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Carseat Nightmare - aaarghh!!

Well we went into town yesterday to see if we could find an off-road pushchair to fit in our tiny car - and we succeeded - hurrah!! :\) (Only trouble is its a bugaboo so some serious economising to be done)

BUT then we tried the compatable carseat (maxi-cosi cabrio) only to discover that our seatbelt points are strangely positioned and so the carseat is too unsafe. :\(

No problem I thought we can go for the Isofix option because when we bought our car I specifically asked if we could have isofix fitted retrospectively if we decided to start a family - I'm adament they said yes but now the garage tells me it can't be done retrospectively and was a factory-fit option only - aaaargggh!! :evil: It was only a ??20 option - why oh why didn't we just have it done just in case!!!!

I have looked at the maxi-cosi website and the carfitting list says that the easybase option is compatible with our car (the easybase fits in with the seatbelt and then the car seat just clicks on and off it). I am going to go back into town today and try the easybase in the car. It should work because the website says so and I assume that means maxi-cosi has tried it out themselves, know about our odd seatbelts and are satisfied it's safe.

I really hope so otherwise how will I get my baby home? I know its 'cos I'm hormonal but I just wanted to cry about the whole thing :cry:

Replies

  • aw honey..... maybe phone maxi cosi?

    fingers crossed it gets sorted babe! what car do you have?
  • We had exactly the same problem. The stupid Alfa oh had at the time had really short seatbelts that wouldn't fit round any seats. We had the easybase for his car and it was great, it was just as secure as the easyfix one in my car and made getting the seat in and out so much easier! Glad to hear you managed to fit the bugaboo in your boot lol.
  • oh no that's a shame...

    We've got the Bugaboo and haven't bought the maxi cosi seat for it yet - we were going to get the isofix base- but we're changing our car and not sure if will need that - I'm sure the easybase will work - let us know how you get on..

    chelle xx
    e.d.d 4th July
  • We've got the isofix base for our cars and it's dead easy to push the isofix points into hubby's car but it''s such a struggle to get the isofix base into the isofix points in my car! Once in, it is safe and I know that I won't have to take the isofix base out of my car often. It's nice having the base as the car seat clicks in easily and I don't have to worry about the seatbelt.

    Hope you get sorted soon!
    xxx
  • Well it was a disaster - even though the maxi-cosi site says the easybase works on my car, it doesn't!

    We are still going for the bugaboo and the maxi-cosi but we will have to put the car seat in the front and disable the airbag. I know it's not ideal to have them in the front but that's all we can do until we get a new car which we will hopefully be in a position to do nearer the end of the year.

    Sooooo frustrating!
  • Bugger! Why did it not fit? Might be worth contacting maxi-cosi and telling them their fit list is rubbish.
  • Will seatbelt extensions help you? Or are these not safe for car seats? Or maybe go for a different type of car seat. I have the Maxi-Cosi, and I thought that all car seats were secured in the same way, but my friend has a Bebe Confort Creatis infant carrier. The seatbelt goes under the car seat rather than over the legs of the baby. I know that this one isn't compatible with the Bugaboo, but just thought there might be some car seats out there that secure differently and are compatible with the Bugaboo. Just a thought.
    Good luck!
  • The problem is that the seatbelt clunk/click bits aren't tucked back into the back of the seat like in most cars (most are come out of the gap at the back between the seat and backrest whereas mine come out of a gap about 6 inches forward) so the seatbelt clunk/clickers are too far forward. This means that they don't give enough tension when using the car seat alone. When using the easybase they stick up into the easybase itself. You can still click the seat on but my retailer said he wouldn't sell me one because although it will go in they have been advised that it a bad fit and you can't be sure what effect it will have in the event of a crash. He said I could buy it but not from him. I'm very lucky because they are very honest at my local pram shop. He tried a couple of other makes too but was very honest about how crap some of them were in terms of fitting in my car. It's reassuring to know that some retailers won't risk your child's safety just to make a sale.
  • It sounds like your local pram shop is really good, it's nice to know that they are putting babies safety first. I think I probably would have had the same problem with both my Mini and the RX8 I had after that but fortunately both had isofix so I could use that instead. It's a bit crap of maxi-cosi to say that if fits though if thats the case.
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