car shopping with LO

ladybugpjb · December 2012

Who has been car shopping with LO?

What do you do during test drives? Do you alternate test driving with DH/SO while the other stays behind with LO, or take your car seat? Just curious.

One dealer we went to said it would be ok to drive a round the block - no carseat. Is it the norm for car dealers to encourage breaking the law? I was pretty shocked.

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha · December 2012

The last time we car shopped was 2 years ago - after DH totalled our car over the holiday break. DD1 was about the same age as DD2 is now, and having her with us really wasn't ideal.

My advice would be for you and your H to each take turns to go look at cars on your own (or have someone watch your DS so you can both go). I'd strongly suggest that whoever goes, brings in the carseat for the test drive to make sure the car you're looking at will accommodate it (especially in the RF position, since that's something you're going to be dealing for quite a while still). Once you've narrowed down your options, then I would go, bring the little man with you, and take him on the test drive.

I think it's ridiculous that the dealer would suggest you bring DS along without his car seat. Plus, if I am going to test drive a car, I am going to want more than just a drive around the block anyways, so no way I'd just take my toddler on my lap.

DH and I will be car shopping again before this LO comes, and our plan is to take a day off to go to the auto show with all 3 car seats. That might sound a little bit extreme, but we figure it'll still be much less of a hassle than going from dealership to dealership to figure out which cars will work out for us car seat-wise. At least when we go to the dealership, we'll already know which cars are worth test driving.

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha · December 2012

PS; It feels weird to see a post from you at this time of day - I like it!

countrywed · December 2012

I would narrow down the field first by looking at all options but not actually driving--just sitting in, listining to it run, ect. Then with an extra car seat if available, install and test drive into the top 2 or 3 picks.

I like Madame Ha's idea that you get to see how the car seat feels for room rear facing.

ladybugpjb · December 2012

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha:

The last time we car shopped was 2 years ago - after DH totalled our car over the holiday break. DD1 was about the same age as DD2 is now, and having her with us really wasn't ideal.

My advice would be for you and your H to each take turns to go look at cars on your own (or have someone watch your DS so you can both go). I'd strongly suggest that whoever goes, brings in the carseat for the test drive to make sure the car you're looking at will accommodate it (especially in the RF position, since that's something you're going to be dealing for quite a while still). Once you've narrowed down your options, then I would go, bring the little man with you, and take him on the test drive.

I think it's ridiculous that the dealer would suggest you bring DS along without his car seat. Plus, if I am going to test drive a car, I am going to want more than just a drive around the block anyways, so no way I'd just take my toddler on my lap.

DH and I will be car shopping again before this LO comes, and our plan is to take a day off to go to the auto show with all 3 car seats. That might sound a little bit extreme, but we figure it'll still be much less of a hassle than going from dealership to dealership to figure out which cars will work out for us car seat-wise. At least when we go to the dealership, we'll already know which cars are worth test driving.

That sounds exhausting! (But the memory of lugging the carseat through the airport is fresh in my mind.

We're going for used, but a car show does sound like a really good idea to get a better idea of what you want. DS was a little bored of getting in/out of his carseat every five minutes when we were driving between dealers. I sent DH by himself for round 2 to avoid carseat awkwardness again, and because DS had an epic fit after DH let him sit in the driver's seat, then took him out of one of the cars - he reeeeeally wanted that car Wink Most pathetic (and actually convincing) fit ever.

ladybugpjb · December 2012

BTW, Madame Ha - Not sure what type of car you're looking for, but we so far love the Toyota Highlander. We're looking at small-to-midsize SUVs, and most of the (used) Highlanders we've seen have a third row that can be stowed in case you need the cargo space. (I don't think three carseats fit on the 2nd row, though.)

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha · December 2012

ladybugpjb:
(I don't think three carseats fit on the 2nd row, though.)

Yeah that's really what we're looking to do, though. I don't want to HAVE to have a 3rd row, you know? DD1 still needs me to buckle her in, and I feel doing so when she's allll the way in the back would be a real PITA.

melissa0726 · December 2012

We did some car shopping with DD when she was about 8 months old. We did a ton of research online first to narrow down our options (DH had a pretty specific idea about what he wanted to start, which helped). We took DD to a couple dealerships when we were in the "just looking" stage to get a feel for whether or not a particular make/model was truly up for consideration. At that point, I would have prob just stayed behind while DH took a test drive. When we were seriously considering a car and wanted to test drive it together, we left DD with my parents for an hour to go drive one.

I like the idea of bringing a carseat along to test installation, that makes a lot of sense!

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha · December 2012

ladybugpjb:

That sounds exhausting! (But the memory of lugging the carseat through the airport is fresh in my mind.

I'm sure it will be, too. At least we'll be bringing the double stroller along, so carrying the car seats around shouldn't be too bad. And it still beats having to take them to a bunch of dealerships And if I'm being honest here, I have a feeling my husband won't let his 6 month pregnant wife do much work

Leinistar · December 2012

All dealers we went to had no issue letting me take my time and install our carseat into the car to take it on a test drive. You need to know if the seat will install and fit correctly in the car and know how much room you will have once it's installed. It's also nice to know how easy it is to get your LO in and out of the carseat since you'll be doing it so often. If one of the sales reps has an issue when you get there, ask to speak to the manager and tell them you aren't willing to purchase a car that you can't drive like you normally would every day. That includes using a carseat with both of you in the car and driving on different road conditions including local and highway roads. Don't let them bully you into not getting a full picture of the vehicle and how it will work for your family. Try everything, parallel parking, quick accelerations and hard brakes, tight turns to test turning radius, etc. Most dealerships dont offer return policies on cars so you want to be as sure as possible before you buy. Take your own photos and email them to yourself with notes about the car so when you get home after that long ass day you wont have to sit and think and try to remember everything you liked and didn't.

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