possbily controversial but do you all buy brand new car seats?

[Belly2009]

Hi,

The time has come to buy yet another car seat or possibly 2. I always buy brand new car seats due to not knowing history of second hand ones and some car seats hsving a short shelf life from manufacturing date which makes me ask this question.

Do you buy expensive car seats or those ones that arent a great deal of comfort that yoy can get for about £50?

[RuthJ]

I always buy new but not always the expensive brands. I have two maxi cost stage 2 seats, a mother care own brand booster with harness and a britax high back booster. It also depends what fits in your car, some are wider than others.

[FussyElmo]

Shh I have had a secondhand one before. Mindees mums sister brought one and then changed her car 2 weeks later and decided it didnt suit her her car. So gave it to me

I wouldnt buy from ebay, car boots etc.

Like RuthJ I usually buy brand new not always the most expensive but new.

[blue bear]

I have a second hand one, bought as a spare for granny and hardly used and passed onto me from mindee mum so I know the full history, I have a britax prince I bought new and three nania high back boosters with full harness, so no I don't buy really expensive ones but I do change them according to shelf life.

[silvermist]

I have 2 second hand ones which were given to me by my sisters when their own children grew out of them but I have bought 2 new ones when Asda had their baby event so quite reasonable price. I wouldnt have second hand ones unless I knew the person giving them to me x

[Becci26]

I tend to buy brand new and prefer ones that offer a bit more comfort but these tend to be a bit more pricey....

The ones I have at the moment are my daughters old ones - a recaro (my favourite I must say) and another- cant remember off hand what it is..

The other one I have I must admit is second hand but it's from a close friend and I know the history of it.

As and when they need replacing I would prob look at recaro again

[nipper]

Did I read somewhere on here that it's best to replace every six years?

[kel1983]

We bought 2 new Britax ones. Had to buy them to ensure they fit in the car. We did hve one second hand which use to be my sisters children so I knew the history

[wendywu]

I always buy new, they are not that expensive about 30 pounds from Argos

[hectors house]

Did I read somewhere on here that it's best to replace every six years?

I have had mine for 8 years since I went back into childminding - but I only do about 4000 miles a year with my car and that includes weekend private mileage - whereas this would only be 2 years mileage for some families, the covers are generally a good indication of how much use they have had and they still look good. I did buy new but only cheap ones from Argos as they were the narrower ones so I could get 3 seats on the back seat.

[christine e]

Have to admit that I never thought about a shelf life for car seats (thing is you don't know how long it was on the shelf before your bought it) other than ensuring that they are up to current standard but cannot find anything to suggest that they should be replaced after 6 years on any government site only on manufacturers/retailers sites who would seem to benefit from them being replaced after 6 years. Does anyone else know different?

[Fabby]

There is a best before date on the actual car seat

[ChocolateChip]

I believe it's now recommended that car seats are replaced every four years, but no idea where I got that from? Something to do with the plastics deteriorating over time I think.
I started off using my own children's ones but now I tend to buy Nania ones that are around £40. They have full adjustable harness, sip and are reversible so I can easily swap one round on the days I have a baby.

[christine e]

Well when I go food shopping I check for the best use by dates now when I go car seat shopping I will be going thru the piles of seats checking for the best date

[FussyElmo]

Well when I go food shopping I check for the best use by dates now when I go car seat shopping I will be going thru the piles of seats checking for the best date

Go for the ones at the back they might have a better best before. Or is it like food when a best before is a guideline its only use by that you do have to watch

[Jenna]

I've just bought 2 new ones from kiddicare it was their own branded ones sutiable from stage 2 up wards and their fab been really happy so far £29.99 and free next day delivery what more can u ask for.

[christine e]

I've just bought 2 new ones from kiddicare it was their own branded ones sutiable from stage 2 up wards and their fab been really happy so far £29.99 and free next day delivery what more can u ask for.

do they have a best before date on them?