Getting a Brio Zento into Australia

Unregistered · Mar 16, 2008

Hi

My 10mo ds is 12kg and growing. His current seat is a SafeNSound AHR convertible one, which RF to 12kg. This is the maximum RF available in Australia. So I am urgently looking to go to a RF seat with higher limit, and have decided on a Brio Zento, RF to 25kg. They are available in NZ from Baby on the Move -who aren't answering my emails?

Does anyone know of another way I can get my hands on a Brio Zento. (from NZ preferably, as I imagine the shipping would be considerably less than getting one from Europe)

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

Keiren in Australia

CRS · Mar 17, 2008

Hi Keiran

The problem is, Baby On The Move are home based businesses/franchise and they do not ship their goods, or at least definitely not car seats as they are dedicated to one-on-one interaction with their customers and helping to make sure they are confident in child seat installation. For this reason, you wont be able to get Baby On The Move to ship you a seat, so far as I know it is also against Brio's policy, not to mention it being illegal to use such a seat in Australia. That said, you could try contacting brio through www.briocarseats.co.nz but I wouldn't hold your breath to be blunt.

Unregistered · Mar 17, 2008

hmmm

Yes I realise that this seat would be "illegal" in Australia. It's just so ridiculous. My two options are to turn my 10 MONTH !!! old FF, or choose to import an illegal seat. I liked that the Brio had such high RF limits - this baby doesn't show any signs of slowing growth, he's already 12kg! I didn't think some of the US seats would give me the same length of time Rf.

So I pretty much have to find someone in NZ willing to make the purchase for me, and ship it to me privately - Would Baby on the Move even sell it to them, if it's not for their personal use?

I'm just tearing my hair out that I'm not able to provide my own child with the safest option because of restrictive legislation.....is my child worth less than a NZ child who does have that option?

AARGG

sorry for the vent.

Keiren
mum to 4, trying to keep them safe

CRS · Mar 20, 2008

Unregistered said:
hmmm

Yes I realise that this seat would be "illegal" in Australia. It's just so ridiculous. My two options are to turn my 10 MONTH !!! old FF, or choose to import an illegal seat. I liked that the Brio had such high RF limits - this baby doesn't show any signs of slowing growth, he's already 12kg! I didn't think some of the US seats would give me the same length of time Rf.

If he's already 12kg then he'd already have grown out of any australian RF seat, bummer! And no, doubtful any American seat would get to RF for this length of time.

Unregistered said:
So I pretty much have to find someone in NZ willing to make the purchase for me, and ship it to me privately - Would Baby on the Move even sell it to them, if it's not for their personal use?

Well, yea, pretty much. My biggest concern though would be with installation as it's a relatively difficult seat to install. Once you get used to it - fine, but it's a far cry from anything you'd have ever seen. BOTM would probably assume it was for that person and would show them how to install it too.

Unregistered said:
I'm just tearing my hair out that I'm not able to provide my own child with the safest option because of restrictive legislation.....is my child worth less than a NZ child who does have that option?

Well what Australia does is apparently "in the name of safety" as it were. According to all their research and everything I've ever seen come out of Australia that there's almost no benefit to "extended" rear-facing and that a top tethered seat is just fine. "Some" people here were trying to campaign to make it that NZ would only accept Aus standard seats and thank goodness that never went through.

If you like you can email me, I just don't come on here much anymore hence my late reply.

USmominOz · Mar 21, 2008

Actually you would not be able to use any other seat from another country rf because they do not have the anti rebound bar, and most can not be tether RF, so if you were to get in a accident then you may have problems claiming if your child gets hurt.

That said Au seats are made differently to US seats.

I know that you want to do what is best for him, but is he crawling & sitting up w/ good neck control? That is what they go by here to turn a child FF. I give you credit not turning him around at 6 mo like most people do here.

I currently have 3 harnessed US seats (Britax Blvd rf 33 lbs (15kilo)ff to 65lbs, Britax Regent, ff to 80lbs and a Sunshine Kids Radian, rf to 15 kilo, ff to 65lbs) and 2 US boosters, because they have a higher ff weight limit.

I did not use my US seats till ds was turned ff.

What state do you live in? I am in Qld.

I usually bring a new seat back w/ me when I go to the states or have a friend ship me one.

I too am very frustrated w/ the laws here.

Did you know that their is no law about using a car seat after a child turns 1, it is only recommended to use one.

