# The Great Car Seat Scam



## choli (Jun 20, 2002)

Interesting point of view.

http://www.bestcashcow.com/the_econo...-car-seat-scam


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## betsyj (Jan 8, 2009)

I am a fan of second hand everything except car seats. You don't know if the car seat was in an accident and has parts that are stressed. So I disagree with her there that it is some kind of conspiracy.

Also, you may not know of any recalls for second hand car seats either.


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## Mrsboyko (Nov 13, 2007)

I left a note about the radians.


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## luv-my-boys (Dec 8, 2008)

hmmmm.....I have a slightly different point of view. We actually know someone who was a car seat design engineer. We were asking him questions regarding car seats when we first started having kids. You have to remember that design/function has come a LONG way from the *original* car seats. When car seats first came out they were necessarily meant to keep kids safe in the event of an accident but a *place* for them to be held in a car. Obviously now there is a lot of engineering that is involved into making car seat designs that not only safely hold your child in a car but are also meant to help protect your child in the event of a accident. Do I think car seat prices are outrageous? YES! as far as the expiration date on seats? that has to do with the material that they are made of. Things like plastic, foam,styrofoam inserts heck even the webbing on the belts/buckles degrade over time. I have passed down DS#1 seat to DS#2 but it hadnt expired at that time. I personally wouldnt feel comfortable using a seat that was used in an unknown situation (like from thrift stores,yard sales)


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## bandgeek (Sep 12, 2006)

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Most cars, if you have the right combo of seats, can fit 3 across. There's a huge thread of successful 3 across scenarios at car-seat.org. I've fit 3 across in a toyota echo. 1 ffing radian, 1 rfing radian and a ffing scenera. It was tight, and not an ideal situation (hard to load and unload the kids) but it was safe.

And you CAN reuse car seats for multiple kids if they are not expired, never involved in a crash, and are in good working condition (not missing pieces).

I've never heard of a car seat saying "do not reuse" on it.

It sounds like someone needed something to blog about and they thought they were being witty.


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## Ruthie's momma (May 2, 2008)

What an illogical line of reasoning...IMHO....


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## amlikam (Nov 19, 2008)

I knew IT!!! good- I can use gently used car seat from 1999 in my dining room now-(dd likes to sit in it- supervised- occasionally so she can see the dogs and cat better) I was worried it would be unsafe!!!

Seriously- maybe its the auto makers making the interiors smaller....THEY must realize car seats get larger as new safety features are added... so they realize families will upsize their car when the family grows!

Heck- perhaps the get the lead out program is trying to get mop companies $$ by getting me to buy a mop, by telling me wet mopping helps to reduce lead posioning....?!

I could come up will a million scam theories if left to my own devices as well....


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## just_lily (Feb 29, 2008)

Aren't carseats also larger now because they are designed to hold older kids as well? Naturally a seat that holds a 65lb kid is going to be bigger than one meant to hold a small toddler.

If you have three kids accross in a car, where on earth do you put all the stuff you end up dragging around with you when you have kids? Right now I only have one kid, and when we go to the dog park in my Escape we are packed to the gills with the dogs in the back, the stroller in the backseat along with the baby, and DF and I in the front. I keep saying that one more kid and we are going to need a van.

Not everything is a conspiracy.


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## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

Well we don't have dogs, so that makes it easier. If we had dogs, we would need something bigger.

But we can go away for the weekend and still have enough room in the trunk for what we need.

The only time we need more room is when we go camping.


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## somelady (Nov 16, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *amlikam* 
Seriously- maybe its the auto makers making the interiors smaller....THEY must realize car seats get larger as new safety features are added... so they realize families will upsize their car when the family grows!

I know you're being facetious here, but there are seriously big differences, I have a Yaris, which is a subcompact I think, and it has way more space inside than Cobalts or Neons that I've had as rentals.

And for reference, I've managed to get 2 carseats and a (small) adult in the back of the Yaris, never tried 3 seats.


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## mamarootoo (Sep 16, 2008)

we should just go back to moses baskets on the floorboards!


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

Personally, if there is a conspiracy in all of this, it's with the car companies not being held accountable to create a backseat arrangment that is safer for children. MOST of the time there are passengers in the backseat in most cars it is children. If boosters are primarily to create a situation where the seatbelt lands correctly then why can the seatbelt/seat set up not be designed properly for children in the first place?

