Obviously it's not illegal, but...

drjanetm · Jan 20, 2007

....why would someone want to buy a non-US car seat in the USA???

I was just randomly searching e-bay and found a seller based in the USA who was selling Maxi Cosi infant seats (6 of them). I can only assume that it is perfectly legal to buy and sell foreign seats, and just illegal to use them? But then that raises the question: who on earth would want to buy a car seat just to have it sitting in the living room looking pretty???!!!

What ARE the legal implications of using a foreign seat? (Not considering it in the least, just wondering....)

MySweetAGL · Jan 20, 2007

I belive you can use certain foreign seats with an Rx from a doc.

Splash · Jan 20, 2007

Because some people like them better, for a variety of reasons.

There are several foreign seats that I would love to own, the top two being a Romer Vario (same as Britax Laptop, but not legal for sale in the US anymore because it cannot be made LATCH compliant) and a Akta Duo-Logic (RF to 50 pounds).
Sometimes you can get something better from overseas. Same reason people want imported strollers or cribs. Although with foreign car seats, sometimes they ARE safer (RF longer or a safe restraint for lap only belt or extremely tall child).
Morganthe still uses a Maxi Cosi Priori, because she just likes it better. That seat was available here for a short time, but no one bought it. I don't know if her seat is a US or foreign version, but I am thinking foreign.

Morganthe · Jan 20, 2007

I checked out who you were talking about on ebay. TBH, if I had a second child (extremely not likely), I might purchase the MC Cabrio even if I were in the states. I'm in a place where no one seems to care if a child is buckled up, let alone in a newish carseat. The knowledge base of whether or not a brand is US or not is definitely not among the cops here.

If I had known what I do now, I would have got an MC instead of the Evenflo that I did have for dd. It's a good seat and I'd be able to attach it to my Quinny stroller too

LOL Splash, you're right. My MC is the EURO version. I figure if it was good enough for the 140kph I averaged on the autobahn, it's safe enough for pokey speeds here in the US. I'm just more concerned about the HUGE SUV's & Mac Trucks on the road squashing us

Patriot201 · Jan 20, 2007

There are actually several foreign seats I would love to have!!!

I can see why someonw would buy some of the foreign seats. Like Splash said, sometimes they are just "better."

mominabigtruck · Jan 20, 2007

I would love to have the britax austrailan seats here, they look so much user friendly then what we have now.

lovinwaves · Jan 20, 2007

I have a Discovery Plus Safe 'N Sound (Britax) carseat from Australia that I inherited from a friend whos relative moved here. We used it as an extra seat for a long time. The only thing I did was add a chest clip piece (they are not required in Australia). We used it as a spare until I purchased extra Britax Marathons. I still own it, and it makes a great backup if I ever needed it in an emergency.

Pawy · Jan 20, 2007

I want to buy a Recaro youth sport but they do need meet Australian stanards but i beleive this seat is a good seat.
With my DS being over 40 pounds that means by law i dont have to use a child seat so is it still illegal...

Paul

Splash · Jan 20, 2007

When Charlie is in a booster, I would love to get my hands on a Recaro Start with the impact cushion. However I am pretty sure the cushion maxes out at 40 pounds, so it wouldn't really help me out. But if I could get one of those now, I would use it in my dad's car for him if my dad could master its use.
I think other countries definitely have better seats that ours. Not necessarily safer, just different. Lots of things in other countries wouldn't fly here, mostly because parents wouldn't want to be bothered and therefore it wouldn't be profitable for companies to make them. Or the absolutely stupid law that drove the laptop out, which was a great restraint and definitely filled a niche. I would also love to be able to get ahold of the H harnesses for boosters that they have in Australia. And their RF seats with rebound bar and tether, THOSE would be nice!

gwenvet · Jan 20, 2007

I thought that a few weeks ago there was a post about Maxi Cosi now being available in the US. We had one that I got second hand (before I knew better) and to this day it is my favorite seat.

scatterbunny · Jan 20, 2007

Pawy said:
I want to buy a Recaro youth sport but they do need meet Australian stanards but i beleive this seat is a good seat.
With my DS being over 40 pounds that means by law i dont have to use a child seat so is it still illegal...

