Convertible Car Seats

[SnickersDoodler]

I have a VW Passat. DS rides in a Britax Boulevard, and has for about 5 months. It doesn't even take up a whole seat (back seat on the right side). I can comfortably fit 3 adults, 1 child, and DS in the car.

I was going to buy the Britax Marathon or Roundabout, but DS's head is small and I wanted to get the most protection possible. The only problem I had with the Boulevard was that I found it very difficult to put it in correctly.

I have heard good things about the Radian car seats. They're supposed to be somewhat thin. I have also seen many cars with the Cosco Scenera car seat for their kid(s) in the back seat.

[mrsschroeder1]

Our daughter turned 1 in January and will hopefully be 25 pounds next month. What is the best brand and how much should I pay? There are so many car seats I am starting to confuse myself! We are wanting a "racing" style car seat if at all possible!

TIA!

[MrsPinecone]

I am not sure what you mean by 'racing'. If you mean a 5-point harness, almost all seats have them now.

A lot of people will tell you that God created Britax, and you are a lousy parent if you don't spend the $275 on one. But the Evenflo Triumph Advance is rated as highly as Britax and is about $150.

[afwife8405]

We have three Britax seats, one being a five point harness booster. My parents bought two of them as gifts and never paid full price. One model was being discontinued and the other was purchased on sale at BRU and with a coupon. I purchase the third on clearance at Target in Feb. 2008. We are very happy with the seats. If I hadn't been able to get them as gifts and on clearance I would have puchased the Evenflo Triumph because I had heard great things about those as well.

I would just keep an eye out for both of those options and see what kind of deal you can get. I would stay away from buying used though because you just never know if it has been in an accident. I would also recommend keeping your child rear-facing as long a possible. I have a child about the same age, just turned 1 in December, and he is still rear-facing.

[MrsPinecone]

Originally Posted by afwife8405 I would also recommend keeping your child rear-facing as long a possible. I have a child about the same age, just turned 1 in December, and he is still rear-facing.

Absolutely. The new recommendations are to keep your child rear facing up to the rf weight/height limits of the seat.

Just because you legally CAN turn them at 1 year and 20 lb, it doesn't mean that's the safest thing. DS was rf until 21 months.

[jehaine]

My daughter has a Britax Diplomat. I bought it off of an Amazon seller, at a very good price & used an Amazon gift card balance, I'd earned online. It ended out costing me very little out of pocket.

I have gotten a lot of stuff for my daughter that way. They were one of the few places I could find, the big square playpens... That & all her potty training stuff, and about 1/2 her Christmas toys cost me zero oop

[loladooder99]

I wanted to get a britax but when i found out the one with the amount of padding that looked comfortable was over 300 dollars i went searching for a more affordable one. i ended up getting the convertible First years car seat mine is gray and i got it on the target website with free shipping for about 180. Walmart has it too it comes in blue,brown and gray i think. My son loves it . Its easy to install and easy to get the baby in it. Lots of padding.

[LoveSunshine]

Britax are great carseats, we have two Boulevards which have the Side Impact Protection. We also just bought a Radian 65 since we have limited space in my vehicle for when DD needs to turn forward-facing. I spent about $225 on the Britax and $165 on the Radian 65. If you are looking for a great carseat that is on the less expensive side, Graco Nautilus. Great reviews, side impact protection, 5-pt harness to 65 lbs, a great carseat! Just too big to fit in my car with the Boulevards.

[tmsmalley]

I'd get the one that goes to the largest size so that you don't have to buy another one. Britax or Evenflo are both perfectly good brands. Realistically, they're all pretty much the same in terms of safety. What you pay for is often the fabric cover in a special pattern or color.

We've got a Britax because it goes to 80lbs. Dh is 6'3" so I've got big kids!

Tess

[greenrays]

I have a britax boulevard, got it for around $180 at bru with coupons!!! I 2nd and 3rd rear facing. My son is 19 months and we still rear face him.

You can get some really good deals still on britax seats.
www.albeebaby.com
www.babyage.com
www.happymothers.com

Here is a girlie pattern (ashley) for 199 at amazon. It's for the marathon.
Amazon.com: Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat Onyx: Baby