Looking for a sale price on a 2002 Zooper!

[ColleenB]

I've been doing extensive searching on the web and I cannot find a lot of sites that have Zoopers. Our one local baby store carries Zooper, but they don't discount discontinued models at all. :( I was hoping for a deal somehwhere.

I am looking for a 2002 Walk Air or Buddy.

I have also tried Ebay and there's not a lot on there.

Can anyone help?

Thanks!
Colleen

[charigot]

Hi Colleen. We have a 2002 Buddy and got it for $259 from our local USA Baby, and that supposedly was during their "Once a Trimester" sale. I know that's not very deeply discounted, however. (plus we had to pay tax.) The Zooper clearance webpage doesn't have any Zoopers listed on it right now, but you might keep checking back in case one pops up.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?B2E922783

[celfsh]

Colleen:

We bought our Buddy online from Little Folks for $269, with no tax and free shipping. At the time (September 2002), it was the best deal out there. Unfortunately, Zoopers are not often discounted, but so far my Buddy has been worth every penny. Good luck! HTH.

celeste
mom to olivia 9/25/02

[LiznSeb]

Celeste-

Tell me more about the Buddy! I can't decide about it, I am specifically concerned about its weight (32 lbs, ugh) and how compact it is when it is folded...

What do you use yours for and what do you think about its fold mechanism and its size when folded?

Thanks!!

[charigot]

This is the thing that I hate most about the Buddy. It is difficult for me to fold, and I loathe having to put it in the trunk of the car. I have to take the front wheel off, and the thing is heavy. As a stroller that stays non-folded in my garage, and goes on hard walks with us, it is perfect. The thing is a tank. But in my humble opinion, it is not a good in-and-out-of-vehicle stroller. I am no weakling either. I lift weights and I'm 5'11". I wish I would have investigated the Walk Air a little more to see if you need to take the wheels off to fold it and also if it folds more easily.

That said, I really do like the Buddy for the way we're using it. It's a well made stroller--big hood and I like how I could reverse the seat when my son was so young and the adjustable-height handles are a huge bonus for us.

hope that helps.
-Jen

[celfsh]

Hi. I hope I can help you make a decision about the Buddy. I know how overwhelming it is to shop for strollers. All I can say is, thank goodness for all the advice I got (and continue to get) on these boards! Anyway, you asked two specific questions regarding the Buddy's weight and size...

In regards to weight, I have to say that the Buddy is pretty heavy--one of the heavier strollers out there. Still, this is not a huge factor for me since I mostly use it for outdoor walking and mall-crawling. Getting the stroller out once and using it for several hours at the mall is no big deal for me. Of course, if I'm running errands and I'm in and out of several stores, I don't use the Buddy--it would be a huge pain. Instead, I just strap DD into the Baby Bjorn, or if I'm at the supermarket or somewhere else where there are shopping carts, I just put her in one of those. But that's what works for me. If you envision a light-weight stroller that you can just take in and out of the trunk several times a day, then the Buddy might not be the stroller for you.

As for size, I think the Buddy folds down to about the same size as other stollers in its class. To give you an idea, I have a Nissan Sentra with a pretty average size trunk. The Buddy takes up about half of the trunk (maybe more), leaving just enough space for a few groceries or a weekend's worth of luggage. IMO, the fold mechanism is fairly easy to use (I would suggest trying it yourself in person to see if you like it), although it is not a one-handed fold as some others are. The front wheel's quick-release mechanism is also super easy--you just pop the lever up and the wheel comes right off.

I know you didn't ask, but weight/size issues aside, these are some things that I love about the Buddy:

1) Comfort

The Buddy seems to be a very comfortable ride for a couple of reasons. First, the air tires make the ride really smooth, which has been important to me due to the fact that the area where we used to live didn't have sidewalks. Now that we DO have sidewalks, they are very uneven, and the Buddy really does just glide right over them. Second, the fabric inside the 2002 Buddy (and on the straps) is a plush velour that is so soft against DD's face. I think the 2003 Buddy has a new fabric that is not as plush--I assume that Zooper changed it to make it easier to clean, but I am not sure what a difference that makes since I have not had to clean it yet. (I'm sure I'll be able to report better on that once DD has started eating crackers in it. LOL!) To illustrate how comfy I think the Buddy is, I'll tell you that DD had a cold last week that was keeping her up at night because her nose was stuffy. As a last resort, we strapped her into her Buddy with the seat up just a bit to help her sinuses drain, and she slept great, waking up just once during the night to eat like she usually does.

2) Durability

I'm sure others will probably disagree, but when DH and I test-drove the Buddy in the store, we both agreed that it felt much less "rickety" than any of the other stollers we had tried, including the more expensive Peg. Granted, I have only owned the stroller for six months, but in that time, I have put it to pretty heavy use, including once when I had no other choice than to drive it down a flight of stairs (with DD strapped in tightly, of course!) I really feel confident that the Buddy is going to hold up well, but if anything ever DOES go wrong, Zooper has outstanding customer service, which we discovered when our stroller arrived with a defective tire and Zooper sent us a whole new wheel--no questions asked--within just a few days. No problems since.

3) Features

I think the Buddy is a great buy when you consider all the features that are included with the price. Other brands make you pay extra for features like a cold-weather boot (which I've used quite a bit this winter) and others. My favorite features? The height-adjustable handle (DH and I are both tall), the hand-brake (great for when you're pushing the stroller downhill), and the reversible seat (I love to be able to see the baby when we're walking).

Anyway, (Yikes, I can't believe how long this post has gotten!) HTH a little! Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck!

celeste
mom to olivia 9/25/02

[rose2boys]

I have a 2002 Zooper Buddy in Midnight (navy) that I want to sell. It's never been used and it's fully assembled. (that alone is worth 1 hours' worth of labor).

Email me if you are still interested.

rose2boys