New Britax Regent patterns anytime soon?

Does anyone know when Britax will be launching any new patterns for the Regent? My 8yo agreed to go back into a 5pt harness in Daddy's truck if she could have the Madison pattern. "Of course, Honey. We'll get you one." .....not realizing that the pattern is being discontinued and is nearly impossible to find. Well, not IMPOSSIBLE, but selling out quickly. Here's my concern.....

I found what I thought was a really great deal on Strollerdepot.com..$219.99. I called their customer service number to ask about date of manufacture. I was told by a very nice woman that they only had "recent stock". To clarify I replied, "So I would be getting a 2008 DOM?" "Yes." Just to be sure, when I placed the order, in the comment field I put, "2008 date of manufacture required. Call if problem!!" So what shows up today? 10/07. I'm so mad right now that I gave them 2 opportunities to provide accurate info and I got duped!

I emailed them requesting a return at no charge to me, since I was led to believe I was getting something that I didn't. If they agree, though, I'm a little leery about ordering something being clearanced because I might have the same thing happen again. Or worse, could I find another Madison at all by that point?

So, if I knew that there was to be another cute girly pattern with some pink or purple in the next month or two, it would be worth it to wait, as I'd know I would be getting a new DOM. I really need to get at least 5.5 (absolute minimum 5) years life out of this seat! To make a very long story short, due to an ancient Suburban with funky 2nd row seatbelts, no headrests, and center lap belts, once the youngest outgrows a Regent, we'll be forced to buy a new car, as only the two outboard seats in the 3rd row can accommodate HBBs.

Or should I just resign myself to keeping the seat I have? The Madison would eventually go to my youngest, who just turned 4. My 5.5yo son just got an Onyx with a DOM of 10/08. I guess when he outgrows his seat, I could switch the Madison cover onto the Onyx, though the black harness straps might look a little weird.

What would you do???

Cherie

Mom to:
Kirsten, 8yo, 56#, collection of various HBBs
Carson, 5.5yo, 45#, Onyx Regent and red Frontier
Katie, 4yo, 35#, Granite and Mariposa MAs

I dont think they still make the regent. The frontier replaced the regent...and the dedicated boosters. Not a good move but they didnt ask for my opinion!

I had not heard any indication the Regent has been discontinued. And there's no indication on their site that it is so; for instance, it has not been moved to the "retired products" page with their dedicated boosters (now THAT was a bad move.)

I received a new price list from my rep a few weeks ago and the Regent is still listed as a current seat. I'll have to double check, but I thought the Madison was still current as well. I didn't really pay that much attention though.

I just got off the phone with Britax. They are NOT discontinuing the Regent, only the Madison pattern. No new designs coming out. Looks like the girly girls are out of luck once again!

actuallly a madison looks just fine with black straps.


so glad i got DD her madison cover then....
you can always see if you can find a used one on swap, or ebay or craigslist. ican you order it directly from britax? i was gonna do that then someone offered one to me for a lil bit less money.

I'm a little concerned about your desxcription of your "ancient" suburban..the Regent REQUIRES a top tether after..is it 40 or 50? pounds? ...so if you do not have top tethers, the seat won't last you past that weigth anyway......
The frontier can be used all the way up to 65 lbs without a top tether though, and then converts to a booster, and has a NINE year expiration. It comes in pink.

good catch on the "ancient suburban" how ancient is it?
the regent requires the top tether anchor from 40lbs if you are installing via a lap/shoudler belt, 50lbs if using a lap only belt or latch

bobandjess99 said:

I'm a little concerned about your desxcription of your "ancient" suburban..the Regent REQUIRES a top tether after..is it 40 or 50? pounds? ...so if you do not have top tethers, the seat won't last you past that weigth anyway......
The frontier can be used all the way up to 65 lbs without a top tether though, and then converts to a booster, and has a NINE year expiration. It comes in pink.

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The actual problem in the 89 Suburban is that of the 6 available "back seats", the 2 centers are lap belts and the 2nd row outboard seats have separate retractors for the lap and shoulder portions, which I just learned is a big no-no for use of a booster. Discussed here. This leaves me only the 2 outboard seats in the 3rd row for booster use, so when the youngest of my 3 kids has to move to a booster, there won't be anywhere for her to sit.

