Best budget choice for harness above 40lbs

[rnc620]

Just realized that my daughter has outgrown her convertible seat (an Avenue). She isn't ready for a booster so I'm looking for a seat that will last her for awhile in harness mode. Here are her stats:
3.5yo, 40lbs, 40inches tall, and about 14 inches from the floor to her shoulder.

I am on a budget both with money and size. I am looking for the cheapest seat possible, but don't want to turn around and buy another seat in a few months because I went with one that won't last her for while. Additionally I drive a Mazda3 07. I have a 10yo (no booster) and one on the way (Graco snugride 35). So the smallest seat possible. There is a good chance I'll end up not being able to fit all three kids in the back seat when the time comes... but I'd like to try my hardest. My husband will also need a new seat for his truck where there is much more room.

So far it looks like the Safety 1st Hybrid, Graco Nautilus, and Evenflo Secure kid 300 are my best bets. (the Frontier is just way too far outside of my price range though I see it seems to be the most suggested car seat out there).

What do you guys think? Any comparisons on the three above or other suggestions?

Thank you!!!

 

[nannykates]

Skip the Nautilus it's too wide, if this is her primary seat I would probably skip the go-hybrid too because the sides aren't a lot to rest on. The Evenflo Sureride also makes a long lasting forward facing seat and could rf for the new baby when he/she outgrows the infant seat $100. A final seat to check out is the Harmony Defender, it's also in the $100 range and quite narrow for combo seats.

We've had quite a few three across situations in your car on this board so hopefully we can get all 3 kids in back

 

[rnc620]

Thank you! Checking out the shoulder strap heights now. I am leaning towards the SecureKid, but I did see that Walmart has the Safety 1st Guide for only $78. FF Harness up to 65. No booster option but I can easily buy a $20 booster seat down the road... Or use the my old booster from the 10yo if it hasn't expired... Do booster seats expire?

 

[Kegracin]

Yes booster seats expire. I second what NannyKates said.

 

[Keeyamah]

Most seats are outgrown by height long before weight. The Sureride has 19" top harness slots, the Defender and Securekid both have approx. 18" top slots. I'm not sure how tall the other seat your looking at is, I'd have to go check the spreadsheets. Just something to keep in mind when your looking at seats.

 

[rnc620]

Thanks for all of the responses. Right now I have it narrowed down to either the
SecureKid 300 - 18" shoulder strap -65lbs ff -converts to booster 100lb
Safety 1st Guide - 17" Shoulder strap - 65lb convertible
Evenflo SureRide 65 - 19" Shoulder strap - 65lb convertible

They are all three within 10-15$ of each other so price isn't an issue there
Also, buying a booster seat down the road is inexpensive so again not a big issue.

Any opinions on seat base and fit with a SnugRide 22 for 3 across? I have read the Guide is super slim, but am having troubles locating dimensions easily. Trying to find them now.

Thanks again for the help. This is such an overwhelming / time consuming task. And since she's already outgrown it and I need to find one now I don't have the option to slowly compile data and make a decision.

 

[Brigala]

I would probably get the Guide for your primary car and the SureRide for the secondary car. The SureRide can often be found on sale for around $80-ish. I heard that Target has had them on sale for $70 recently, so check there. If it were as narrow as the Safety 1st, I'd get two of them, but I think you'll have better luck with the Guide in your tight 3-across situation. It should get your daughter to age 5 or maybe even 6 if you're lucky.

The SecureKid would also be a good choice for the 2nd car where you have more room, but it's also wider than the Guide. And usually it's over $100 so if you can find a SureRide for, say, $70, I think I'd go for that and save the money for a regular booster later. For kids who are old enough for them, booster seats that are just boosters are almost always better/easier/narrower than boosters which also function as harnessed car seats.

 

[Brigala]

Oh, I meant to add, the Harmony Defender is also worth looking at if the Guide 65 doesn't fit. It's a little more of a hassle, requires some assembly, is kind of quirky, and is a little more expensive at $100 (some local Walmarts may have it for as little as $90, so check your local store before ordering online at full price). It's narrower than the Guide and SureRide by about 2", though, which is really a huge difference.

 

[D&L's-mommy]

My dd uses a sureride, she's 5, 48.5lbs, 44" tall, 17" torso. she outgrew the guide over a year ago by height, she still has 1 more harness slot to grow in the sureride (so 2 full inches of growth left). I drive a compact car (chevy cruze) and can do 3 across with the sureride using a hbb and an infant seat, it's just a matter of finding ones that work, and in which positions they work best (sometimes I put the sureride outboard, and other times I put it center, depending on which other seats or passengers I have that day). the base is only 10" and I find it can puzzle well with other seats.
another thing to consider is that you may want to choose a convertible seat (one that rearfaces and forward faces) so that when the baby outgrows the infant seat you can pass this seat down and get a dedicated booster for your middle child. that will be cheaper than having to get a convertible for the baby, and in my opinion dedicated boosters are easier to work with than combination seats (harness to booster) used as a booster.
You asked about the snugride 22, a lot of times they don't fit new borns properly. I'm not up to date on infant seats, so hopefully someone else can help you there, but unless you have unusually large babies another seat may work better.