I think it is good for people to question - even if the questioning can seem flawed. It helps us reevaluate things & see if current practice really is best practice.


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## amlikam (Nov 19, 2008)

somelady

I have a ford aspire its the same as a yaris- so I know what you mean about more room in a supcompact sometimes.....

I was actually being serious about the can manufacturers being aware of the car seats being larger.... kind of


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## mamarootoo (Sep 16, 2008)

i think that if someone is planning on having more than one or two kids, they should expect to have to use more recourses... that may mean a bigger car, more gas, etc.

not that having more kids is wrong at all. there is always mass transit!


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## claddaghmom (May 30, 2008)

I remember being so judgmental of the "suv" people in my teen years. They were out to destroy the environment, waste money and gas, and hog the road lol.

Now I think I see why everyone targets SUV drivers. The majority of them are family drivers. Moms with kids.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mamarootoo* 
i think that if someone is planning on having more than one or two kids, they should expect to have to use more recourses... that may mean a bigger car, more gas, etc.

not that having more kids is wrong at all. there is always mass transit!

Except for when Mass Transit comes no where near your house and you can't afford to live where it does!


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## alysmommy2004 (Jun 23, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *claddaghmom* 
I remember being so judgmental of the "suv" people in my teen years. They were out to destroy the environment, waste money and gas, and hog the road lol.

Now I think I see why everyone targets SUV drivers. The majority of them are family drivers. Moms with kids.


















: I was anti-SUV up until the day I got mine, two years ago. We tried wagons first, but they were too small for our lifestyle (two large Britax, a dog, camping gear...). I don't mind SUVs now if they're filled with kids. I do however get annoyed that the majority of SUVs I see around town are only transporting one or two passengers.


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## mamarootoo (Sep 16, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DahliaRW* 
Except for when Mass Transit comes no where near your house and you can't afford to live where it does!


this would be something i would consider when deciding where to live and how many children to have there.

ETA:
i didn't mean for this to sound condescending. i don't usually use mass transit myself. i just think that the idea of carmakers conspiring agains bigger families is a little out of left field! i just got a bigger car when DD was born! we bought a small SUV because we planned for (and are in the process of growing our second of) two kidlets. we travel a lot, and i felt it was appropriate to buy the new suv to make things more practical for our family.
if i planned on having three kids, i probably would have gotten the same car i did, because it would pretty easily fit three of the carseats i want to have for my children.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Yup, but sometimes it's nicer to be able to live within a decent commute of your dh's work, where there is no mass transit, then to live over an hour away from his work, never see him, and have access to busses. Sometimes there really aren't that many options. Especially with how crappy mass transit is in the Seattle Suburbs.


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## mamarootoo (Sep 16, 2008)

in which case it would make sense for a parent to have a car big enough to have good carseats


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## pixiepunk (Mar 11, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mamarootoo* 
this would be something i would consider when deciding where to live and how many children to have there.

i personally chose to leave the city where i had ready access to public transportation, in exchange for clean air to breathe, open space for my children to play, land where i could grow my own food, and easy access to the outdoors for hiking, biking and camping. access to public transportation isn't the most important decision for every family when choosing a place to live. i hope you didn't mean that to be as condescending as it came across.

to the OP... i agree with the pp that said this blogger was reaching for something to blog about. there are plenty of options for low cost carseats and fitting three across in lots of different cars without buying a mini van if that is what you want or need to do. and i, too, have never heard of a carseat saying 'do not reuse' or whatever it is she claimed that carseat said. most people who have multiple kids use the same carseat for more than one of them. and it was a great point a pp made about them being made to fit larger kids - of course a 65 or 80 pound kid isn't going to fit in a seat made to accommodate a child no larger than 20-25 pounds...

that blog was just... silly.


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## Down2Earth (Jan 23, 2008)

nak

I knew it was a conspiracy!









But seriously, we did buy a new car when our lo was born. We went from a mazda3 to a 6. It's nice being able to sit in the front seat again! With a rf car seat I was up in the dashboard if I didn't sit next to my dd.


