Need convertible car seat for occasional long ride in Grandparent's car

[gmann]

Hi,

I bought a Britax Roundabout for DS for my car and one set of grandparents (my in-laws) bought a Graco ComfortSport for their car. Now my parents need to get a seat.

Here's the situation - My parents and my in-laws watch DS in my neighborhood. My in-laws live a few blocks away and my parents stay over my house when they watch him. I'm fine with my in-laws getting the Graco because they would be driving around the neighborhood mostly. The route between my parents and me involves a heavily trafficked highway and right now we do most of the driving to their house (so I got a Britax), but as DS gets older, my parents will be taking him to their house for extended stay. They still will not be driving him back and forth as much as we are. Also, they drive my grandparents around a lot, so would need something that can be taken in and out of the car (they have a CRV, as do we) to give my grandparents more room in the back.

So in conclusion, I need advice on purchasing a convertible car seat that is not as expensive as Britax ($100 and less) since it is not for frequent use, still very safe for highway driving and easy to install/uninstall. I was going to tell my parents to get the Graco too, but since reading reviews on it and others, I'm not sure what to get.

Thanks so much for all your help :)

[codex57]

I found the ComfortSport incredibly easy to install. That said, it's kind of a horrible seat in how easily it's outgrown.

I'd say just get a Scenera and be done with it. It may not be the easiest to install, but it's cheap and works well. How often would they really need to reinstall it? You stick it in the middle, and even if they have friends ride with them, it's usually another couple so they can still fit in the car.

[elektra]

I have a Scenera as my "spare" seat too, but it's always installed in the babysitter's car. I actually just got another Marathon for my Dad's car, a few months ago, and we split the cost.
You also might want to look into the First Years True Fit. I have no personal experience with this seat but I know alot of people love it. And you could then use it as your primary seat for longer harnessing before a booster if your DS grows out of his roundabout. I think it is about $180 but if you get that extra use out of it, it might be worth it.
I am not a carseat expert so hopefully more of the experts will chime in, but I just know that if I was looking for another extra seat, I would do more research on the True Fit as a cheaper alternative to a Marathon.

[Joolsplus2]

The Safety 1st Avenue is nice... http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_024W163016110001P?vName=Baby&cName=Gear&sName=Car%20Seats&psid=FROOGLE&sid=KDx20070926x00003a
Much taller top slots than the Comfortsport or even the Roundabout...only a 40lb weight limit, but with the tall top slots should still last till age four-ish (Comfortsport will be lucky to get you to three-ish).

Evenflo Triumph Advance is also a great choice, $129 for the base model, might be cheaper if you shop around online... will easily get most kids to age 5 or 6, which is a safe age to move to a booster seat (any younger than that and really kids are too wiggly to sit safely in a booster). And the True Fit is also excellent for the same reasons :)

[MontrealMum]

We purchased the True Fit for the IL's car on the recs of people here and we are all (including the IL's) very happy with it. DS has yet to actually ride in it when the car is moving, but it installed fairly easily, fit well (but it's a big car) and it looks like it has some nice "adaptable" parts for small to large kids (it could be used from birth more easily than an MA, I think, if needed). We were lucky to get it on sale, so it might not fit your cost requirements.

[gmann]

Thanks for all the recommendations. I was leaning towards the Triumph Advance based on other threads I read here, but wanted to make sure I didn't miss out on anything not covered and could find a better deal for my parents (they already buy me a lot of stuff, wanted to save them some money).