What to do with carseat that's been in an accident?

Sxia

Son and I were in a car accident. My airbag went off. DS is fine and his carseat is unharmed. Friend told me the CHP was supposed to cut the seatbelt so it couldn't be used again, but they didn't.

Insurance told me to purchase a new seat, which I did and they reimbursed me.

So, would you donate this carseat or give it away on Craigslist with the warning that it had been in an accident? It's better than nothing for a family who can't afford it, right? What would the nest do?

AnnapolisLari

Cut the straps and toss it yourself. I would write on it with a sharpie that it has been in an accident.

Better than nothing? So putting a kid in a seat that might have unseen defects is OK because they can't afford better? Yikes. There are plenty of places that people can get cheap or free seats.

ridesbuttons

Toss it.

MrsCali_Bride

Cut the straps, take a sledge hammer to it and toss it or hold onto it for the BRU trade in if you or someone you know will be in need of a new seat or baby items in the near future. They usually give a coupon for 25% off one item in qualifying categories.

MrsSR

Cut the straps and toss it... better safe than sorry.

Mominator

Cut the straps and toss it.

And no, it's not better than nothing. Even though the seat looks fine, it could have a crack in it that you can't see that could cause the seat to break and thus fail if it were to be involved in another accident. Please just toss it.

penguingrrl

Cut the straps and use sharpie to write "crashed" on the shell before putting it in the garbage. If it was unoccupied you can save the harness and cover and sell those. No, it is not "better than nothing" for a family in need to use a crashed seat.

cotner

Call the insurance company and ask if they have a local garage that their adjusters deal with.  You can drop it off at the garage and they will crush it.  I did this when DD and I were in an accident.

If you purchased the same carseat, keep the cover to use if the new cover needs to be washed.  DS used the same carseat and had bad reflux.  I was constantly changing them and it was nice to have a clean one to put on right away.

Turkey Lurkey

Cut the straps and take it to the county trash facility. I threw one of ours with the straps cut and marked, but it was sticking out of the top of our bin a bit. Somebody took it before the garbage truck came. Who pulls a trashed carseat out of someone's garbage? I hoped that they didn't notice it's condition at first, but then threw it out.

livinitup

I worked with economically poor families who qualified for donations of car seats. I would NEVER give them a car seat that is unsafe due to being in a car accident. If a family didn't have a car seat, they borrowed one or didn't put the child in the car. Obviously. If they have a car seat they'd use it and lend it out to others. Adding an unsafe car seat to the mix is really, really bad. Your heart is in the right place, but you are knowingly putting a child at risk.

jlw2505

It has been in an accident and is safe to be used.  Since the insurance agent didn't take it back (they did with ours after I was in accident) I would cut the straps and put it out with the trash.  It is not safe to be used again and not right of you to sell it.

ljanette85

Throw it out! Its not safe for anyone to use

SuperCuteBenz

We have a body shop here that collects them, and then destroys them. If you don't have a similar place, then destroy the seat as much as you can before putting it out. Otherwise, someone will take it and use it. Prime example... There was an add on craigslist last month where someone was giving away car seats for free. The add specifically stated that their neighbors had put them out for the trash, but they decided to list them, because someone could use them. Not cool.

SuperCuteBenz

And FWIW, I believe every car seat company besides Britax, says that their seat should be replaced in ANY accident. Britax follows the IIHS guidelines for replacement, and I believe in your situation it would need to be replaced, because your air bag deployed.