Unregistered · Mar 26, 2008

Karleen, some questions for you:

I'm in NSW btw

I am looking at the option now of importing a Britax Boulevard...how did you ship one in? One person is saying that usps said it was too big a package for them to deal with, but I think someone else on here said they got theirs through usps?

How old did you turn your children then? I am just *really* not comfortable about turning a 10month old ff....

Yes I know about the car seat laws....

USmominOz · Mar 27, 2008

I turned him when he was a yr because he was 12 kilos then and I did not get the blvd till he was 2 1/2 then he was to big to turn back rf.

I brought mine back from the states when we went home for a holiday.

I have posted some info for you about shipping in your other post.

I think that the blvd would be a great choice because it has a 5 point and has a top tether.

If you lived near me I would have showed you mine so you could see the difference.

I have had no problem installing it in any of the cars that I have owned.
Mazda Tribute, Subaru Forester/ Liberty and Ford Territory.

Is you ds crawling yet? Sitting up on his own?

Ds is 4.5 and weighs 18 kilos and still has a couple of inches to go.

I would call your insurance company and see what they say, but don't give them you name.

If you have any other questions let me know.

Unregistered · Mar 31, 2008

I totally know how you feel!!! I'm in NZ and my almost 2 year old is the height of an avg 3.5 year old and weight of a 3 year old. There was no way her s'n's convertible was going to do it! She made it to about 15 months rf in it. I had been on BabyCenter US since I was pg so new all about ERF and was so disappointed I wasn't going to be able too. At that stage we did (and still do) have the Cosco Scenera available but I knew I'd also want a seat that could harness beyond what the Scenera could do. Fortunately I had made some really good friends on BBC and one of them offered to send me a seat. So I got a Princess Radian! It cost a little under NZ$500 but I feel it was worth it!

Just to let you know that if you're happy with just rfing to 35lb (16kg) that the Scenera will be much cheaper than the Zento (which I think retails for about $500 here plus the cost of getting it to OZ). Also babyonthemove will be selling the Compass True Fit from some time in April so that might be another option.

If you get desperate, feel free to contact me about helping send you a seat. My email is c_varlow at hotmail.com. I don't post here very often but post often at BBC as stained_fruitcake

lenats31 · Aug 24, 2008

USmominOz said:
Actually you would not be able to use any other seat from another country rf because they do not have the anti rebound bar, and most can not be tether RF, so if you were to get in a accident then you may have problems claiming if your child gets hurt.
QUOTE]

Actually all the Scandinavian RF seats incl. the Brio Zento have an anti reboundbar which is most often referred to as a "foot prop". Also all of them are twin tehered ie using two tether straps instead of just one. The tethering is naturally "Swedish tethering" ie towards the front of the car and not the back (Aussie tethering). the foot prop goes from the back of the seat to the floor - so not resting on the rear seat back.

Britax Multi-Tech:

Britax Fixway (ISOFIX seat)

The thing to really consider here, is that these large RF seats like the Brio Zento just might not go "sight unseen" by a cop if you get pulled over. I think it will be too easy for an Aussie cop to spot the illigal car seat. The penalty for this is 3 demerit points and loss of driving license.

Standards Australia makes me want to cry - the lack of knowlegde regarding RF scrapes any floor from underneath.:thumbsdown:

Lena

CRS · Aug 25, 2008

How are you going now original poster (sorry forgot your name, and you're not registered lol) finding a seat? Ironically I now sell the Brio Zento lol.

ben&jakesmum · Aug 25, 2008

Funny you should ask this. I am Canadian but lived in Sydney for 4 years. I went through this exact same problem and ended up having someone from the US bring me a Marathon.

Anyway, if you go to this forum

http://forums.delphiforums.com/Carseats/messages/?msg=15574.1

there is a woman named Dana (there is a section called Dana and he seats) and she is a registered seller of Britax seats and will ship to Australia. Now, the problem with her is she couldn't send a MA because it exceeded the size for US post.

Now they have the Britax Frontier which, although it's a bigger seat, it's shaped different so I believe she can ship it. That might not help you since it doesn't rear face but maybe for the future. You could see if she can ship a MA, they may have changed the regulations.

Anyway, you can check with her if you want.

Adventuredad · Aug 26, 2008

If you want a Brio Zento, CRS can help you out. If you want another one of the Swedish RF seats that can handle your child rf until 55 lbs, please let me know via PM. I'm located in Sweden, love rf, and don't mind helping others with seats from here. I know it's technically illegal but I find that as ridiculous as others.

