is it true that car rental places offer no mid-high capacity harnessed car seats?

Athena · Jun 25, 2010

This is just a curiosity and I didn't find a recent discussion on it. I am NOT considering renting a car seat.

But when I was investigating car rentals for our trip, I couldn't help myself and looked at the child car seat section. Hertz (one of the "nicer" rental places) listed Sceneras and Comfortsports and then it jumps to booster seats. I realize a lot of people are forward facing their kids before they'd have outgrown these rear facing. But wouldn't a lot of kids have outgrown these seats forward facing before they were ready for a booster? And before they even turn 4? And aren't there states that a child cannot booster before age 4? What am I missing? Again this is just a curiosity.

carseatcoach · Jun 25, 2010

It's likely that car rental agencies offer the cheapest seats. They are not likely to be invested in best practice (and to be honest, I wouldn't expect them to be -- that's not their mission).

Yes, lots of kids who are not booster-ready would have outgrown the seats.

christineka · Jun 25, 2010

I knew someone who recently wanted to rent backless boosters for her 2, 4, and 6 year olds. I think most people move their kids to boosters when they've outgrown a small seat anyway.

Athena · Jun 25, 2010

christineka said:
I knew someone who recently wanted to rent backless boosters for her 2, 4, and 6 year olds. I think most people move their kids to boosters when they've outgrown a small seat anyway.

Just makes me sad to think about.

cryswilkins · Jun 27, 2010

When we traveled to Florida last year I asked the rental people what they had just for the heck of it. Everything that they had was dirty, likely expired, and not something I would ever consider putting my kids in.

I would save myself the headache of wondering if they are going to be good seat with a clean history and lug my own.

joolsplus3 · Jun 27, 2010

When I worked at a nice baby store a few years ago, they'd buy cosco highback boosters (the cheapest little harnessed combo seats they have, like at walmart for $45), take the harness out, and sell them to Hertz as boosters.

There's just too much to get wrong with those big seats, can you imagine some (young, untrained, probably rushed) employee trying to rethread a Nautilus? Or how funked up a Triumph harness could get? Or even in a seat with a removable harness, what they might do to clean it and how they might put it back?
Frontier 85 or Boulevard might be reasonably ok, but I doubt any company would pay for it

ketchupqueen · Jun 28, 2010

I saw brand new Sceneras, TurboBoosters (high-backed) and Chases at a rental place once. Not too shabby really. They were at a place that was smaller, and I chatted with the owner; his wife is a CPST! This was before the new lower-cost HWH seats came out. I'll bet he's even got some Maestros and maybe a few Gen65s by now.

But yeah, that's a rarity.

leighi123 · Jun 28, 2010

A friend of ours from overseas just visited and they were given a Scenera for their 4yr old (39lbs). The only other option was bucket seats or backless boosters. It cost them $50 to rent it too!

Luckily the seat was new, and they did a pretty good job of installing it, it was only a little loose. They used the top teather, had the straps tight and chestclip right.

Pretty cool b/c this was the first time either of their kids had ever been in a carseat! (their other kid is 15months and didnt come on the trip).

They were shocked when I told them next trip he would need to go into a booster, or they could buy him a HWH seat just for the trip (they would have to get it once they arrived).

is it true that car rental places offer no mid-high capacity harnessed car seats?

Athena

Well-known member

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants

christineka

New member

Athena

Well-known member

cryswilkins

New member

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob

leighi123

Active member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics