bit of the paint chipping off the frame).

what one is it?

If it was brought from Mothercare, it should have a sticker on it with 2 holes punched out to indicate which month/year it was brought in. So you can definately tell if its outside or inside the guarentee. Its free repair within 12 months and you have to pay for the repair outside of that. They sometimes will loan you a pushchair whilst your old one is sent off for a repair. (if there is one available).
Which pushchair did you buy? If its a Jive or a Backspin, then, I wouldn't expect these to last (with heavy use) over a year. Also, the main reason it would lean to the side is from having shopping on the handles. Which we all do, but on some pushchairs the extra weight of it shows on the wheels where they wear down.

I've not come across an independant buggy servicer, although, at our local carboot sale there is a big stand selling reconditioned buggies so the bloke either does it himself or there are places which do it.
I know, to get a Maclaren serviced outside of the guarentee period starts at approx £40. Different makes and different problems would obv mean different costs.
HTH.

Doesn't look like Mothercare sell it any more - it is a stroller type - black with an orange hood. It was about £70, I think. Have discussed with dh and we're going to try superglueing the tyre back on. If that doesn't fix it I may have to pick up another buggy on ebay as there's no way I can pay £40 for a service or the full price of a new buggy, especially if it's going to be an annual expense .

Thanks for all the info. I do walk a lot and I think maybe the snow wasn't good for it, so maybe I can't totally blame mothercare, but still a big gutted

Depends what you use it for. Serious walking, shopping, off road use... then no, I don't think there are many that last beyond a year (I've worn out a pair of walking boots in a year of commuting to nursery and work, what chance does a mothercare pushchair have??)

bit, not big

you pretty much get what you pay for though - I am still using a Techno XT McClaren that is 4 years old, and it's still in good shape. Use it most days for school run and out and about.

I have a maxi cosi maxi taxi. I think they are quinny now, and heartily recommend it for lots of walking. Mine is 4 years old now and still going strong for dc2. It was expensive, but if you can pick one up on ebay definately worth it. My DH regularly services it, oil, tyres, brakes etc. And it's never needed any new parts in that time. I also use a chicco london stroller for short shopping trips. But I think you get what you pay for. Mothercare are reasonable though I would consider taking it back to them first off.

don't agree with "you get what you pay for".

I had an umbrella pushchair - cheap Toys'r'us one - cost about £25 iirc.

I used it solidly for nearly 2yrs. Firstly as a pushchair for DS2 (and not being a driver and living on the edge of town I walked everywhere so it had heavy use there), plus I used to hang a weeks worth of shopping on it back from the supermarket. When DS2 stopped using it I continued to use it for my Avon deliveries and collections - 150 brochures delivered, usually around 50 orders every fortnight or so. Basically it was used and abused.

It survived all of that Hauck Infinity was also heavily used but not nearly so much as the cheapy one but the chassis broke a month or so ago after 1 1/2yrs of use.

A pushchair should be fit for purpose whehter it costs £25 or £250

I agree FAQ, my 6yr old 3 wheeler cost me £60!!

if it was a £70 one then it's a 6 month guarantee, not a year.
was this it?

well generally in all areas of life I do believe you get what you pay for - cheap clothes, cheap furniture, cheap shoes, cheap toys etc etc. Doesn't mean that I don't buy cheap sometimes though!

ime that's all a good myth to make us spend more on expensive branded stuff .

my DS's generally wear cheap clothes - usually hand-me-downs (DS3 now wearing some 4th/5th generation cheap clothes) - I can't say that they've last any better or worse than their more expensive ones.

Their toys - all cheap stuff (barring one or two select items).

My 99p tine opener that has lasted longer than any of the more expensive ones I've ever owned........

oh and yes "cheap shoes" - decided I was wearing out my "Shoe Zone" boots in 6 months (or less!) that I would buy some decent ones - so spent nearly £80 on some near the end of last year.

Well they look no better now that my cheap £10 ones would have looked like at the same "age". Think they'll be lucky to make it past the 6 month marker..........

I agree (again!) FAQ! I did the same thing with shoes this Winter and won't be spending a lot on them in the future because they all look knackered withing a few months!!!

I'm really quite cross with myself for falling for it on this occasion. That £80 would have been a few years of cheap boots

the mothercare own make buggies are notorious for this, you do get what you pay for with their buggies im afraid. whereas maclaren may be double the price but now come with a lifetime guarantee so just goes to show the quality of them. they do seem to go on and on.

actually I've just remembered - DS1's first pushchair was a Mothercare Travel Sysytem - I passed it onto my SIL after we'd finished with it and she also used it for her 2nd DD a few years later.

ID - yes that's it. Didn't actually choose it on cheapness - more because I wanted a buggy that was from birth as no room for a pram in our house and I wasn't keen on the idea of leaving a newborn in one of those carseat style buggies for very long, and it needed to fit in my tiny car boot so had to be umbrella-fold. I seem to remember there were only three like that on offer - Mothercare, Chicco and one other. My friend bought the Chicco one and that broke almost straight away, so I guess there is an issue with that style of buggy over the more robust looking ones which wouldn't fit in my car...