Shipping is expensive but there is no VAT so price for a great seat is about the same as we pay retail here.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

CRS · Aug 27, 2008

Adventuredad said:
If you want a Brio Zento, CRS can help you out. If you want another one of the Swedish RF seats that can handle your child rf until 55 lbs, please let me know via PM. I'm located in Sweden, love rf, and don't mind helping others with seats from here. I know it's technically illegal but I find that as ridiculous as others.

Shipping is expensive but there is no VAT so price for a great seat is about the same as we pay retail here.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

I so wish I could but unfortunately (though also fortunately) I sell them - and our contact with the distributor means that we can not do that kind of thing, we have to show whomever buys it one on one how to install it.

Adventuredad · Aug 27, 2008

Sorry, my mistake. Great that you help with the install though:thumbsup:

lenats31 · Aug 27, 2008

there is a woman named Dana (there is a section called Dana and he seats) and she is a registered seller of Britax seats and will ship to Australia. Now, the problem with her is she couldn't send a MA because it exceeded the size for US post.

That´s funny, because I had the Regent sent from the USA to Denmark via USPS Express International. The Regent is a HUGE seat.

Lena

delgirrrl · Sep 7, 2008

Totally sympathise! I have big kids and my eldest outgrew his Meridian AHR rear-facing at 8 months. If you're considering the Boulevard, there's an e-bay seller by the name of Mendel854 who will ship seats internationally. I got a Britax Frontier (I'm in New Zealand), and also made enquiries about a boulevard - yes, that can also be shipped, but not by USPS (which the Frontier could). Shipping is VERY expensive, especially for the boulevard. When I say "expensive" I mean more than cost of the seat. If that doesn't put you off, I suggest you try her. I was very happy with my trade!:thumbsup:

USmominOz · Sep 11, 2008

lenats31 said:
USmominOz said:

Actually you would not be able to use any other seat from another country rf because they do not have the anti rebound bar, and most can not be tether RF, so if you were to get in a accident then you may have problems claiming if your child gets hurt.
QUOTE]

Actually all the Scandinavian RF seats incl. the Brio Zento have an anti reboundbar which is most often referred to as a "foot prop". Also all of them are twin tehered ie using two tether straps instead of just one. The tethering is naturally "Swedish tethering" ie towards the front of the car and not the back (Aussie tethering). the foot prop goes from the back of the seat to the floor - so not resting on the rear seat back.

Britax Multi-Tech:

Britax Fixway (ISOFIX seat)

The thing to really consider here, is that these large RF seats like the Brio Zento just might not go "sight unseen" by a cop if you get pulled over. I think it will be too easy for an Aussie cop to spot the illigal car seat. The penalty for this is 3 demerit points and loss of driving license.

Standards Australia makes me want to cry - the lack of knowlegde regarding RF scrapes any floor from underneath.:thumbsdown:

Lena

Click to expand...

I just wanted to let you know that I never used my seat rf because it did not have the rebound bar and by the time I got my blvd ds had already passed the rf weight limit. I bought it to keep him harnessed longer.

USmominOz · Sep 11, 2008

I too had a regent sent over w/ no problems. But my dd compass booster seat was another story. My friend had to go to 4 post offices before one would accept it.

In Au we have the Frontier, which is called the Maxi Rider AHR it is the same seat as what you have in the states but you can only use the harness to 40lbs!

I wish they would test the seats to higher weight limits!

delgirrrl · Sep 14, 2008

USmominOz said:
I too had a regent sent over w/ no problems. But my dd compass booster seat was another story. My friend had to go to 4 post offices before one would accept it.

In Au we have the Frontier, which is called the Maxi Rider AHR it is the same seat as what you have in the states but you can only use the harness to 40lbs!

I wish they would test the seats to higher weight limits!

Must disagree there - owning a Frontier & a Maxi II, (not AHR, but they are very similar seats, and I had a good look at the Maxi AHR) I can assure you it's definitely not the same seat. Even if the AHR did harness higher, IMHO it doesn't even come close to the Frontier.:twocents: sigh, OK, I know, I'm I freak - I've developed an unhealthy relationship with my Frontier and feel the need to come to its defence...

Kat_Momof3 · Sep 14, 2008

on this topic... does anyone think the new Truefit might then be okay to use in Australia because of the BIG anti-rebound bar for rf??

just trying to get as legal an option as possible here.

Getting a Brio Zento into Australia

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