Need Recs Please - My 1st Convertible

U

Unregistered

Guest
Ok, so I'm new to this site, and I've been reading posts for about a week now, and I'm more confused than ever! I thought all car seats were more-or-less the same ... who knew there was so much variation?!?!

My DD is turning 1 next month and she's just about 20lbs. I thought her Graco Snugride went to 30lbs, but checked yesterday and it's actually 22lbs, so I'm kinda under the gun to get something new as soon as possible.

We will need 2 convertible car seats - one for each car b/c my DH drops off at daycare, and I pick up.

I would like to keep her RFing for at least another year.

My DH drives a BMW 325i. I drive a Jeep Liberty right now, but I think that will be replaced soon with a Toyota Highlander.

Britax seem to be a little out of our price range, however, we plan to have more children ... should this impact how much I'm willing to spend for the first one? (in hopes that we'll be able to pass them down) ... because my DH is not understanding why anyone would spend over $200 for a car seat, when "the $75 one must have passed all the safety tests".

Also, Amazon.com may be our primary purchase place, if that influences anything.

Other info needed?

Thanks so much for reading this, and for any help/advice you can offer. I'm very much looking forward to your comments!
SarahMcMama
 
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featherhead

Well-known member
He's right, the $75 carseat passed all the tests. You don't have to spend $200 or more on a carseat. The more expensive carseat generally just have more bells and whistles, can be easier to use (though not always), and sometimes last longer. The Evenflo Triumph Advance is a great seat for under $200. I'm sure there are more, but I'm not exactly sure of US prices...
 

jess71903

Ambassador
Hi and welcome!

You don't have to spend over $200 to get a good, long-lasting seat for your little one. I am not that familiar with your vehicles, but my initial thought about what seats to look at are:

The First Years True Fit. This is my seat and I love it. It RF to 35lbs, FF to 65lbs and has a very tall shell and very high top slots, so it should last a very long time. It also has a 7 year expiration instead of 6, so it's a good choice for passing down to multiple children. The shape of the seat makes it easy to get in tighter spaces, despite the tall shell. It has a no-rethread harness, and "nice" LATCH connectors (the same as the Britax seats). It has built-in lockoffs, is a nice cushy seat, and has LOTS of RF leg room. My 20 month old is RF in his at 29lbs with plenty of leg room. The only issue is that the harness adjuster gets buried in the seat back in RF. This is a dealbreaker for some, but it hasn't been for me. My seats are somewhat contoured, so I can still get to it, but I usually just use the continuous loop harness to my advantage (pull slack in one side, get arm 1 in, pull slack in other, get arm 2 in, even up and buckle). Amazon has the Capuccino for $159, Sporty Blue and Chocolate for $165. I would get it again in a heartbeat.

The other seat I would look at (maybe for Dad's car) is the Evenflo Triumph Advance. It RF to 35lbs, FF to 50lbs, and has tall top harness position that means that kid will probably get close to 50lbs in it. It has an infinite harness, which means that the harness is alway AT the child's shoulders. If we had a 2nd car that DS rode in, this would by my choice for it. Some kids have issues with the red tabs and the harness adjuster wheel can be buried in countoured seats. It's a nice seat for $112!

The 3rd seat you might consider is the NEW Alpha Omega Elite with the 50lb weight limit. It has nice tall top harness slots and is a cushy seat. It still makes a crappy booster, though, so forget that it does that at all. I don't know as much about them, so if you're interested, I'm sure someone can fill you in.
 

all together ooky

New member
Congrats on almost making it through the first year of parenthood!

And welcome to car-seat.org. It's great that you are doing research to keep your child safe in the car.

First, I want to make sure your baby hasn't already outgrown your snugride. The carseat is outgrown when the child is at the weight limit (fully clothed) OR when the child's head is 1 inch from the top of the carseat shell. Many babies outgrow carseats by height well before the weight limit is reached.

Second, you have many choices to keep your child rear-facing (kudos to you for choosing to keep her rear-facing past the 1-year mark. Children are 5x safer rear-facing). All carseats pass the same tests but some are easier to install, adjust, have better cushioning, longer use before being outgrown, etc. The best seat is one the fits your car, your child, and will be used correctly every time. You will want to look for a seat that has a tall shell and a 35lb rear-facing weight limit.

If you have a Babies R Us near you they will let install the carseat in your car to see if it fits. You can always then purchase it online.

Some to look at (this is by no means comprehensive) depending on your budget:
Safety First Avenue
First Years True Fit
Evenflo Triumph Advance
Britax Marathon (you can find some for $179)
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Thank you all for the great, well-detailed explanations. I had narrowed it down to the EFTA or the TrueFit after researching on my own, so I'm glad my conclusions have been confirmed, and that many find it a decent seat. Happy to know the BRU test is a possibilty before buying online, if that's what we chose to do. I also appreciate the fair warning about maxing out on the Snugride already, which is the reason I am so anxious to buy now vs. a month from now. I will let you know what I decide.
 

momto4plustwins

New member
I know you said amazon maybe be where you will purchase but wanted to let you know if you have a BuyBuy Baby near you they take Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off coupons ( non expired ones) on any reg. price item. They do sell the two seats you are considering. :)
 

DahliaRW

New member
I've heard that babies r us gives a "twins" discount if you buy 2 of the same item. So if you get two identical car seats, you may want to look into that and compare the prices.
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
I've heard that babies r us gives a "twins" discount if you buy 2 of the same item. So if you get two identical car seats, you may want to look into that and compare the prices.