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## ChetMC (Aug 27, 2005)

Well $900 spent on three Radians that would fit a Golf TDI was cheaper than buying a minivan and than spending an exorbitant amount of money filling the tank with gasoline.


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## Hazelnut (Sep 14, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ChetMC* 
Well $900 spent on three Radians that would fit a Golf TDI was cheaper than buying a minivan and than spending an exorbitant amount of money filling the tank with gasoline.

that's how I saw it! Carseats are one thing I think are worth spending more and getting new. Seriously it's the first thing that comes to mind to deter me from having four kids. I don't want to pilot a bigger car.


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## mamarootoo (Sep 16, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pixiepunk* 
i personally chose to leave the city where i had ready access to public transportation, in exchange for clean air to breathe, open space for my children to play, land where i could grow my own food, and easy access to the outdoors for hiking, biking and camping. access to public transportation isn't the most important decision for every family when choosing a place to live. i hope you didn't mean that to be as condescending as it came across.

nope. i didn't mean it to be condescending.







sorry if it seemed that way! the comment i made about mass transit was a tounge-in-cheek response to the idea of the cars-are-made-too-small-for-thee-carseats-on-purpose theory







if having a small car is very very important to someone, then they might want to consider that when deciding how many children to have or where to live. if having lots of kids is important to someone, then might want to consider that when deciding what kind of car to buy! living in the country is great!









the only real point i was trying to make, is that if you choose to have more than one child (or any children, for that matter) you (not _you_, just the big, general you







) should expect to use more resources ( a bigger car and more gas, or more healthcare, or more food... anything!) if you have three kids, you might need to get a bigger car to accommodate the carseats and gear you need for that many kiddos. ti seems to me that lots of people do just fine with smaller cars and three carseats though!
it _would_ be good if we could find a way to power bigger cars that doesn't require war or raping the earth, but that is a discussion for another board!

i want to reiterate that i have no problem what so ever with having more than one or two or five kids







i just don't see the point of making a conspiracy theory out of the size of carseats!

i also want to make sure everyone knows that the comment i made about going back to moses baskets on the floorboards was also sarcastic. hehee









ETA: i also tried to clarify my position in the post that offended you, pixiepunk. i hope that makes more sense!


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## RadUnschooler (Jan 23, 2008)

DH and I tried heartbreakingly for years to get me pregnant while we lived in a town. Then we moved far from town into a tiny house thinking it would just be him and me. then..viola! I got preg. after the first year....yup,no mass transit here! Life isn't always a choice it happens


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## accountclosed2 (May 28, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mamarootoo* 
i think that if someone is planning on having more than one or two kids, they should expect to have to use more recourses... that may mean a bigger car, more gas, etc.

not that having more kids is wrong at all. there is always mass transit!

Have you tried public transport with several children? There is a reason why the only mums I know who use public transport (and we have good access where we live), have only one child. I was the only nanny I knew of to use public transport. You should have seen me, one child in the front pack, one in backpack and one in hand (push-chairs are a nuisance on buses, quite hopeless IME) + nappy bags, lunch boxes, sunscreen, hats, extra clothes, rain wear...

And then the bus doesn't come, you're stuck waiting in the rain in some miserable location or a child gets ill and you are two buses and one train-ride away from home, or the only way of getting home from play group means waiting half an hour for the _second_ bus, as the two buses' timetables don't match up, while the children are tired and hungry, and should really have had lunch and be in bed by now!

I went to see a friend in the potty group yesterday. So we took the plain replacement bus into town, then waited half an hour for the train out of the city, got of at the interchange and took a bus to my friend's house. It took an hour and a half, and we had to plan it for lunch time, as I couldn't be sure I'd be there earlier, but then both our daughters missed their sleep...

I don't drive, and we're probably in the only place in the country with enough public transport to make this possible, but travel anywhere is certainly hard work.


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## mamarootoo (Sep 16, 2008)

oh my goodness... i think i'll be done with this thread after this... all i'm doing is reiterating at this point!









AislinCarys, like i said, that comment was a tongue in cheek response to the idea that there is a conspiracy against big families. yes, i have done mass transit with multiple children, and no it is not fun. that's why *i* have a car.

RadUnschooler, like i said before, i don't have a problem with living in the country. it is a good _choice_.


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