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Car Seat Doesn't Fit My Car! Advice please?

LATXwomanLATXwoman member
in October 2015 Moms
OK, first of all, we are idiots and I've had a sinking feeling for months that our laziness and poor choices would come back to bite us in the ass for this. Why are we (my husband and I) so dumb?:

1) My aunt insisted on getting us a specific luxury stroller/carseat combo months ago. She said she's given them to everyone else she knows who had kids recently (she's generous to a fault) and they all loved them. I had just lost my job right as we were moving to a bigger, pricier apt. so who were we to decline?

2) We might have thought to check out said car seat in person before agreeing, but no. We checked online, and reviews were glowing, so we went with it.

3) We waited three effing months to try to install the car seat. I finally forced hubby to help do it tonight. Right now I'm 36w5d, so we are down to the wire.

4) Surprise! Luxury car seat doesn't fit very well at all in my car, which really is surprising since I have a SUV crossover. However, internet research tells me that this is a problem with my make and model, purchased long before kids (or even DH) was in the picture. Basically I got one of the largest car seats on the market for one of the smallest back seats on the market.

What to do? Here are the longterm options I can see so far: (Short term is option A if I go into labor)

a) put car seat on passenger side and give up on front passenger seat for 2+ years.

b) put car seat in center, even though this is not recommended by car manufacturer and wouldn't be able to use LATCH, but it can be done in a way that's approved by safety inspectors.

c) trade my car, which I otherwise adore, for my husband's 2002 Camry, which is a POS, for the next 2+ years, assuming car seat fits better in his car. Try not to resent the shit out of him. 

d) try to sell said car seat and get a different one that fits my car better (assuming we can find a better fitting car seat, which I'm unsure of given my model's well-documented car seat incompatibility). Hide from aunt until car seat expires in seven years. 

e) Somehow politely ask my father for his large SUV, which he's been considering replacing, in exchange for my car, which is less huge, but same make and year, so somewhat comparable. Eat the hundreds of dollars I just paid in registering my car in California, and go through same ordeal with his car. I hear the DMV is even more fun when you bring along a newborn!

f) Pretend like money is no object and buy a car that is appropriate for a family. Practice explanation to loan officer about how it is we can do this one one salary and crazy new health insurance premium (magical thinking, prayer, and savings accounts!)

Any advice would be great. Thanks!


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Re: Car Seat Doesn't Fit My Car! Advice please?

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  • alinic916alinic916 member
    Don't be so hard on yourself!!   Does the car's manual recommend using the side seats over the middle, or specifically say not to use car seats in the middle seat?  Most vehicles recommend one position over another, but allow you to use any seat.  If it says you can use the middle seat that would be a good option as well so you could still use the car seat in your vehicle.

    If that is not an option, I would research which car seats fit in your car first.  Can you take the one your aunt got you back to the store to exchange it?!?!  If not, I agree with pp and use it in your husbands car and get another one for your crossover.  If you are worried about money, there are plenty of inexpensive options.  Considering buying a new car is absolutely absurd just to accommodate a specific car seat. 
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  • MrsFaust1432MrsFaust1432 member
    What SUV do you have? We installed ours last weekend, and I too have given up all front seat passenger room... Told hubby I need a larger car.
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  • christina4436christina4436 member
    I would go with B! You don't need to use LATCH I have read from the car seat thread. You can use seatbelt. Does it have this info in manual? I would consult your fire dept to help. That would be the easiest and from reading the center is safest anyway.

    If not I would try to switch cars with your Dad. Eating registering fees would be a lot less than a new car just for a car seat.
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  • nbpa3027nbpa3027 member
    I was going to agree with what other posters said. I would use the middle seat. You have to check the wording of your car manual, but it is possible that the reason it says it isn't recommended is because there aren't LATCHs in the middle. Using a seatbelt is just as safe as the LATCH system and all car seats are safety tested using both.
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  • leighann1leighann1 member
    Middle seat is almost always recommended from everything I've read. I would install it in the middle, make an appointment with a safety inspector, and let him or her tell you if it's okay or not. 