Approved tethering in this vehicle is that carseats in the 2nd row tether to the 3rd row seat belts.

My 5.5yo has a Frontier in our other car. Great seat, but my oldest is above the top slots, so that's not really an option for her. She either goes into a Regent in the 2nd row or back to a HBB in the 3rd row.

mom2kc&k said:

The actual problem in the 89 Suburban is that of the 6 available "back seats", the 2 centers are lap belts and the 2nd row outboard seats have separate retractors for the lap and shoulder portions, which I just learned is a big no-no for use of a booster. Discussed here. This leaves me only the 2 outboard seats in the 3rd row for booster use, so when the youngest of my 3 kids has to move to a booster, there won't be anywhere for her to sit.

Approved tethering in this vehicle is that carseats in the 2nd row tether to the 3rd row seat belts.

My 5.5yo has a Frontier in our other car. Great seat, but my oldest is above the top slots, so that's not really an option for her. She either goes into a Regent in the 2nd row or back to a HBB in the 3rd row.

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Okay..is there a reason you want the 8 yo harnessed again? Because at that age, if she has even basic maturity, she really should be fine in a booster. Some would even argue safer, but that really is a no-win debate, since there are no studies and no proof, lol. Basically, I think we can all agree that at age 8, harnessing and boostering are equally, or very close to equally, safe.

Moving on to your question....by the time your youngest is using a booster, the oldest should be in a regular seat belt, right? So you can have your youngest 2 in boosters in the back outboard seats, and your oldest in a 2nd row outboard seat using just the car seat belt. this seems like it would work out fine, right?

bobandjess99 said:

Okay..is there a reason you want the 8 yo harnessed again? Because at that age, if she has even basic maturity, she really should be fine in a booster. Some would even argue safer, but that really is a no-win debate, since there are no studies and no proof, lol. Basically, I think we can all agree that at age 8, harnessing and boostering are equally, or very close to equally, safe.

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This is going to turn out to be a lengthy explanation.....The 8yo does just fine in a booster. We've had her 2nd row outboard in a Parkway for 2 years now. However, I just learned that the type of seat belt in this position (3-pt with separate retractors) is not compatible with boosters, as explained in the thread I linked to above. We moved her to the third row immediately, and have had numerous complaints about being carsick and lonely back there.

Furthermore, there is currently a once weekly carpooling issue where we have one and sometimes two extra children of booster age that need those 3rd row outboard seats. So the oldest would have to be in a harnessed seat in the 2nd row to make this possible. Regarding tethering in this situation, the center Regent will be tethered to the center lap belt's male end, the outboard Regent will be tethered to the center lap belt's female end using the GM supplied tether adapter, and the 4yo will have to ride untethered. This is the only possible way to make this scenario work within all of the manufacturers' guidelines. Lots of "tough choices" for sure! We just need to get through this until May. But, we camp a lot, and this is our towing vehicle. DD is of the age where she really wants friends to come along. If there's a way to have more than only 3 kids in the car, we'd like to do it. Besides, she REALLY wants that Madison print!

bobandjess99 said:

Moving on to your question....by the time your youngest is using a booster, the oldest should be in a regular seat belt, right? So you can have your youngest 2 in boosters in the back outboard seats, and your oldest in a 2nd row outboard seat using just the car seat belt. this seems like it would work out fine, right?

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No....no one will ever be in just a seatbelt in either row because, as I mentioned in the original post, the vehicle has low seat backs with no head rests. In fact, when we go camping this summer and take Grandma along (meaning I get to sit in the 3rd row), I just might borrow the 8yo's Monterey from my car (yes, I do fit).

