Hand me down carseats ... ok?

[emily]

DD has a MA that she's been using for about 18 months. DS will be outgrowing his Snugride soon and we want to get him a MA too but I noticed the girly covers are on sale. Is it okay to give DS DD's MA so I can buy a girly MA on sale for DD? On the other hand, I guess I can just buy a pink MA and switch the covers.

At what age do kids usually outgrow the MA? Should I think about a new seat for DD altogether? She has a BLVD also.

[WatchingThemGrow]

You can switch the covers. We've done it lots. The strap colors can be different, though. One of our seats ended up with a gray harness adjuster when the rest of the straps are tan. Not a biggie. We're fans of having an extra cover so one can be air-drying while we're off doing something else.

We actually handed down seats in that way to keep DD RFing for longer. Her seat was up to 33lbs, but DS1's was up to 35. It gave her a good 5mo or so longer. Most DC make it to 5 (or so I've read), but the range could be 4.5 to 7 from what I've read on here.

[wellyes]

I don't see why not - so long as the seats are not expired and have never been in an accident, they're still good.

[AnnieW625]

I agree with the prior posters, but what about buying a Roundabout 50, it has the same nice bones as a Marathon, is on sale for $159 or so and has nice gender neutral covers, and is good until 50lbs, and 48" (same height as the Marathon). Most kids I believe can get to 4 or 5 in the Marathon, some even 6, it just depends on their height as most kids outgrow their seats by height first vs. weight so unless you have a really chunky toddler they'll most likely last just as long in an RA 50 as they would in an MA.

Now I could see no harm in giving your DS DD's seat too.

Britax Roundabout 50, http://www.hipmonkey.com/Britax-Roundabout-50_p_175.html?gclid=CMHa1Neb1J8CFRMXawodZh-ebA