WWYD carseat question

lbonga1

A couple weeks ago I posted about how some lady hit my parked car (I don't think I mentioned she also gave me the wrong insurance info…grrr). Anyway, I have uninsured motorist coverage, so I filed a claim with my provider. They told me that because DD was in the carseat at the time, they would be covering the cost of replacing it. It hadn't occurred to me to replace it because the lady couldn't have been driving more than 5 mph, and my car isn't even dented, just scuffed/scratched. The carseat doesn't look damaged or comprised in any way, and it probably has gotten more jostled from being taken out/installed in another car. Would you continue to use the carseat that was involved in the incident? If my insurance is willing to pay for another one, it might be nice to have an extra convertible seat for when DD2 is ready for it.

nlp1990

I would get the new one and use the current one as your backup. Some carseat manufactures actually say that an accident like you're describing is still ok to use.

tamarar5

I would check with your manufacturer. Some car seats are OK after miner bumps, but some still recommend replacing. I had to replace mine, even though it was probably unnecessary. My car was towed back home even though it was perfectly drivable — I had a destroyed tail light assembly and the police wouldn't let me drive it. DH popped in a new assembly the next day and I've been driving ever since.

SummerLove21

I'd probably get the new one and keep using the old one. DC's list of criteria seems like a good benchmark to use.

lbonga1

DC, thank you for those guidelines, and thanks for everyone's input too. All of those criteria would be met in this case. I think I'll go ahead and get the new car seat and use our current one as a backup.

Rosebean

Keep in mind, if your insurance is anything like mine, they may require you to forfeit the old seat when you submit the bill for the new one. I wrote off DH's brand new car in December and (thank god) DS was NOT in the seat during the hit. But when I submitted a copy of the bill, my insurance company had a drop off area in the same building for the old seat too. So you may be SOL on trying to use your old one as back up.