carseat - britax!

whats so special about these 300$ britax boulvard carseats??

 

We have 4 Britax seats - 3 Marathons and a Regent. Getting ready to purchase a Frontier for my oldest DS whose Marathon just expired. I love their carseats and they last for a long time. My 6.5 year old DS has had his since he turned 1, it has taken him through his toddler years, preschool years, and now school-age - not that expensive when you divide that $270 over 5 or 6 years and factor in the safety!

 

We bought the Boulevards (4 of them at $320 each) because we believed them to be the best option for us. The safety ratings are great, quality is great, length of time they can use them is great. I've been extremely happy with them. We could afford them, so that's what we got. If we couldn't, I would have been comfortable with a lower priced seat. There are great safe seats at all price ranges.

 

I agree with Rachael-in that there are great safe seats at all price ranges. Britax wasn't in our price range so I went with the next best thing, and for us, it was the Graco Nautilus for the three kids. They get great reviews as well, at a little lower price. We did have to buy a total of three carseats each for the boys(infant, RF convertible, and then the Nautilus). It would have been nice to buy ONE car seat for them. LOL! I've had no complaints about the ones we have. Good luck in your search!

 

Oh we are searching to buy 2 convertable seats. Nolan is almost 20lbs and our graco's weight limit is 22lbs. I still try to use them until he's 21lbs though. Its winter time. Its nice to keep them in those.

I think when we buy car seats, we care for the safety, not so much about how cute or nice. I plan on buying ones with great safety in average price range (150-200) and put the rest of the money into their college fund.
And I agree there are many great carseats in lower price ranges. We just have to choose the ones safe for our kids and ok with our budgets.kids are expensive lol

 

I love my Britaxes cause they are soooooo easy to use. That's really what you are paying for. For us, since we had the money, it was worth it. But there are a lot of great car seats for under $200 too that will keep your kids rear facing for several years. Take a look at the Scenera 40s or Complete Airs? I use the Scenera 40s for travel and really like them, even though the they don't install as easily as the Britaxes and the harnesses are not as easy to adjust. And the Complete Airs are like the Sceneras but bigger (and heavier) with headwings.

 

I wanted a Britax, but it's completely out of our price range. After months of research, we're going with the Evenflo Symphony 65. It goes from rear facing to front facing to booster and has awesome ratings. The girls still fit their Chiccos, so we'll probably change after their birthday.

 

I didn't look into these carseats yet, we have the twins in the infant carriers for now, but after reading about this, I found the Britax chair here for $218.00 - it must be a good deal I think.
Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat
I think it's too early for us to buy these, but I am posting it here, just in case someone else needs it. I don't think these work with the double snap and go, right? So for now, I would rather use our regular rear facing infant car seats.

 

We did a bit of research before we bought our Marathons. I was wanting a cheaper seat and in the end we decided on the Britax. I love that they aren't all poofy with fabric, sleek design and the straps/adjustments are easy to use. Covers are easy to remove, easy to install the seats in the car. We have had to take them out when travelling and they fit no problem in other cars. We ended up getting them on sale and using our Bay card (I live in canada) we got them for 45% off. A real steal!!!!!! They ended up being cheaper than our second choice carseats. If you are interested, look for sales

 

I agree with others that said that it's the luxory of carseats but if you can't afford it then there are others that are just as safe. My youngest had a much much cheaper carseat and it worked great at keeping him safe.
We have 3 Britax car seats and it was all of our kids 1st birthday presant from us. I LOVE how easy they are to adjust and the fact that I can fit 3 in the back row of my van. That was huge since they are all so close in age and my oldest sits in the middle. I've been very happy with them and am looking forward to using them for many more years

 

I could be wrong and someone please correct me if I am but I thought I remember the BRU guy telling me that the Britax seats were so much better because there is a metal pole that runs down the length of the seat which makes it stronger. I don't own them because they is no way they would fit in my van. I have to fit three across the back row and have to have the Sunshine Kids Radian seats. I have a Graco MyRide 65 that I absolutely love that DD2 used to ride in but I'm not using it at the moment because the girls are still in their infant seats. DD2 loved the seat and it made me so sad to move her out of it but I had to do what I had to do. Once the babies can sit in convertable seats I will be using it again. It was about $150.

 

Yeah - that BRU guy was really snotty to us when we were looking and tried to make us feel like there was no choice but to buy Britax because the safety ratings - as if we were taking a chance by looking at other brands. Man was I annoyed with him that day...lol. I did a lot of research and yes they have the best ratings. But I couldn't afford to buy for two and many other carseats have great ratings coupled with the fact that our girls are going to be rear-facing forever. Which is something to consider stronger than what car seat you buy in my opinion. Anyway, we have Evenflo Triumph Advances and love them...with sale/coupons, etc we paid $119.00 each. I am not putting down Britax at all-they put out a great product, just not in my budget.

 

I absolutely agree with you. Our BRU guy is pretty snotty as well. He is the "car seat expert". Whatever. He only recommends the Britax which I know are great seats but there is no possible way I can use those seats in my van. I have own several YES several different car seats. I use to have the Alpha Omega Elite which I HATED. I still have a Evenflo Triumph, two Graco Natalius, a Graco MyRide which I LOVE, three Sunshine Kids Radians - love them too , and two el cheapo booster seats. I have talked with the BRU guy on a few occasions and sometimes I think I know more than him. lol

 

At this time of year closeouts are fairly common, so keep that in mind and don't rush out to buy something right now (unless your twins are about to outgrow their carriers). I just found my email receipt and in January of last year I bought two Britax Marathon's from diapers.com for only $185.99 each, plus free shipping! When I saw these "closeout" convertible seats on diapers.com I was initially worried that they were too ugly, LOL (the neutral solid colored Marathons were on sale too but about $40-$50 more). My coworker reminded me that "saved money is never ugly", LOL. So I bought them...and I don't think they look ugly at all now! So don't be afraid to buy a non-popular style if it will save you lots of money.

I also want to say that after buying those Marathons we bought a pair of Graco My Rides for my husband's vehicle on sale at walmart.com for only $115 or so (I'm a bargain shopper! LOL). I also LOVE those as well. Some days I love them more than the Britax Marathons So as others have said, if all that is available when you need to buy a convertible are full-priced Britax's, and if you can't really afford it, then shop around for some cheaper ones. Many are just as safe, if not just as good GL!

 

I have a Consumer Reports online account and just posted in the Second Year about convertible car seat ratings. The bottom line is that pretty much all brands of convertibles rated "very good" for crash protection, with a couple rating "excellent" (and you might be surprised to see the ultra cheap Scenara on that list!). So if you trust CR and their tests then you may not feel like you have to spend $250-$300 per convertible seat, unless the convenient "extras" are important to you.

Enjoy this link while you can. I'll probably remove it after a few days so that Consumer Reports doesn't come and get me