Hi! I am thrilled to join you all! I just bought, without planning to, a used 2005 MCS Convertible to replace my piece of crap (but beloved & cute) Beetle. (didn't mean to get off topic!) So I am feeling a bit irresponsible, getting yet another tiny car...what 5 point harness car seats are folks using in the convertibles? I haven't actually seen my new car (Ebay) and won't get it for a couple of weeks.

We have a Safeguard Go in my husband's 328 ci that works great, but I'd like something more molded for comfort (sometimes, yes, he falls asleep, hallelujah!), and still with the 5 pt harness, and if possible, still be able to fold down the other back seat half. I'm willing to give up a front passenger if necessary for the right kid seat. He's 4, so we still have a long way to go - 8 in california before they're out of boosters.

Thanks everyone!

Anna

 

thats going to be tight back there. i have 4 and 2 year old boys. the 4 y/o uses a booster seat and the 2 year old (3 in Nov and he's bigger than most 3 y/o's) uses a booster that has a back on it. i cant imagine trying to use a full sized seat back there but I'm sure it can be done. I use a pillow in the car for longer rides to help them be more comfortable. good luck with your search.

 

Granted my car is a hardtop, (but I dont think there is much difference in back seat room) but we have a soon to be 3 year old in a Britax Marathon and it fits fine... And thats next to her 5 year old sister who is in a booster with a back on it... There arent to many carseats bigger than the Marathon. We have taken several family of 4 trips over a couple hundred miles and there werent too many complaints!

 

Before ordering one, I put our two Graco Ultra CarGo seats in the back of a MCSC, and they fit very nicely. These seats are fairly large, and two of them fit well. You won't have a problem. I expect the seatback to fold with one in place, but I never considered it since I have two kids. There was a gap of about an inch or two between the seats, anyway. They fit kids up to 65lb, I think.

I applaud your effort to keep the kid in a 5pt as long as possible. I know lots of friends putting their 3 and 4y.o. into backless booster seats, and I consider that a poor decision. Not trying to ruffle feathers, you see, but they all claim there kids to be big, bigger than most, etc. I'm an accident investigator and engineer by trade, so I've seen plenty of banged up people. I've also seen a 1y.o. as the only survivor to an impact that centered on the door the kid was next to, and I believe the car seat's structure and harness is the (technical) reason the kid survived. I'm generally against the idea of using a 3pt belt to protect a kid when a 5pt option is readily available. That said, the idea of mandating all kids to be in car seats until the age of 8 is absurd. My 90 lb. wife is smaller than many of them, for example. We also recently totalled a van with no injuries to the kids a few months. They didn't even really know anything had happened since they just felt a bump and didn't get tossed around.

I looked around a good bit several years ago when buying seats and got these because they have good padding for the back (press your hand into the backrest of many carseats and you will fill stiff plastic ribs - that must be really uncomfortable), have a "reclining bar" which doesn't really allow much adjustment in a given car, but lets the seat fit our various cars better than the others we have (we have a cheap set of seats in my Scirocco). They also have a cupholder and a toy basket to hang on either (or both) sides of the seat, padded shoulder straps, nicer upholestry (i.e. easier to clean, I thought) than some others, etc. We've been pleased with them.

 

Well with this one I can come from experience as I got into my Mini due to being in a car accident. My SRT-4 was totalled in my own neigborhood with a woman doing about 30-40mph. I had my son in the car.

The only car seat that my son will ride in is the Recaro. It is the only car seat that I know of that they actually side impact test the car seat itself. I ended up having to get shoulder surgery from the accident, but my son walked away perfectly. For the price you pay the piece of mind you get out of it is worth it!

I only have one child so I strap him right in the center of the back seat. The Recaro has three point child latch, so they all get hooked into it.

 

Sfoanna, I would love to get your input (or anyone else's) on the Safeguard Go. That's the carseat I had been considering for my Justacooper. Our daughter is 3.5 years old, average weight, a little on the tall/skinny side. The Safeguard seemed to be a good combination of safe, sporty looking, and not overly bulky. We aren't prepared to shell out for a Britax and don't want an enormous newborn-to-toddler seat combo.

Any recommendations or comments about 5-point, non-backless carseats in the <$200 category would be greatly appreciated.

 

HI Charlie123,

I have a Safeguard GO in my husband's 2002 328ci. It is a very tight fit back there, believe it or not, smaller than my 2005 MCS cab. The Go was the only one that would work back there. it is IMO, a better option than a backless booster.

The Britax Marathon fits beautifully in the back, and the other seat can still fold down no problem. I was very pleasantly surprised how much room there is back there! My husband is 6'3" and fits comfortably in the passenger seat in front of the Marathon.

The Safeguar Go is about $199. The marathon, about $250. You do get a lot of great features with the Go, which makes it a good long time purchase. However, if one of the selling points is that you get a "free" backless booster, you can buy one of those for $25 - $40 at Target.

The Go uses the car's seat for it's "back support". There is a little bit of padding in the Go's back, but not much. So teh slope/angle of the car seat back is what you'll get with the Go. The recline feature of marathon and similar seats is nice I think, and probably more comfortable, perhaps making the motoring experience better for everyone. The Go does indeed look good, it's pared down, slim profile, etc. It travels well. we kept the box it came in, and check it in when we fly and have an excellent lightweight car seat at our destination.

So my 2 cents. #1. Five point harness as long as he'll tolerate it (and the seat is rated for him). #2. I would prefer the extra molding of the Marathon over the Go - for the extra comfort. (I don't know if it's safer.) If the Marathon hadn't fit, I probably would have looked for somehting other than the Go, only because when my son falls asleep, the sight of his rolling around head and neck are kind of creepy. That all said, I am happy with the quality of the Go.

Did you check out the Graco product recommended above? Some of their products have 5 point harness, and then you can remove the 5 pt, and it becomes a "belt positioner". (which I still think has to be better than a backless booster for these really young guys) The convertible feature gives you a bit more bang for your buck.

Oh. I almost forgot. i did check into how much longer my son could use the Marathon, and I can't remember the exact stat, but I do remember estimating that he should be able to be within the height/length limits until he's 5, maybe 5.5. And he is 95th percentile in height, so a Marathon "investment" could last you a couple of years.

HTH! Good luck!
Anna

 

Thank you for the information! I doubt we will go with a Marathon - my wife's not a fan (she thinks the Marathon is "puffy-looking" and "overpriced"). We have two Eddie Bauer seats that we've been pleased with, but the one in my current car is tan and won't exactly complement my Mini's interior...

I'm considering poaching the sportier black-and-blue Eddie Bauer from my wife's CR-V, and let her pick out a new one. How's that for a solution? It looks similar to the Graco recommended by haygood, and I'm betting it will fit just fine.

The Go still appeals to me - our daughter very rarely sleeps in the car and we aren't planning to use the Mini for long family trips anyway - that's the CR-V's job.

 

We currently have this Graco seat in the MINI for our daughter.
http://www.aestheticreations.net/gal...7/babyACLG.jpg

We also have one of these that would work well in a MINI for design. This is the same seat as this one from from Graco but has Simpson graphics.
http://www.amazon.com/Simpson-Racing.../dp/B000GBOV94

We used to use this one till the kids got to big. http://www.simpsonraceproducts.com/p...ndex&cPath=341

Currently the kids are 11 and 6.