With BRU's 'twin discount' of 10% you can also use their coupons, and there are some out now for 10-20% off.
 

lorismurph

Senior Community Member
If you still do most of your driving in one car and only daycare drop-off/pick-ups with the other car, you may want to consider 2 different seats. You could get the ETA or TF for the main car and then a less-expensive seat for the 2nd car (like the Scenera or Avenue). Then you don't have to pay quite as much and can possibly get both seats for $200. You are correct that all seats meet the same standards and yes, some come with more accessories and padding. I have a Scenera ($39-$49 at Walmart or similar) and love it for my 2nd car. It is a great seat that will fit kids rf to 35 pounds and ff to 40 pounds or 43" so a little less than some of the other suggested seats but sometimes price is a factor.
 

natysr

New member
I just want to reiterate how important I think it is to "try before you buy".

You will be using whatever seat you get for years. You will have to buckle it and unbuckle it nearly every day..at least once a day..more if running errands etc.

Yes. All seats on the market pass the same set of safety standard. Do some perform better? Yes. Do we see the data? No.

But, they are all safe....provided the are all used correctly Every Single Time.

The best carseat, 1) fits the car; 2) fits the child; 3) is used correctly every single time.

So, that is where "ease of use" comes into play.

By trying the seats out in the store ahead of time, you can test out the fit to the car and child and the ease of use.

I personally like to go online and read the carseat manuel before going into a store to "play" with the carseat.

Carseats are a big purchase. They are not cheap, but if you break it down, you can start to see the value in a different way.

For example. My son Jordan was 22 months old when we were in a very severe car accident. While I sustained broken bones, he was completely unharmed. I replaced his (rearfacing) roundabout with a Marathon. Though I did get reimbursed by my insurance for the cost of the seat ($270) I would have gladly paid the money myself.

I was/am in love with that seat. I love the size, I love the quality, I love the install, I love the fit, I love the ease of use.

For 34 more months (up until last weekend) we used his Marathon rearfacing in my car. My son will be 5 in August. He just hit 32 pounds fully clothed, so rather than weight him on a daily basis we decided to turn him forwardfacing. (His marathon has a 33 pound rearfacing limit...the newer ones have a 35 pound rearfacing limit). To "celebrate" Jordan's new milestone...and in support of my personal carseat addiction...my husband surprised me and bought me a Britax Frontier for Jordan. So, even though I still have 3 years of life in his Marathon..and he would still fit for a while..we basically are only going to use it as a spare now. (We will continue to use our 2nd Marathon in our 2nd car.)

So..the question is....for the seat that was purchased in July 2006.


How much did it cost to keep Jordan safe in my car, using a carseat that I did NOT swear at every day..for the past 34 months?

$270 divided by 34 months; divided by 30 days.......

26 CENTS PER DAY.

Yep. 26 cents per day for safety AND sanity.

Is $270 a lot of money? YES. It is. Is it worth it to me to have a carseat I LOVE...Absolutely.

I'm not posting all of this to say "buy a marathon". I posting it to say "make sure you love what you buy."
 

cwolff

New member
I just purchased 2 True Fits from Amazon because if you open a credit card you get $30 off. I opened a card in my mom's name as well. I have been going back and forth for quite a while now about which seat to get and I always came back to the True Fit. I hope we love it!!! I should be getting it tomorrow.
 

Maedze

New member
I just purchased 2 True Fits from Amazon because if you open a credit card you get $30 off. I opened a card in my mom's name as well. I have been going back and forth for quite a while now about which seat to get and I always came back to the True Fit. I hope we love it!!! I should be getting it tomorrow.

Yay! :thumbsup:
 
I just want to reiterate how important I think it is to "try before you buy".

You will be using whatever seat you get for years. You will have to buckle it and unbuckle it nearly every day..at least once a day..more if running errands etc.

Is $270 a lot of money? YES. It is. Is it worth it to me to have a carseat I LOVE...Absolutely.

I'm not posting all of this to say "buy a marathon". I posting it to say "make sure you love what you buy."

:yeahthat:
Back when my DDs moved out of their infant seats in early 2002, I debated whether it was really worth the extra $ for the seats we bought (Roundabouts on a great sale at babycatalog.com - back then the MA was brand new and seats like the ETA and TrueFit might not have even been in the imaginations of their designers yet). But considering the number of hassle-free years of use we got out of them - no twists in the harnesses, super easy installation, happy kids (fortunate to have leggy lightweight kids so they actually made it to 4YO in these seats), I'd say we got a great deal, esp. when you consider that the infant seats aren't much less expensive but were outgrown in less than a year. And the seats were still in great condition when DDs' outgrew them, so the seats were able to live out their last years before expiration in use by a couple friends' LO's who had outgrown their infant seats.
 

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