Question Convertible Seat for 98 Honda Civic

My 6 month old is outgrowing her Snug Ride seat and I would like to know which convertible car seats will work in my 98 Honda Civic rear facing. I don't think I can swing anything over $150.00. I apologize if this exact question has been addressed before. I don't have a lot of time to search the forum. Thanks so much for any help!!

When you say that your child is outgrowing the snugride, is he too tall (has less then 1" of hard shell above the head) or exceeding the weight limit (20-22 depending on model)? Knowing if your child is on the heavy or tall side might help to recommend a seat.

Here is a good listing of some of the seats you may want to look at:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=39944
The Uptown shown on the list is now often referred to as the Avenue so you may have better luck finding it by that name.

Will you have a need to move seats around much between cars or travel by airplane? Do you plan on having any other kids whom you might be able to pass seats down to in the future?

I could get a seat the size of a Marathon RFing in a 2 door civic. It fits way better in the center so I don't have to push the passeger seat forward and lose leg room. You could fit an evenflo triumph advance ($109 at albeebaby.com), and the safety first uptown/avenue would be a really nice fit for $65-70 at sears, or Big Lots.

Thanks for the feedback! My daugther was 18 lbs and 27 in. at her 6 month apptointment a week ago. The car seat's weight and height limit is 22 lbs. and 29 in. so she is both on the heavy and tall side. I will need to move it from car to car occasionally but not too often and I don't plan to travel by airplane anytime soon. We have no definite plans to have another child. I will be taking a couple of 5 hour trips for the holidays with my husband and baby so one of us would like to sit comfortably in the front passenger seat.

The Marathon would be rather hard on my budget with the holidays coming up. My main criteria is that the seat is safe and comfortable and fits in my car without it being impossible to have an adult passenger ride comfortably. Are the Safety First Uptown/Avenue and Evenflo Triumph Advance comparable to the Marathon in quality and comfort?

Both the avenue and the evenflo triumph advance are great seats and very safe. They may not have all the bells and whistles that the britax seat has, but they are still great seats.

Between the evenflo triumph advance and the uptown/avenue seats, the triumph advance will last the child longer since it has a taller harness, taller shell, and a higher weight limit. You may want to go to the store that sells both and try them both out and see which one you like best and which ones installs best in your car.

The standing height limit on carseats is more of a guide for when a seat might be outgrown. The weight limit is a firm limit though. A rearfacing seat is outgrown when one of the following occurs:
* Child reaches the rearfacing weight limit on the harness
* Child's head has less then 1" of hard shell above their head

Having a Civic as well ('99), the seats are the same, I'd say either Evenflo Triumph Advance or Marathon. I'd be hard pressed to decide between the two - Triumph Advance is not a second choice to Marathon, its just a different one, with some features that are really cool that Marathon doesn't have, and Marathon(MA) has those great lockoffs that Triumph Advance (EFTA) doesn't have.

The Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon (These 3 are the same seat, just different features. The Marathon a wide open easy to route belt path, which makes using it correctly a lot easier, as do the built in lockoffs, which mean you never again have to use a locking clip. Because of the way the base is made, it fits in most cars. And, it is worth the money, b/c it lasts usually twice as long as most other car seats lasting a baby till they are 5-6 years old, where most at Walmart will only last till 2-4 years old. Rear faces to 33lbs, then forward to 65lbs. and top slots 17inches tall, lasts most kids to ages 5-6 years old.

The Evenflo Triumph Advance (not the original Triumph, make sure it says Advance) is a great seat. Top slots 17", harnesses to 35lbs rear facing, and 50lbs forward facing. Wide open belt path, easy to install. The harness adjusts at the front of the car seat, you don't have to take the car seat out of the car just to raise/lower the straps. It has infinite harness adjustment so the harness always fits perfectly until its outgrown. You tighten and loosen the harness using knobs on the side of the seat. It can be used in a recline position even in forward facing mode.

You can get Triumph Advance for $150 or less, and it installs easily rear facing in the middle or behind passenger seat. I had my son's behind the passenger seat and people sat up front fairly comfortably, I'm 5'6" and I sat in front of it with no problem. The EFTA will take up little less space rear facing than the MA b/c of its bowl shape. If you really like the MA and money is the only hold back, albeebaby.com currently has some MA s on sale for $199-$209, they may or may not be older DOMs (Date of manufacture), you could always call and ask. albeebaby also has EFTA on sale for $109, orders $100+ get free shipping.

Having used a 2D civic, I would almost be inclined to get an uptown/avenue. It won't last as long since it harnesses to 40 pounds at which point you could 'upgrade' to a dedicated forward facing harness/booster combo like the Nautilus. (The Natuilus is around $140 now and will only get cheaper with time, and who knows what new seat will come out in the next three years).

I say this because it will Rear face easier because it has a shorter shell, and even when you turn it forward facing it takes up less room on the seat from other passengers.

Seats with big side wings, like the EFTA are difficult to put the baby in RFing, but if you have a 4D and could keep it in the center it would be a good choice and last a long time, and you can get a good price on it.

Rosey said:

Having used a 2D civic, I would almost be inclined to get an uptown/avenue. It won't last as long since it harnesses to 40 pounds at which point you could 'upgrade' to a dedicated forward facing harness/booster combo like the Nautilus. (The Natuilus is around $140 now and will only get cheaper with time, and who knows what new seat will come out in the next three years).

I say this because it will Rear face easier because it has a shorter shell, and even when you turn it forward facing it takes up less room on the seat from other passengers.

Seats with big side wings, like the EFTA are difficult to put the baby in RFing, but if you have a 4D and could keep it in the center it would be a good choice and last a long time, and you can get a good price on it.

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Easier, yes, but the EFTA or MA were not hard, either. My '99 Civic is a coupe (2 door ex). When my son was smaller but rear facing, birth to 8 months or so, which would be almost a year for the average sized kid!, I had no trouble putting him in as usual. As he got bigger, I would get in on the opposite side (his seat was rear passenger, I'd climb in behind driver) to put him in. Easy as pie and I didn't have to stand out in the cold buckling him in.

Would the True Fit fit, do you think? Someone on another board was asking about RF convertibles for a small car and I wondered if the TF would work. I think I remember that it doesn't take up any more room than the Marathon because of the way the headrest is shaped, but I could be wrong.