Good, affordable, second car seats for 2 yr old

Avery'sMama

CPST Instructor
Hi- We are buying a Briatax Blvd. for my 29 lb., 2' 10" 2 yr. old daughter. We currently have a Graco ComfortSport that will become the second seat in Dad's car (not used often) BUT we need to get seats for

*Grandma L. with a 2001 Cavalier that does not have LATCH
*Grandma & Grandpa S. with two 2002-ish Buick LaSabres (will be installed and not moved in one of them) that have LATCH and for
*Papa who has GM company cars that change every three months (usually new, family-type cars, currently a Chevy Equinox) always have LATCH.

She is the only grandchild for now but we are TTC as is SIL/BIL so there will be more grandkids soon! All grandparents want a convertible seat that they can use RFing with the soon-to-be new grandkids. All are concerned about safety but not able to spring for a Britax seat. We are looking at probably under $150. I have read that the Cosco Scenera is a good cheap-cheap seat but they can all do more than $40. What do you recomend for a good middle of the road convertible seat? I really want to be able to recomend a couple of good seats and not have them go pick one at random from Target, KWIM? Thanks!
 
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skaterbabs

Well-known member
It's a little more than $150, but I'd try the new Fisher Price seats - the MA knock-off is only about $180 and FF to 55 lbs/RF to 33 lbs.
 

Splash

New member
Honestly... I would either get a Britax/Fisher Price, or a cosco scenera. There really is no middle road. Britax makes the 'best' (in terms of ease of use, safety, longevity, etc) and the Scenera is the next best. NONE of the other Cosco seats are worth anything though. The safety 1st intera is nice and a bit more padded and has taller top slots... but at $110, it really isn't worth the extra 70 bucks.
The FP seats are supposed to be nice, and they harness to 55 pounds... but they don't have RF tether like the britaxes do. And since you and/or siblings will likely have more children down the line, the need for a RF seat will always be there, so you don't really *need* one that harnesses so high.

So... after all that, what would I get? A scenera. Just because it is cheap does not make it less! It is the BEST non britax convertible out there.

I always wonder if Cosco is going to pick up on that and start charging more. I hope not. Although they did come out the the 'deluxe' one. Oh well.
 

Avery'sMama

CPST Instructor
Thanks! I guess I assummed that there must be something that was "better" in between but really-- it's Scenara, Fisher Price, Britax, huh? I appreciate the input. I'll let my mom and IL's know... And I think we are going to get a Scenara as our second seat and permenatly install it in DH's car. We are moving our current seat way too much! It's our ONLY seat! Thanks!
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
UJust be aware that the Scenera is fairly short, so you may be looking at buying a new seat in a few months. I wouldn't get it as a spare for a 2 yo unless the FP seat was completely out of the question, it would be outgrown too quickly.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
I've seen several times on this board that the Britax and Scenera are best. I chose my DD's carseat by looking at the crash protection ratings from Consumer Reports (we have the Evenflo Triumph 5). Link: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...booster-seats-505/ratings/child-car-seats.htm

We're also looking for a third carseat for my parents, and were going to go with the Evenflo Titan 5. Now I'm not quite so sure. What makes the Britax and Scenera the best, since they don't have the best crash protection ratings?
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
The "best" seat fits the child, fits the vehicle & will be used correctly everytime....
  • The Cosco Scenera or Intera are awesome because they have 35# RF weight limits -- the Intera has a taller shell -- both only FF to 40# .. neither have great comfort padding or EPS foam, but the Scenera is only $40!
  • Evenflo Triumph has the shortest shell (great for short kids, not good for tall kids) & EPS foam all over, with easy knob for tightening & an unusual *read: confusing, LOL* harness height adjuster, 30?# RF weight limit & only 40# FF
  • Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe is based on Britax Marathon, but isn't as expensive & lacks the added features that make Britax oh so wonderful, 33# RF & 55# FF weight limits
  • Britax Marathon has EPS foam, built-in lock-offs, comfortable padding, RF tether ability, tallest harness slots & shell, 33# RF & 65# FF weight limits
    • Britax Boulevard also has one handed knob adjuster for harness height, added infant support, & head wings with True Side Impact Protection
These are the only seats that I would bother to choose from, depending on the child, the vehicle, how well I'm able to use correctly & my budget :rolleyes: :eek: :)
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
Consumer Reports is a great resource when choosing your next stove, but when it comes to car seats they are NOT experts and as such their "recommendations" should be suspect.

Their crast testing cannot be replicated by any other angency, and when they are testing the seats they only ever use the seat once (hence the good ratings for the Titan!). They also factor price into whether or not a seat is a "top pick", and with seats that have added safety features (like the RF tether on Britax seats) they don't always use the added features or include them in their ratings, so a more expensive seat will rate lower than a cheaper seat even though it has added safety features.

More info here:
http://www.car-safety.org/faq.html#Q30
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Finally found the other info on C.R.

CLICK HERE for more detailed information concerning Consumer Reports carseat "testing" (I think it's the same link given by Rebekah above)....

Suffice it to say that Consumer Reports does not release specific information on how they "test" their seats & no one has been able to reproduce their results -- NHTSA's testing is federally standardized, published for public reference, & the information is reproducable! & here's what another NY CPST has to say about one particular carseat that Consumer Reports "failed":
  • FYI - I saw actual crash test footage from Consumer Reports of the Marathon back in Sept 2003. CR did a presentation entitled "How Safe Is Safe?" at the Regional NY/NJ CPS Conference that year. They were voicing their concerns about latch even then. I remember they passed around pieces of seatbelt webbing and latch attachment webbing so everyone could note the differences. It was pretty obvious that latch straps are generally a lot thinner and more narrow.

    Anyway, at the end of the presentation they showed some of the footage from their crash tests and the over-roatation of the MA was one that they showed. They were using the 3 year old, 33 lb dummy. I wrote in my notes that it rotated 75% in their test with latch. Keep in mind that the federal standard allows the back of a rear-facing child restraint to rotate downward as much as 70 degrees from vertical during the FMVSS 213 crash test. So, while the MA did over-rotate when secured with latch - it didn't fail by all that much.

    Also, even more importantly - because the MA is so tall, the dummy's head stayed safely within the confines of the shell *the entire time*. Even when the back of the shell appeared to be flat on its back at the peak of the rotation - no part of the dummy's head ever extended above the top of the shell. So yes, the seat did over-rotate but that dummy was still very well protected throughout the crash.
A simple fix for this problem is to just use the vehicle seatbelt for installation :rolleyes: ;)
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
So the carseat that fits my kid and my car best is going to be the best one? My two-year-old is about 27lbs (and I don't know how many inches, but she was about 50 percentile at her 2 yr check in Feb.) and I'll be getting an 06 Sienna soon. Any suggestions on which seat to choose for that?

How does a tether work for a RF carseat?

I really appreciate all the advice you all give. I've learned sooooo much from lurking here. :)

-Shannon
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Unregistered said:
So the carseat that fits my kid and my car best is going to be the best one? My two-year-old is about 27lbs (and I don't know how many inches, but she was about 50 percentile at her 2 yr check in Feb.) and I'll be getting an 06 Sienna soon. Any suggestions on which seat to choose for that?

You didn't say what you're currently driving, but the Britax carseats and the Cosco Scenera usually install well in most vehicles, and the Sienna is a good future vehicle option that's extremely carseat friendly. I own an '05 8-passenger Sienna LE and have installed the seats in my signature in it very easily. You can also check the online carseat compatibilty database at http://www.carseatdata.org/selectseat.asp to see if there are entries for seats in your current vehicle.
 

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