Yikes! SIL bought a Volvo S60 and no convertibles fit right!

Please help me before she drives me nuts!!!! Yes, dear SIL bought a new 2002 Volvo S60 during an intense bout of nesting late last year. Well...her DD is making the transition to a convertible seat at age 6 months and it seems that no seats in her price range fit correctly rearfacing in SIL's car. They currently have a Graco ComfortSport and an Evenflo Triumph and both of those seats barely fit with the passenger seat pushed all the way forward. Also, when wedged in the outboard position behind the passenger, neither seat is reclined nearly enough which makes my niece sit too far upright. The seat cannot be placed in the in the middle or behind the driver as my BIL is 6'2" and needs the seat pushed all the way back. Is there a seat under $150 that will fit the bill?

My SIL has called Volvo, the CHP, and I've checked www.carseatdata.org and www.nhtsa.dot.gov. SIL is mad because Volvo is supposed to be a family car and she wasn't told that carseats don't really fit well in them. Now, she wants to make a big stink because she didn't think about bringing a seat along when they purchased their car. She thinks she'll be able to get them to foot some of the cost of a Roundabout. I don't think she has a chance. If she doesn't find anything that works, I've suggested that she get the airbag switch installed in the Volvo and then put the baby in front and have SIL sit in the back. Its not the best solution, but I think that it is better than putting the baby into an incorrectly installed seat everyday. Please let me know your opinions! TIA!


Rose
mom 2 Katie (32 months)
& Jack (16 months)

Is the S60 one of the new models Volvo just came out with in the last couple or so years? We have a 2002 V70 and one dd is in a Britax Marathon, in the middle. I have put it on the side, so it does fit, although, I will be the first to admit that I considered throwing the thing into the street before I actually got it in. (and my dh was singing the same song as your sil "if the seat doesn't fit in it, what good is it? I should just take it back!!") If this is the smaller sedan, I can't see *how* a Marathon would fit, but is the Roundabout considerably smaller?

Before we bought the Marathon, we used an Evenflo Medallion. It was high ranked in consumer reports when we bought it a few years ago, but had reached that 5 year mark, so I destroyed it. But it did fit in our previous car, a 1997 Volvo Vsomething, sorry I don't remember what. I'm not sure if it would have been smaller or larger than the Evenflo she has. Maybe she could call Evenflo or Graco and see what they say?

~Tracey

[Momof3Labs]

She can afford a Volvo but not a Roundabout?? Sorry, but I just don't understand some people's priorities!

Sounds like she should head to BRU and try each and every convertible (well, except the overhead shield ones) and see which fits the best. Putting the baby in front isn't a very safe alternative - personally, I would buy a new vehicle before I would subject Colin to that risk.

[C99]

>She can afford a Volvo but not a Roundabout??

I had the exact same thought!

[egoldber]

This isn't a problem just with Volvo. A lot of medium size sedans (and the S60 really is medium sized) have this issue with rearfacing convertibles. We had the Volvo V40 (based on the S40 sedan which is even smaller) and had the same issue. I had no problem driving the car, (I drive with the front seat practically all the way forward anyway) but DH did not fit AT ALL with a rearfacing RA!

The V70 is overall a much bigger vehicle than the S60.

Not only did their nesting include the Volvo, in April they closed escrow on a condo! Yes, they have two incomes, no childcare cost(MIL and I help out to save them $$$), but we live in SoCal and housing costs are sky high even for a 900sq ft condo. Add their consumer debt and you get a better pic of the champagne taste thing. Please don't ask me to help out by buying them a new carseat...we lent them $$ for their downpayment, I watch my niece 1-2x a week for up to 8 hours each day, I give her tons of tips on saving $$ on baby stuff, but I'm a SAHM and I need to stay on MY budget. I'm tired of her copying what I do or buy blindly(without taking the time to do any research into products) and then complaining when things don't go her way. I know that I make pretty good decisions most of the time, but those decisions are based on myself and my family. I probably should have posted elsewhere, but I still need to be a good person and ask around if anyone has any ideas regarding the carseat issue.

Rose
mom 2 Katie (32 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[Joolsplus2]

Well, there's the Britax Galaxy from www.babylove.com that might work for only $129+Shipping...the adjustable recline might make it work better...it's a lot of money to risk, though, so see if you can find a local britax dealer (it'll be a LOT more locally, though) to see if you can try it in the car.
If the triumph isn't working, though, that's a bummer, since it has a smaller shell...remember, it CAN resting on the back of the seat in front of it....there's no need for there to be space.

My only thought is that they oughta have height limits for car buyers (my dh and I are 5'10" and 5'7" and can put a Marathon behind the driver's seat of our Toyota Prius...with the driver's seat pushed all the way back! a taller driver would have to recline the seat more though, and I doubt it would work for them)..so the dealer could have a checklist..."are you planning to have children? and your over 6' tall? sorry, you NEED to buy a bigger car, I can't sell you this one!"...or at least have a selection of carseats at the dealership...it's surprising how little they know or care about carseats, for the most part :(

Best of luck to you and them, I hope they find something that works well!

you are kidding about putting the baby in the front right????

"If she doesn't find anything that works, I've suggested that she get the airbag switch installed in the Volvo (to disable the airbag) and then put the baby in front and have SIL sit in the back. Its not the best solution, but I think that it is better than putting the baby into an incorrectly installed seat everyday."

I added the part about disabling the airbag, to clarify the switch comment. You really should see how upright the child is in her carseat. (Close to straight up and only 7 months old! YIKES!) For you carseat techs, which is the lesser of the evils? Back seat and upright or front seat with the airbag disabled and correctly reclined? If it was me, I'd be driving the other car where the seat fits correctly, but they both drive with the baby in the car equally.

It really bothers me that they did this bit of nesting without any consideration for a carseat(she was 8 months pregnant for goodness sake!) and now are acting like it is Volvo's problem for not being carseat friendly. FWIW, they are probably just going to get a newer bigger Volvo. Maybe this time, they'll take a carseat with them!

Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[Momof3Labs]

Actually, upright is safer than reclined (though not necessarily more comfortable for baby), so upright in the back seat is MUCH MUCH safer than reclined in the front seat!