Renting Car Seats for Taxi's

[SandraMostacci]

My brother, sister-in-law and their little baby will be visting me from Australia. The little one will be 4 mths old when they visit. What do people recommend for car seats in Taxi's in NY? My cursory research tells me that sar seats are expensive, and I personally have no need for them, are there places that rent car seats? Brands that people recommend for ease of getting in and out of car seats?

Many, many thanks for any advice.
Sandra.

[Joolsplus2]

I don't think there's a reason they couldn't bring their seat with them...it should be just as safe to install in a US car as an AU car, and it's legal for visitors to do so. Even if they haven't purchased a seat for the baby on the plane, they could check it with luggage (maybe in a box to keep it clean and protected).
Depending on the length of the visit, you might end up more paying to rent a seat than buy one (and resell it to a consignment store or on ebay), but do you know anyone or anyone who knows anyone who might have a seat you could borrow for free?

I'm sure someone else will have some more input right now, but I have to run get my kids from school! :)


Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[debsten]

Hi,

I am from Australia, I visit every year and from what I have seen and from friends info. the infant seats there might be a little difficult for use here in Taxis. They are called capsules there and have to be tethered and are quite bulky so not to easy for use when you would be taking them in and out of a taxi. I am not 100% on if they do have anything like we do here but I know 4 years ago when my dd was in an infant seat and I took it there everyone couldn't believe how easy it came in and out compared to what they had there then.

I would think it would be easier for your sister to purchase a seat here, they have a snugride at Walmart.com ( http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product_listing.gsp?cat=91366&path=0%3A5427%3A91365%3A91366 ) for $49.43, doesn't have all the front harness adjuster as it is a low end model but as for safety and being able to use it without a base in a taxi it would be ideal for a short period. They also have a universal infant car seat carrier by Kolkraft for 39.86 on the same page so if your sister wasn't bringing a stroller or one that would work with the car seat those 2 items, would then mean you could get in and out of taxis and you would have a light weight stroller as well so you wouldn't need to carry the infant seat around NYC. You could then always sell them afterwards and recoup back some of the money. Not sure about rentals here in the US but in Australia you can rent seats but there is usually a minimum charge which might just be more than buying an inexpensive seat.

HTH
Debbie

[SandraMostacci]

Debbie - thanks for your advice. That is a great price and definitely cheaper then renting. In fact, as I have now found out renting is more expensive then buying even the higher end car seats.

In case anyone else is interested though babysaway.com rents car seats, cribs, high chairs etc. Though it didn't make economic sense for me it might be cheaper for those in cities where you can pick it up, or indeed people just might appreciate the conveniance of getting the equipment delivered rather then having to buy and then off-load.

Thanks again, very much appreciated.
Sandra