I hit the mother load today!!!!!

PixieEMT

New member
Here are the seats from the ChurchThrift store I went back to visit after grabbing the Playskool from the junk pile on the side walk!

I gave them some propaganda to read from cpsafety.com and the used seat checklist. I showed them how to locate the DOM or expired stamp. They had no clue seats expired! I tried to tell them selling seats creates a possible legal hazard. Anyway they still want to sell seats. :( But...they did agree to give me the real crappy ones or expired! :)

I told them we take them to the local FD and cut them with the tools! :cool:

They had 8 seats there! Only 1 out of 8 had the instruction manual with them. Out of the 8........ 1/2 were expired! All the infant seats were 3 pt harnesses too!!!!! YUKKKKKKKYYYY

The one seat in the pics below w/ the lolly pop on the seat is the free one our local hospital gives out. It is a scrap of the line Graco Assure something? It has no base and cant snap into a stroller system. I guess it's better than nothing. I'm not sure if the new ones have a 5 pt harness. I'll check two weeks from now on the 28th and 29th when I give my presentation to the expecting parents.

Sara PS: My husband said it looks like I'm posing with my trophy buck...like a proud hunter or something lol. He's a dork.

DSC02973.jpg


DSC02974.jpg

DSC02975.jpg

DSC02976.jpg
 
ADS

MomToEliEm

Moderator
Great trophy bucks you bagged today! Glad they were willing to let you take those out of the store. Maybe now, the store will at least check more info on the seats before they try to sell them. It may not hurt to go back there in a few weeks and see what carseats are for sale.
 

mamaofthree

New member
Those are somy crappy looking seats- glad you are ridding the world of them! BTW, have any carseat companies made 3 pt harnesses in the recent past? The reason I ask is because my neighbor uses a carseat that has a 3 pt harness, with a t- looking buckle. It looks freaking old! I couldn't/wouldn't ever say anything because they are people that just wouldn't listen. Her dh's main concern in life is to not spend money.

Kimberly
 

PixieEMT

New member
I believe FP sold an infant seat back in the mid 90s with a soft "moch" t-pad. It was a 3 pt harness with a little pinkish color t shaped fabric around the crotch. My aunt had one her friend had loned her about 10 y/o ago for my one cousin's DD.
 

mamaofthree

New member
Oops, described it wrong I think. The buckle tongues are attached to a t shaped plastic piece, into a reg looking crotch buckle.
 

AdventureMom

Senior Community Member
Awesome! :thumbsup:

Awesome! No, the new Assuras are still 3 pt, they look just like that one.

We used an Assura from my brother/SIL (still not sure why they got a free seat...?) for a few days after picking up DD. The one they had was a 5-pt harness, IIRC...? I wasn't a big fan of it (no EPP/EPS foam) and couldn't get a solid install. But it was better than nothing. It still felt like a toy - like a doll carrier...
 

MomToEliEm

Moderator
Those are somy crappy looking seats- glad you are ridding the world of them! BTW, have any carseat companies made 3 pt harnesses in the recent past? The reason I ask is because my neighbor uses a carseat that has a 3 pt harness, with a t- looking buckle. It looks freaking old! I couldn't/wouldn't ever say anything because they are people that just wouldn't listen. Her dh's main concern in life is to not spend money.

Kimberly

Take a look in these pictorials to see if you see one like what you recall. It also shows the dates made so it might give you an idea of how old the seat was.
Infant Seats pictorial http://www.carseat.org/Pictorial/1-RF-Infant-np.pdf Fisher price one has a t-shield on it
T-Shield pictorial http://www.carseat.org/Pictorial/5-T-Shield-np.pdf
 

mamaofthree

New member
Yep, it is totally one of those t-shields!! There was only one style out of all those that was manufactured until 2002, so I am positive whatever she has is expired. Looking at those brought back memories- I think my way lil sis had one of those, born in 1986.
 

PixieEMT

New member
That is my next victim! A Fsher Price t-shield seat Pre-1990 Gray color. I just need to figure a way out to approach the ambulance about it.

They are a pack of tight wads so I know they are going to have a stroke when I say buy a new Cosco for 45$! Well ,they have Tourivas on clearance at our local Big Lots but the DOM on them is 06.

I know they have the $$ to buy a new one too, thats the worse part! I worked there for about 2 years before I had DS.
 

mimieliza

New member
I just saw a Craigslist post in Portland that claimed that the Graco Assura was a special seat for low birth weight babies. They are trying to sell that seat for $40!

