CAR SEAT HELP PLEASE!

DS is about 20lbs now so I need to desperately get carseats for them :icon_eek: . I am a single mom & don't have child support yet, so I'm on an extremely limited budget & can't afford the britax ones. So I was wondering what those of you out there who used another brand liked/disliked about them. The ones I've been looking at are Safety 1st Uptown, Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe & Evenflo Triumph DXL. Any advice/feedback I can get will be MUCH appreciated!

 

The next best car seats after the Britax are the Evenflo Triumphs. I love them and that's what we use. If you go through BRU make sure you mention the twin discount and see about the coupons that they send out monthly, you can get an even larger discount that way!

 

We use the Evenflo Triumph seats as well. They ranked right up there with the Britax ones in Consumer Reports (last year?) but they cost significantly less!

 

Cosco Scenera is supposed to be a good basic seat (around $40-60). A lot of car seat technicians on the Babycenter Board recommend it, if you can't pay big bucks for a seat. Only down side is the low top slots, so they would grow out relatively quickly, but then you could move up to a Cosco Apex (convertible harnassed up to 65lbs that changes into a booster), they're about $100 a piece. So with $300 in total you could be done for a quite a while.

 

We had the Evenflo Triumphs and LOVED them! They were just are highly rated at the Britax when we purchased them.

 

Ditto the cosco sceneras for a good quality longer lasting less exp carseat. It is rated for 43" which is more than the evenflo triumph at 40 ". I have two in my honday ody for the boys and so far so good. I am very surprised that I like them so after only having britax's for dd and the boys in dh's car.

GOOD LUCK!!

 

I have 2 Cosco Sceneras, they were on sale for $35 each at K-Mart a few weeks ago and I couldn't pass it up. I figured if we didn't like them being out $70 was no big deal. So far they're great, the babies seem really comfortable in them and there's lots of room to grow. Also, I read in the manual that they're approved for airline travel, which is nice to have.

 

Another Cosco Scenera user here. I am also a single mother and needed something relitively inexpensive without compromising safety, and the Cosco seats got great reviews everywhere I read. Plus I got them at Target for $35 each. Good luck!

 

QUOTE(kristimom22 @ Apr 23 2007, 06:54 PM) [snapback]231453[/snapback]
DS is about 20lbs now so I need to desperately get carseats for them :icon_eek: . I am a single mom & don't have child support yet, so I'm on an extremely limited budget & can't afford the britax ones. So I was wondering what those of you out there who used another brand liked/disliked about them. The ones I've been looking at are Safety 1st Uptown, Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe & Evenflo Triumph DXL. Any advice/feedback I can get will be MUCH appreciated!

 

We purchased a safety 1st apex for $127.00 online at target, This seat has all the SAME features as a britax.We love it, our son is 3 and large, and he is still very comfortable in it.

 

I have heard Evenflo Triumphs is next best. Do some search on line... you can find some great deals instead of heading to the store. Always ask if the merchant offers twin discounts. Although going used isn't the best for carseats... if you really need to find something cheaper right now... craigslist or garage sales might not be a bad idea... or twin club resales. Good luck

 

Again, I feel I always post this site, but it's a great tool to compare the sizes (and slots of the seat).

http://www.carseatdata.org/measurements.php?tun=home.

As you can see the Marathon has the highest top slots of any convertible so if your kids are tall, it's the best choice (like my oldest who's 95%). There is also a list of convertible / booster seats.

 

We have the evenflo triumphs, used it for my son (now hes in a Safety 1st Apex) and now both girls are in Triumphs, they are always pretty comfy in those, Im sure my son would love to go back to it too. Check out ebay, I bought our Apex and another Triumph on there. There are ebay stores that sell tons of them and they are brand new. We paid less on ebay with shipping included than I would have in the stores.

 

We also have the cosco scenera. So far no complaits w/ the girls :laughing: (since they can't complain)
Seriously, we are also on a tight budget and we would have to buy 4, 2 for my van & 2 for dh truck. These were around $35 @ wal-mart and my friend has one and her 2 yo would rather sit in it instead of his Eddie Bauer one.

GL

 

Evenflo Triumph user here also - paid less than $100 each with free shipping at Babyage.com - BRU had them for like $120 each at the time...

 

Also check out www.elitecarseats.com to compare. They have good prices and free shipping. They also offer a twin discount, but you have to call to order. They answer all email questions and are great to talk to on the phone. Excellent customer service. Also the car seat data site is great for the measurements. The Graco Comfort sport is a good one but only goes up to 40lbs. Make sure to check out the incline of the seats, so your little ones heads aren't bobbling around when they are sleeping. Also read the consumer reviews on the Elite site. HTH!

 

I use the Cosco Juvenile 5 point harness ones. You can find them for between 40-50 dollars each.

Here is the boys riding in the car in theirs:
Zackary's CarSeat
Jackie's CarSeat

 

wow! thanks for all the responses! i guess i should have mentioned this before, but i'm driving a mercury sable (just like a ford taurus)- will the triumph dlx's fit (outboard) rearfacing? i've looked on the car seat data site & they don't list this year for the sable. thanks again!

 

QUOTE(kristimom22 @ Apr 23 2007, 10:54 PM) [snapback]231453[/snapback]
DS is about 20lbs now so I need to desperately get carseats for them :icon_eek: . I am a single mom & don't have child support yet, so I'm on an extremely limited budget & can't afford the britax ones. So I was wondering what those of you out there who used another brand liked/disliked about them. The ones I've been looking at are Safety 1st Uptown, Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe & Evenflo Triumph DXL. Any advice/feedback I can get will be MUCH appreciated!



My Vote is for the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe! It is actually made my Britax and is the same "Shell" as the Marathon. Just without some of the Britax "extras" AlbeeBaby.com sells Them for around $140. And since the weight limit is 55lb you will be able to use it much longer then the others

The Triumph has a very short seat back, which will cut down the time you will be able to kept him Rear-facing. The uptown is a nice seat as far as I know


Good Luck with your decision!