    Use seatcheck.org to find an inspector. No need to panic or run out to buy a new car before you get a professional to help you with the install. Chances are, they see this kind of thing all the time.
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  • LATXwomanLATXwoman member
    MrsFaust1432 said:
    What SUV do you have? We installed ours last weekend, and I too have given up all front seat passenger room... Told hubby I need a larger car.
    I have a 2008 infiniti ex35. Nicest car I've ever owned, but apparently both Infiniti EX and FX skimp on backseat room. I just never thought about it because I rarely, rarely sit back there (plus I'm very short) and passengers who have never complained.
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  • jslikojsliko member
    Just to echo pp, use the middle seat with the seat belt, and get your carseat inspected by a professional. I would not try to sell it - most people would not buy a used carseat (and even though you have not actually used it, since the box is open, it is used...), and you would need a stroller too, since they are a system. I bet the folks who do car seat inspections will be able to help you fit it into your car!
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  • tate62610tate62610 member
    Just use the middle seat
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  • gigi1021myagigi1021mya member
    You said you're in California, call sheriff's department and ask them about car and carseat and see what they say, if they can install it make appt with them to install car seat , no putting car seat in front seat at all, and I think best solution either getting hubbys car or dad's car, hope this helps :)
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  • CocoR04CocoR04 member
    My vote is for the middle seat first, either installed or inspected by a car seat inspector.

    Then, if it still doesn't fit, get a new car seat that you've tried our in your car before buying or consider using your DH's car for 6-8 months and get a rear facing convertible seat that fits your car.

    A lot of rear facing convertibles handle babies from infancy with special pads included with the seat. Some babies are more comfortable in convertibles once they can sit up because they can see outside the car a lot better.

    We have a really small SUV backseat and chose to get the Cybex Aton infant seat this time around because it's the shortest seat on the market. It's the only way for two kids/car seats to be in our car!
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  • LATXwomanLATXwoman member
    edited September 2015
    crbpjb said:
    Seems cheaper to get a new car seat than a new car...


    (Sorry for the quote fail!)

    Yes, I agree, of course, but upon researching, it seems my car is at least half the problem. It just has a tiny backseat, which you wouldn't think for an SUV-type vehicle. Even Euro-style seats made for much smaller backseats don't seem to jive with their latch system and the front seats being a reasonable distance from dash. It was the first year of that model, so perhaps that was an engineering error they later rectified. Not something I was considering at all as a single girl in my mid-20s.

    Anyway, thanks for all the advice, we installed the car seat we have in the middle seat for now, seems OK if you try to shake from the sides but not if you shake from lower part of the base. We will get it inspected ASAP. If it doesn't work, I'll swap cars with my husband and we'll probably get a more family friendly vehicle as soon as we can afford it. 

    I'm sure we are outliers on this but I just hope that people read this and consider their own car and carseat fit if they haven't already. We had no idea a popular, standard carseat wouldn't fit in a relatively new car, the first we heard of such an issue was in the infant safety class we took last week.

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  • bethstatzerbethstatzer member
    The reason we went with latch in back seat rather than middle with the seat belt is because our inspectors said that anyone can unlock a seat belt but latches can't be unlocked accidentally.
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  • crbpjbcrbpjb member
    edited September 2015
    I have a Chevy Cobalt. I feel like if a car seat can fit in my tiny backseat it can fit in any tiny backseat :)
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  • LATXwomanLATXwoman member
    crbpjb said:
    I have a Chevy Cobalt. I feel like if a car seat can fit in my tiny backseat it can fit in any tiny backseat :)
    Right?!? Our car seat fits so much better in my husband's Camry. It's ridiculous. If you search online, you'll see that some SUV/station wagon-type cars (Subaru Foresters, BMW X1s...) have the same problem. I think they try to maximize the cargo space by pushing the backseat up. 
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  • jenspeakejenspeake member
    DH has a truck and in his we are just moving up the passenger seat.  I'm ok with sitting in the back with baby when we take his truck.  His truck will be for emergency purposes only though like emergency drop offs/picks up for day care if I can't go.  When we do family outings like the store then we'll take my car.  And like PP's said I would take to a local agency and have them set it up the best way for your vehicle.
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  • EllioCorEllioCor member
    Our carseat actually recommended the middle seat because in the event of a side impact, it's the most protected. We have 1 seat and 2 bases so we can transfer the seat between vehicles. Agree with the others, just go middle seat.


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  • FatPonyFatPony member
    It's astonishing how much room the carseat takes up, at least ours does. I have a full sized truck with a quad cab and our carseat barely fits - the front seat can't go all the way back. I was going to buy a truck with an extended cab, but hubby put his foot down and insisted on the quad cab. Now I'm so glad he did!
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