WWYD? replace the car seat after an accident?

laura&dan05

I'm not sure if I need to replace dds car seat after the accident we were in last week?  I know for sure if there was any damage to the seat or if the impact would have been near her side of the car I would replace it.  I'm just not sure if it applys to ALL accidents or only accidents where the seat is compromised.

At the time of the impact I was probably going under 20mph.  I had time to slow down before the impact since I could see what was about to happen. We are both fine and all the damage was contained to the front end (all $7,015.39 of it..thankfully we don't have to pay for anything since I wasn't at fault).

A police officer and fireman at the scene looked at her seat after the accident. Neither of them saw any damage to the seat or any of the latch points but neither of them were certified to inspect car seats.  It was still very secure when I took her out (I shook the seat to see if it was loose).  The seat is still in the car while it is getting repaired. 

Should I take it to the firestation right after the repairs are done and ask for their opinion or is there a rule that an accident = automatic replacement?  WWYD?

madhatter2003

My insurance told me an accident = automatic replace.

alison43

I'm pretty sure they'll tell you to replace it because you really might not be able to see any damage.  The seat is designed to absorb all the extra energy,

Can you call your insurance company and see if they'll give you any extra credit to replace the seat with?  I'm not sure if they do this or not but it can't hurt to call, right? 

SparklyCutie

I had a fender bender last year and had to replace the car seat and the stroller, because apparently a new car seat can't snap into an old stroller. Our insurance paid for it though. We got rid of the car seat, but kept the stroller, because there really wasn"t anything wrong with the stroller, nothing really wrong with the car seat either, we just replaced it and got rid of it for peace of mind

efooey

check out the car seat's website.  I know britax has a whole explanation on their site of when to toss it and when you can keep it.

here is the britax one, but check with your site to be sure:

https://www.britaxusa.com/customer-service/faq/after-a-crash 

E 

dusk42

Your insurance company should pay for a new one.  

MarksGrrl

A friend was in a minor fender bender once.  She was by herself and the car seat was actually in the back of the car, not strapped in as she was transporting it back from her mom's house.

Long story short, insurance replaced the seat that her DD would have been in AND the one loose in the cargo area of her SUV.

Yes, replace it, insurance should cover it.

kittylove

accident= replace even if DC isn't in the car. My insurnace covers the replacement cost of it so for our family I see no reason not to replace it.

scally

I agree with pp, insurance should cover the replacement costs.  Also, I think just because you can't see any damage doesn't mean there isn't any.  I would rather be safe for peace of mind.

laura&dan05

Thank girls. I'm going to call the insurance company this afternoon.

skoorbnibor

without a doubt I would replace it. There is no way to know if the integrity of the seat was affected and even 20mph is a serious impact