Car Seat Recs?

SugarChick10 · January 2012

Doing this a little sooner than I thought I would: I?ve rendered myself into a state of analysis paralysis and I need help. I need car seat recommendations. I?d like to go no higher than $200 ($250 max). If it helps, we have a 2000 Kia Sportage.

Currently eyeballing the Graco My Ride 65 convertible (which looks like a behemoth of a seat) and the Britax Marathon 70 convertible.

We were rear-ended in a minor fender bender over the holiday weekend. Thankfully no one was hurt. Our LO was in the back seat in her car seat (Graco SnugRide 35) so now we need to replace the seat.

The claims agent asked how old my LO is. When I told her she was 9.5 months old, the agent said "Oh, she was in a car seat" & told me to make sure I fax her a receipt for the replacement seat. I never would?ve thought to ask about that.

LauraLynneC · January 2012

we LOVE our Britax Marathon!! Always deals to be had if you scour online too!

bryan'sgirlM · January 2012

I don't post her often, but thought I would offer my opinion since I have actually owned both of the seats you are looking at.

I got the My Ride 65 for DD #1 when she was about 11 months to keep her rear-facing and she was about to outgrow her infant seat. It is a huge seat and she didn't mind it rear facing, but when I flipped her forward facing at about 15 months, she didn't like the deep recline on the seat and kept struggling to sit more up-right. The built in cup holders were nice though. I have a 2000 Acura MDX and the seat fit ok rear facing behind the passenger side, but it was a pain to install forward facing, again because of the deep recline. I had to either use a pool noodle or recline my back seat to get it to fit properly.

I had wanted a Britax originally but needed a more budget friendly seat at the time I purchased the My Ride since I was looking at getting two seats, one for my car and one for my husbands. So when my DD was not happy forward facing in the My Ride I went back and looked at the Britax seats again. They had just come out with the new designs and when I saw that the Marathon 70 had the adjustable harness straps versus having to re-thread them each time the child needed the straps higher, it sold me on the Britax. I was able to sell the My Ride on Craigslist and re-coupe about 75% of what I paid for it.

I have been using the Marathon 70 for over a year now and love it! Super easy to install even without LATCH (not in my car, but hubby has a newer MDX that has LATCH and it works great). The cover comes off easily for washing and my DD has been comfortable in it - she is sitting more upright and able to see out the window easily. When DD #2 needs the convertable seat, I will move DD #1 to the Britax Frontier 85 because I want her in a 5-point harness as long as possible.

I purchased my Britax seats via Amazon because Babies R Us didn't have the black color I wanted. If you haven't done so already, I would suggest going to a store location where you can try out both seats, like Babies R Us and see how your child fits and how each seat would fit in your car.

Hope that helps!

racampbell1 · January 2012

LauraLynneC:
we LOVE our Britax Marathon!! Always deals to be had if you scour online too!

This! We got ours at Babies R us with a 20% off coupon, but look on Amazon and other online sources too, you might find an even better price. GL!

LauraLynneC · January 2012

https://www.albeebaby.com/britax-marathon-70-car-seat-onyx.html

$217 + free shipping!

vanverth · January 2012

I have nothing to add to this discussion other than, wow can this group find a bargin.

SugarChick10 · January 2012

Awesome! The ladies of this board rock Thank you so much for all the input & suggestions.

stever · January 2012

We have a Mxi Cosi Convertible and love it! It's $199.

dkays · January 2012

We have a Britax Roundabout 55 and a Combi zeus 360. They both fit perfectly in my '06 Kia Sportage. The Britax is in the price range.

https://www.amazon.com/Britax-Roundabout-Convertible-Current-Version/dp/B005UBCHE6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325714548&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Combi-Zeus-Convertible-Seat-Licorice/dp/B002ITIXJQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1325714639&sr=1-1

kikijbunny · January 2012

Another fan of the Britax Marathon 70 here! Also scouted it at Babies R Us to make sure it fit in our car then bought it off of Amazon because BRU didn't have the color I wanted (loooove the cowmooflage, hehe)!

So far it's been great. I have a Toyota Matrix and though the passenger seat is pushed up a bit, the Marathon does fit. Also fits fine in our Kia Rondo.

ETA: but if you and DH are both tall (we are both 6') the passenger seat is too far up. But that's the case for us with any car seat in our cars... meh, one of us sits in back with DS on long rides to keep him company anyway.

Strunella · January 2012

We have the Britax Marathon 70 too and love it. I ended up getting it from Amazon too...I think it was a little cheaper than BRU even with the coupon because there was no tax.

robynlesley · January 2012

I'm a big fan of Britax and would rec the Marathon. We have the Marathon CS (since discontinued, but still safe) and DS has been in it since he was 7.5 months old.

SugarChick10 · January 2012

kikijbunny:
ETA: but if you and DH are both tall (we are both 6') the passenger seat is too far up. But that's the case for us with any car seat in our cars... meh, one of us sits in back with DS on long rides to keep him company anyway.

LOL, at 5' 4" and 5' 6", it's safe to say we aren't a tall people

Thanks again, everyone, for all the wonderful input.

gimmietimmies · January 2012

Marathon over the MyRide any day. DH is a car seat tech, so I get to hear his pet peeves. Check out the Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL as well, they've been rebranded as Diono, so their seats are also on for deep discounts. Either will last you forever if you're both short. Radians keep ours in seats longer, we're like kikijbunny, crazy tall. I guess it wouldn't matter that the Radian has the smallest seat footprint, or that both it and the Marathon take up a lot less space front to back compared to the MyRide.

leslieb923 · January 2012

Just another vote for the Britax Marathon 70! We have it and love it!

pa_kris · January 2012

The easy adjust shoulder straps on the new Marathons are awesome. Got mine on Amazon at 20% off too. Sometimes diapers.com has a good sale on them as well.

Piranha54 · January 2012

We have two britax marathon in my car, britax roundabout in DH's - small space - and a myride 65 in my mom's car. LO's doesn't seem to have any preferences and all have been easy to install and adjust. And you can find bargains out there, but if insurance is covering it, get what you want!!!

Want a personalized experience?

Car Seat Recs?

Re: Car Seat Recs?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards