I need 2 options (and yes I saw the suggestions below)
1. Give me the top 5 best car seats I should be looking at as options to purchase for regular use in our car. I've seen the posts before of everyone recommending theirs but it blows my mind to weed through all that material. I will say I LOVE my Chicco seat and how you can tighten it at the bottom.
2. Where should I be watching to purchase a car seat. We don't need it yet but if I can get a killer deal, perfect!
3. If I were to buy a seat to stay at my parents house (this seat would be used 1-2x's a year) what would you suggest? I would want it to be on the cheaper side so it would not need all the extra bells and whistles.
Re: Next step--Car Seats
Start here:
www.carseatblog.com
This will give you a list of recommended seats, real life reviews by techs, etc. Great place to start.
The seats I would look at would be the ones on that list. Stay away from Eddie Bauer 3-N-1, Alpha Omega 3-N-1 and Graco Comfortsport (thought I think they may have just come out with a new seat, and I haven't had time to read up on it yet).
I am telling you the $99 True Fit is a good deal. The only drawback is that you have no idea when it was manufactured, so it could be a year old or so already. However, the True Fit has a 7 year expiration, so it should still give you plenty of time in it.
ETA: The Scenera is a decent seat. Just be aware of installation issues with it rear-facing. My parents just bought one for my brother, and it was a PITA for me to install. I had to use a rolled up towel to get the correct angle, the straps are hard to adjust/tighten and often come out uneven. The crappy part is that my brother has to move it to my parents quite often and neither of them can install it correctly, so I have to reinstall it when I am home, which means that most of the time it isn't installed correctly.
Since you won't be uninstalling/reinstalling often, then it would probably be a good choice.
ETA #2: All convertibles tighten in the front.
However, it can be hard to tighten them rear-facing because of how close the adjuster ends up being to the back of the seat (car).
I love you Jamie
This made me LOL!
This is what we got for DH's car. He hated installing it and I still need to look at it for him (he used the infant seat today because I haven't looked at it yet).
We got the Britax Roundabout 50 when it was on sale at Target. B has never really liked his carseat, but he likes this one. He even talks to himself, which he's never done before. I give him a small stuffed toy and his blanket to play with and he's happy!
Picture courtesy of Heidi Keene Photography
We have this carseat & I DESPISE it. The straps are always tightening unevenly, no matter how much we work with it. I seriously can't stand it, and we actually got a new carseat yesterday so we could get rid of this stupid thing. I just didn't think it was safe, those straps were never right.
Now a new Q: how do I dispose of a used carseat? I guess I could give it to Goodwill or something, it is usable, maybe by someone with better carseat skills and/or infinitely more patience. Ie. it's not expired...what do you DO with a "dead" carseat though? Can the plastic be recycled? The tree hugger in me is cringing much at the thought of putting that into the garbage.
Well, since your seat isn't expired, the only thing you could really do is A) put it on craigslist for cheap or
sell it at E's sale. Goodwill will not take it. Just depends on if you think it is worth it to get a few dollars out of it. I think my parents got my brother's for $35 new at Walmart.
If you have an expired seat, you can try calling Car Star (I think that is the right place), and seeing if you can drop it off there. I am pretty sure that they paired with a lady in town here that got a recycling program going. Otherwise, I am pretty sure that I read that Curbside Rewards now takes them too. You just need to take off all the non-plastic pieces. I would still write in large letters on the seat "DO NOT USE" just to be safe.
I have Curbside Rewards, so I can always take care of it, if that works out better for someone.
** On a side note, I have always wondered what happens to expired seats at E's sale? Do they go back to the owner?
***Oh and I can probably dig up the woman's email if needed. I think she has a couple recycling drop offs around the city.
It is recommended a lot. I believe it is the seat with the tallest shell that is normally under $100 price range. I hear a lot about the Evenflo Tribute, but I am pretty sure the Scenera has a taller shell.
I hadn't used one until recently, and honestly I hate it too. I have been spoiled with my Britax seats though, so I am used to be able to literally throw them in the car and go and not mess with towels, pool noodles, etc.