do you lend your seat out?

rachelandtyke

Well-known member
A friend recently asked if I had a convertible she could borrow for some friends coming into town. Considering I have 2 TFs sitting in the closet :rolleyes:, I said yes.

I sent the EFTA that was in DH's car as that was the seat I minded the least if it didn't return for some reason. It did come back, but there were food spots all over the cover and crumbs all in it after only 1 week. Maybe the amount was normal - my kids don't eat or drink in the car, so our seats stay clean.

I was annoyed, but it all cleaned up well. Made me selfishly wish I hadn't lent the seat out though. Yet I knew the child would be in a good, safe seat by borrowing mine.

So, it made me curious. If you have extra seats, do you lend them out?
 
ADS

Phineasmama

New member
As a general rule I don't lend out things that I expect to get back. I would lend a seat to my best friend though.

It's really rude of them to give it back without cleaning it first. I mean...GROSS!
 

NVMBR02

New member
Genreally, I do not.

I have lent seats to my sister when she is visiting (and I often borrow her seats when I visit her) but we are both anal about car seats. :)

I also loaned my Coccoro to a very good friend when she was traveling, but I trust her completely and know she takes very good care of her own car seats and would take even better care of mine.
 

PikkuMyy

New member
I have, to friends who are 100% on top of car seat safety that I would trust with my own child's life.

My close friends just borrowed my Radian R120 (almost 4 yo RF) and Frontier 85 (newly 7yo and boostered for a few months now) for about a little over a week. I knew they were making an 8+ hour trip each way and did not expect my seats to come back pristine. I'd rather wash them myself anyway.

My friends just moved into a camper and sold their house. I did not expect them to find a place to wash my covers. They came back into town yesterday for a wedding and I watched their 2 boys. In return, they gave me $50 and a roll of quarters because they know I have to use coin-op machines. They apologized for the sand and and any peanuts I may find. No big deal! :) ...but again, these are close friends that needed my help because their own seats didn't work in the truck they needed to pull the camper.

I have let another close friend borrow the Radian for a week. She's very much on top of CPS as well. Her baby was still exclusively breastfed at the time so the seat did come back pristine. ;)
 

jacqui276

New member
I would lend mine depending upon the person. I would be extremely unhappy if they came back covered in food though!
 

katymyers

Active member
At this current moment I would not lend out any of my seats so anybody I currently know. I would only give people seats, fully intending on never getting them back. Key words are currently though, if I had a friend that was as careful with them as I am I wouldn't worry about it.
 

trippsmom

CPST Instructor
I've come to be extremely picky. I lent a seat earlier this year and it was unusable when it returned. I never saw it coming. I expected a stain or a snack, but not broken.

I can handle some spots on the cover. I can handle some crumbs. I cannot handle liquid spills that are uncleaned. I cannot handle bodily fluids. I can even deal with misrouted straps or what have you. (I kindly bring attention to any misuse found.)

I'm lending a former coworker a radian for a trip next week. She has one radian, but needs another for three across. She may turn at a year and booster at kindy, but she does it in radians and britax seats that are clean and tidy. I know she will take care of it or offer to pay for any damage. I guess that's my new requirement, I loan to people who would replace the seat. People looking to try before they buy or use in a temporary set up, like my friend's trip.

I normally return borrowed items in same or better condition than my receipt. I did slip up last week and give Jess71903 her prosport back with a damp cover which was nearly hung to dry and transport. I would have liked to have dressed it, but she wasn't using it that day.
 

trippsmom

CPST Instructor
When people contact me with a long term need due to budget or emergency reasons, I give them seats. When a stranger calls, they make an appointment and I have an appropriate seat on hand.
 

Athena

Well-known member
No, I haven't. I wouldn't trust most people with them. I can't believe they returned it dirty. I let my kids eat in their own seats, but not if it was borrowed.
 

YinzerMama

New member
I would but I would expect to have to wash them when then came back so the dirt or food wouldn't bother me. I'm the world's worst housekeeper (OK not really but definitely not what I dreamed I'd be before really having kids) and I am by no means uptight about food in our car (though I try to keep it to dryish food and water) - I do try to keep car seats clean and I have been seriously seriously horrified at how dirty some people's car seats are. I want to ask if they realize you can wash the cover?? I'm sure they're still safe under all that dirt but seriously. Seriously. Ew. So I pretty much assume other people's standards of car seat clean are lower than mine and I'd just plan on washing it.
 

bnsnyde

New member
I'd be so happy to help someone, but nobody has ever asked. My spare seats are ones I could replace. Not that I need another excuse to do so. :)
We also don't eat in the car so seats stay new looking.
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
There are few I would lend out. Backless boosters, no prob. Turbo high back, no prob. Seats I've been given by manufacturers, no prob. My nicest seats that I spent my hard earned money on, nope. I'd be upset if something happened to them.

Eta: I am friends with a few members from here. I would have no problem loaning them seats. One of them I often buy/sell/trade with.
 
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Lemonade

New member
I have a couple of time but only to people I trusted. Never had one come back yucky or broken. My kids eat in the car so we have plenty of crumbs but I don't let them eat anything that's likely to cause a horrible mess.
 

krasota

Well-known member
I have one person I'd lend to, but otherwise it's a firm no. We all have food allergies which are contact reactive, so I'm not going to risk contaminating a seat with crumbs or other food particles.
 

cowgirlsmommy

New member
Thought I'd share pictures of the first and last time I ever loaned seats.
1st picture is how it was returned to me. 2nd is after a lot of cleaning.
 

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YinzerMama

New member
That is unbelievable. My kids couldn't get their seats that dirty after a weekend of camping. What on earth were they doing???
 

amelia222

New member
I would only lend seats to a few certain people. Two seats of mine have been destroyed by lending them out in the past :(

The myride that my BFF borrowed when she visited from across the country got left in her aunt's garage 2 hours away from me. By the time I got it back a few months later it was covered in mold. That seat went straight to the dump :(

The CA that was a spare for my mom to use was stored in a way that damaged it.

Both were honest mistakes by well-meaning people who had no clue they were trashing the seats. I'd be more likely to lend a seat to most people on here than my family.
 

Pixelated

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Only close tech friends and my sister, who gets it. Other than that - absolutely not, and I have made excuses when other friends have asked.
 

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