rental car with carseat or bring my own?

fromvatobk

We are going to DisneyWorld at the end of the month with DS and will be renting a car to get from the airport to our hotel.  DS will only need to be in the car to/from the airport and maybe one or two other times briefly if we decide to drive to a park instead of taking Disney transportation.  I'm trying to decide if it is worth it to bring his carseat and check it for just those few trips or if we are better off just renting one with the car?  I don't want to lug a carseat with me if I don't have to, but don't want to end up with one that is dirty, installed incorrectly, or unsafe, etc.  Anyone have any experiences with renting a carseat with your rental car?

 TIA

Mama Jan

I've never had experience with this but I'm inclined to say that I would call the rental company and ask their safety procedures for installation, replacing old or damaged carseats, cleaning, etc.  I'd check the installation myself before using as well.  I think if I was satisfied with their answers and it was just those few quick trips, I probably would just use the rental one.

anna7602

We rented one with the car during a trip to Key West this past February. We literally only needed the seat to get from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel back to the airport.

The seat itself was fine, but note that they do not install it for you. I might have found this super stressful if DD were still rear-facing (I never figured out how to install a rear-facing seat on my own). Luckily, I'm ok with FF installation since I do it fairly regularly any time I take a cab with DD.

I made sure to call ahead and ask if they had several seats available, in case the one we were assigned was damaged or dirty or suspect in any other way. They said they did, I asked how many, and I was satisfied with their answer. I also asked the brands they had and if they knew the last time they had been updated. They gave me a list of recognizable brands, so I was okay with the decision to leave our seat at home.

Princess_Lily

Someone made a point to me a while ago, and I thought I would pass it on to you.

Although it sounds quite convenient to rent from the car company, you have no idea the history of the seat (if it was in an accident or not) - Remember car seats must be retired if it ever was in an accident, for precaution. 

Due to that, I would just rather bring my own. 

stacinsean

If you are staying in a WDW resort, you could skip the rental and just use the Magical Express to get to/from airport to hotel, then the Disney transportation to get to the parks. That's what we did in May. Then you don't have to worry about the car seat or a rental.

However, if this is not an option to you, then I agree with PPs on asking questions about the car seats, what their policy is if it is in an accident, etc. Use your instincts and things will work out!  

Court0026

We called and asked questions and were assured that there would be a nice selection, etc.  Got there and the seats were DISGUSTING and OLD.  I cried.  We had DS's car seat because we wanted it in the plane, so we put DD in that one and put him in one from the rental place.  Never again.  I will buy 2 Cosco Scenaras as our travel seats (cheaper than renting anyway for a week) and check them.  That way our home seats stay safe and unharmed also.  Seems like the best decision for us at least.  Good luck with your decision!

LoCarb

I have rented a car seat before and was assured by the agent they were not expired.  There was a selection of like 60 to choose from (infant, toddler to booster) -so no shortage there.  The seats did look used but I expected that since I was renting. I forget the brand. Maybe Graco but it was a very basic style, nothing fancy. The car seat kept DD safe and that was the purpose. I loved not bringing one extra thing on the plane.  It cost $15/day.  Expensive if you need it over several days.  Now that I have 2 kids it's more cost efficient for me to bring my own.

If you only need the seat to/from the airport consider a shuttle; much cheaper.

mlf625

Take yours.  Use it on the plane as well.  DS does 10x better flying when he's confined to his seat than when we've tried to have him just sit in the plane seat.  I'd never ever be comfortable using a rental car seat.  You have no idea what kind of condition it might be in, what might be in/on the seat (shudder), or whether it's been in an accident.

Buy or borrow a GoGoKidz Travelmate.  Basically turns the car seat into a stroller you can use to get your kid through the airport, or handy to strap a bag into the car seat and pull it that way.  I LOVE mine.  I travel solo with the kids sometimes and it makes it possible to pull along a convertible seat while I push the kids in their double stroller.

stever

We rented a car seat when we recently rented a car. They left it for DH to install, which was a bit of a pain after an 11 hour flight, but it made us feel safer anyway since we probably would have removed it and re-installed it just to know for ourselves.

anna7602

To pps- how is taking a shuttle any safer than using an unknown car seat? Every shuttle I've ever been on has basically been a van or mini-bus with lap belts that make it no safer than putting DD in a car without a car seat.

2dogmom

We rented a car and car seat when we went to Disney World.  We always took the car, never shuttles.  That, in my opinion, is the way to go!

water-fairy

We rented one when we went on vacation in Maui.

RoxBride

I would consider taking the magical express and using Disney transportation. It would be worth it to me if you aren't going to need the car to go off site.

 

penguingrrl

I would never use a rental carseat. For one thing, you may be assured one thing, then get off the plane to find something different than you envisioned (i.e. a belt positioning booster for a 2 year old, an infant bucket for a 4 year old, etc.). The people at rental places often know little to nothing about carseats, so they have no idea that they don't have the appropriate seat for your kid. Also, you don't have any idea of the seat's history. Also, you don't know what cleaning methods have been used. Anything stronger than dish soap on a harness and the harness needs to be thrown away, which most people don't know. A lot of rental places bleach or use heavier cleaners between kids so the seat is clean, but the cleaning solutions have ruined the harness straps without showing any wear.

I would bring your seat, use it on the plane to help keep your kid restrained, and know that you're using a seat that isn't destroyed.