Will need a "new" car...

[purple826]

I'm sure I'm the millionth person to ask too :) .

Anyway, our '93 Buick Le Sabre is a wonderful brick of a car but can only fit one carseat (center back) due to what the carseat manuals say and the type of lap/shoulder belts it has (they lock on the bottom, not the top).

I'm due June 24th and so we will need a new car this spring.

Carseats:

-SS1 for newborn
-FPSVD for DS - will be 23mo old and probably still RF as he has 3" to grow before the 1" of hard shell rule. He's only 23# so weight is a non-issue at the moment.
-Scenera??? - we haven't decided on 2 or 3 kids yet but this would be the third seat for a time as it doesn't expire until 2013.

Budget:

We want something safe that will last and gets decent/good gas milage but "new" is just not in the budget. The more economical the better. We don't drive much so I'd comprimise gas milage (slightly) for price.

We'll probably buy used but is there anything we should look for besides top tether anchors? LATCH isn't totally necessary for us either.

We just want something wide enough to RF the two seats and that has a lot of trunk room.

Okay, I'm sounding too picky so I'll stop here :) . Thankyou!
~nikki

[Defrost]

Seatbelts that lock at the bottom can be used to install carseats. Is there something else wrong with them - are they attached to the door, for example, or are the buckles in the middle of the seat rather in the "bight" (crack)?

Sorry, not trying to talk you out of a getting a "new" car! ;)

I'd start by looking at crash-test ratings and safety features. :thumbsup:

[Dillipop]

Are you sure the belts outboard don't lock? My FIL has a buick something or other from around that time frame and the lap portion of the belt locks when you pull it out all the way and slowly feed it back in. The outboard seats are a breeze to install a carseat in, IME.

A newer buick might fit your bill. I have a 99 Buick Century. I can get a marathon (ffing) middle with the safeseat outboard. I bet they would fit even better together if the marathon was rfing. The seats in the century are really plush and I can get a rock solid install with any seat I've tried.

[purple826]

Thanks. The outboard belts do lock but only the lap portion... I'll have to go through the mauals again. I thought the SS1 said that was not okay. The buckle does not slide freely on the belt and I think that was a requirement or something...

We'll keep our eyes open :) .

[scatterbunny]

Your belts are just fine. :)

[purple826]

You all just saved us a TON of money. The car we have runs fine and is completely paid off. Thankyou.
~nikki

[purple826]

[QUOTE=Defrost;283583] Is there something else wrong with them - are they attached to the door, for example, or are the buckles in the middle of the seat rather in the "bight" (crack)?

Nope - none of that stuff. Just that the clip doesn't slide and the top doesn't lock. The bottom locks fine.

[Defrost]

You all just saved us a TON of money. The car we have runs fine and is completely paid off. Thankyou.
~nikki

LOL! Sounds like you figured out what the carseat manual was saying? They are worded so poorly sometimes, it's so easy to misunderstand them. That's great, I'm glad you got good news. :)

[brightredmtn]

You all just saved us a TON of money. The car we have runs fine and is completely paid off. Thankyou.
~nikki

This board is awesome!