I have two infant carseats up for sale. I'm asking 60 for both or $20 for the Baby Trend, and $40 for the Graco Assura. Both seats are in great condition, and have never been in any accidents. OBO

Baby Trend Latchloc Infant carseat was purchased in 2004 for my son. We also used it to get on of our twins home from the hospital as well. My son was 5lbs when he came home, and his sister was just under 5lbs, and this seat fit both safely. This seat comes with a base.

Graco Assura preemie infant carseat. This seat was purchased in July of this year, and only used about 5 times for getting to and from the doctors office. This seat is rated for babies as small as 3lbs, our other twin came home at 4.8lbs and fit great in this seat. It is one of the few seats rated for infants that small. We paid $80 for this seat brand new. This seat does not come with a base.

103007015.jpg
 

mominabigtruck

New member
Maybe $80 is what the hospital billed them for the assura because I was under the impression that the assura is not for sale retail, just hopitals, wic progams things like that?
 

o_mom

New member
I just saw a Craigslist post in Portland that claimed that the Graco Assura was a special seat for low birth weight babies. They are trying to sell that seat for $40!

It is actually on the list of recommended seats for low birthweight babies that SK puts out.
 

cpsaddict

New member
Hey, I have that exact combo seat and mine does not expire until Sept 2008. I use it occasionally for my nephew. It's a PITA to tighten the harness, but it installs great in my Escape.

So, not all of the Century's are expired!
 

HEVY

New member
Just curiousity, does anyone remember when the infant seats were made to hook into a shopping cart? It seems nowadays they don't anymore but I still see ppl putting them there even though the slightest jerk will cause it to slide off. Did the manufacturers build them so you CAN'T do that anymore? Or was it the ppl who build the shopping carts. Or am I just imagining it all together? :(
 

Kecia

Admin - CPST Instructor
FYI - The Graco Assura is still made for the institutional market. It is available in 3-pt or 5-pt versions. It's basically an old Century infant seat. When Graco bought out Century they scrapped most of the Century models but they also kept a few. The ComfortSport (previously the Century Accel) is still alive and well. The Assura was kept but was not made available to retailers because Graco wanted people to buy SnugRides instead.

We use the 5-pt Assura in our low-income distribution program. We only offer it to inner-city parents who do not own their own vehicles and rely on taxis/friends/relatives for a ride. Obviously, giving someone like this a convertible doesn't make much sense. We previously had the 3-pt version but we <cough> upgraded to the 5-pt Assura model.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the horrible harness adjuster (metal bar in the back) I could actually like this seat. It has 3 positions for the harness height and 2 positions for the crotch strap. It fits small babies as well as older infants well. It installs easily baseless, has a level indicator and even has LATCH.

The reason hospital programs like to use this seat is that it's cheap and has no minimum weight limit. It states "Birth" as the lower limit so hospitals can avoid any associated liability when they send a low birthweight infant home in this seat. Assuming the baby passes angle tolerance testing (aka car seat challenge) in this seat, it actually fits very small babies quite well.

However, the harness adjuster mechanism on all the Assuras (3 and 5-pt) is just awful. For that reason alone, I hate to see a parent with one of these seats. Yes, myself and everyone here would take the time to make sure the harness was fitted properly each and every time but no one else does. It's much easier for parents to just leave the straps very loose all the time and that's what most of them do. After knowing what they'd have to go through to do it "right" every time, it's understandable why most don't. I'm not trying to justify a baby in a loose harness but you'd have to be a CPS fanatic to go through all that trouble everytime you needed to tighten or loosen the harness.

Just so no one thinks I'm exaggerating, you actually can't tighten or loosen the harness on the Assura with the baby in the seat unless you want to crush the child. You put the baby in, try to gauge how many "loops" you need to take in or let out, remove the baby from the seat, adjust the harness by removing the metal bar and feeding it through the loops of webbing, put the baby back in the seat and.... if you're still not "right".... repeat the process.

FWIW, as bad as that all sounds, I still prefer this seat to the other cheap, baseless infant seat alternative... the dreaded Nania Baby One. Don't even get me started on that one....

Kecia
 

amyg530

Active member
Hey, I have that exact combo seat and mine does not expire until Sept 2008. I use it occasionally for my nephew. It's a PITA to tighten the harness, but it installs great in my Escape.

So, not all of the Century's are expired!

well i guess thats good then b/c i was looking at the seat my friend has her 3yo in and i'm 99% sure that it was that one (i didnt take it out ) so hopefully hers isnt expired then, i did tell her i was pretty sure it might be and for her to check though.
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,655
Messages
2,196,895
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top