Hope all of that made sense. I know it's extremely complicated.

oh yes i understand that it is complicated.....don't you just LOVE these older vehicles. i have a 94 g caravan with no headrests & only 2nd row tethers. it gets to be HORRIBLE in fidning good spots for all the kids & if you add another child (friend) to the mix OY! when we had an accident we took the opportunity to buy a newER van to not have AS many problems in fitting our children well. we still have our old one tho too. still not perfect but more doable. but basically with 4 kids in our van without having to buy all new car seats again i opt to just to my kids & their friends that it is IMPOSSIBLE to safely transport another person in our van. mean mommy here. so no extras allowed.

i hope you find the best scenerio until you can get a vehicle to accomodate your family better.

have you tried your eldest in the regent? does she have room to grow?

okay.....well, ya...it seems like you will be in a pickle, since your vehicle can only fit 2 booster-riding children in it at one time. i do not knwo of any way around that, sorry.

ginny4 said:

have you tried your eldest in the regent? does she have room to grow?

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She has 1 to 1.5" before reaching the top slots (all legs, thank goodness!) She sat in her brother's Onyx when it came a couple of weeks ago. She thought it was very comfy, but wasn't excited about the black. I showed her Madison and her response was, "Oh yeah, yeah, I want that one! Pleeeeease can I have that one?" Hopefully, she'll last at least another year and hopefully until 8/10 when little sister's last MA expires and the Regent will have to pass down. Then we can reassess the whole issue again.

bobandjess99 said:

okay.....well, ya...it seems like you will be in a pickle, since your vehicle can only fit 2 booster-riding children in it at one time. i do not knwo of any way around that, sorry.

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No worries, bobandjess99. There were lots of details to keep track of, and I actually appreciate that others here take the time to try to sift through it all in an attempt to offer other viable solutions.

On a very positive note, Hipmonkey had one last Madison left in inventory, which has a 10/08 DOM. She had preordered a few dozen more as soon as she found out they were being discontinued and expects them to come in soon. So if anyone still wants one, I'd place your order and reserve it! I couldn't wait, though, so I jumped on the chance and bought the one that was there. And Strollerdepot had UPS pick up their 10/07 model from my home yesterday at no charge to me. All in all, I would say the day was a success!

mom2kc&k said:

She has 1 to 1.5" before reaching the top slots (all legs, thank goodness!) She sat in her brother's Onyx when it came a couple of weeks ago. She thought it was very comfy, but wasn't excited about the black. I showed her Madison and her response was, "Oh yeah, yeah, I want that one! Pleeeeease can I have that one?" Hopefully, she'll last at least another year and hopefully until 8/10 when little sister's last MA expires and the Regent will have to pass down. Then we can reassess the whole issue again.



No worries, bobandjess99. There were lots of details to keep track of, and I actually appreciate that others here take the time to try to sift through it all in an attempt to offer other viable solutions.

On a very positive note, Hipmonkey had one last Madison left in inventory, which has a 10/08 DOM. She had preordered a few dozen more as soon as she found out they were being discontinued and expects them to come in soon. So if anyone still wants one, I'd place your order and reserve it! I couldn't wait, though, so I jumped on the chance and bought the one that was there. And Strollerdepot had UPS pick up their 10/07 model from my home yesterday at no charge to me. All in all, I would say the day was a success!

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WONDERFUL on it all! i hope your DD is very happy! mine also LOVES the madison print too.

No more Madison?!?!

And again, are there more cover choices coming out soon?

dhardawa said:

I received a new price list from my rep a few weeks ago and the Regent is still listed as a current seat. I'll have to double check, but I thought the Madison was still current as well. I didn't really pay that much attention though.

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I stand corrected! I am so glad I was wrong about that!

Also, just as an aside. . .

My parents have a '94 Suburban, so a few years newer than the OPs, and I, myself, do not pass the 5-step test in any 3 pt seating position. I'm 5'0, so definitely a short gal, but still! So even if the vehicle had headrests, it's likely the kids would still need a booster for a good long while, anyway. I hate riding with my parents because the shoulder belt literally cuts across my chin. I really really really need a booster for myself.

Also, I'm sorry about the horrible DOM. The two Madison Regents I ordered nearly a year ago (Feb 08 Britax sale) had DOMs of 8/07 and I was ticked about that! I'd be even more ticked about a whole 'nother year taken off! But if the cover is disappearing and that's what your DD really wants, then I suppose it's worth it!