Paul

The Sport only harnesses to 40 pounds, though--then it must be converted to a booster seat.

super_grape · Jan 20, 2007

Check out this site!

www.concord.de

I love the infant seat (Baboo), the handle doubles as an anti-rebound bar!

The convertable seat(Ultimax) is VERY INTERESTING too, you install the base and then just flip the seat whichever way it needs to be (RF/FF). The base also has a built in Mighty Tite-type tensioner

.

Their site is great...lots of crash test videos!

I really wanted that infant seat when Katie was a baby and back then it came in some really pretty, girly fabrics

.

Holly

RubysGirl · Jan 20, 2007

super_grape said:
Check out this site!

www.concord.de

I love the infant seat (Baboo), the handle doubles as an anti-rebound bar!

The convertable seat(Ultimax) is VERY INTERESTING too, you install the base and then just flip the seat whichever way it needs to be (RF/FF). The base also has a built in Mighty Tite-type tensioner .

Their site is great...lots of crash test videos!

I really wanted that infant seat when Katie was a baby and back then it came in some really pretty, girly fabrics .

Holly

Anybody notice hwo the conventional infantseat just isn't installed tight? Like they're using a lockingclip with it, but not the other (if it's the same belt, no reason why one would need it and the other not) and that it's just not pushing down into the foam seat? But then their brand is, it's super tight, belt taunt, and pushing down deep into the seat?

super_grape · Jan 20, 2007

RubysGirl said:
Anybody notice hwo the conventional infantseat just isn't installed tight? Like they're using a lockingclip with it, but not the other (if it's the same belt, no reason why one would need it and the other not) and that it's just not pushing down into the foam seat? But then their brand is, it's super tight, belt taunt, and pushing down deep into the seat?

Yup, noticed that....pretty convenient, eh

?!

Patriot201 · Jan 21, 2007

The Ultimax is one of the seats I would LOVE to see in person.

Some of their covers are SO cool!

drjanetm · Jan 21, 2007

Oh, I certainly understand why people would WANT to use them, but wouldn't they void your insurance in the case of an accident? Haven't I read that here before? Because, TBH, I too would love a MC (I have a Quinny Zapp that can act as a frame for using the MC as a travel system), but would be scared of the legality of it.

Splash, I am actually getting my sister to bring me an H-harness next month when she visits! (There you go, I'm going against what I just said in the previous paragraph!) I just wanted to have a play with it and see if it works with either of DD's BPBs so that when she grows out of her current 5-pt harness (still about 1/2" to go), I can do something other than a regular seatbelt for the few months we'll still be in the USA (we likely to be moving back to Australia later this year).

debsten · Jan 21, 2007

Splash, I have one of the H harnesses, I haven't used it here but like it for an option if we needed it in DH car that has a lap center belt. If you really want one let me know as I will be heading out there March and would be happy to pick one up for you.

Debbie

Jeanum · Jan 21, 2007

drjanetm said:
....why would someone want to buy a non-US car seat in the USA???

I was just randomly searching e-bay and found a seller based in the USA who was selling Maxi Cosi infant seats (6 of them). I can only assume that it is perfectly legal to buy and sell foreign seats, and just illegal to use them? But then that raises the question: who on earth would want to buy a car seat just to have it sitting in the living room looking pretty???!!!

What ARE the legal implications of using a foreign seat? (Not considering it in the least, just wondering....)

A tech (big wave to Momika!) recently posted in great detail about legal issues of using a non-U.S. seat here that may be helpful, and also outlining the differences in seats among various countries. It's fascinating reading: http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=70153&postcount=93

southpawboston · Jan 21, 2007

Jeanum said:
A tech (big wave to Momika!) recently posted in great detail about legal issues of using a non-U.S. seat here that may be helpful, and also outlining the differences in seats among various countries. It's fascinating reading: http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=70153&postcount=93

fascinating, indeed. so that really raises a big honkin' red flag for me... if i were in a deadly accident where my child was seriously injured while harnessed in an "illegal" seat, how would that affect insurance liability? while someone mentioned above that most police may never notice, some insurance inspectors might. and for me, it's probably not worth going there... as wonderful as some foreign seats may be, i wouldn't risk using them in the US for my children, simply because of the liability and the chance of being denied insurance for using an illegal seat.

Obviously it's not illegal, but...

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