Fisher-Price EF20BOA Convertible car seat - need opinions

[mgentile]

Hi,

I have a 6 month old and the wife and I are getting ready to make a convertible car seat purchase. I noticed Fisher-Price has a EF20BOA model but have not seen many reviews on it. The ones I have seen have been very positive, but I am looking for any testimonials (+/-) from the group.

thanks
Mark

[o_mom]

Is that the Deluxe? Goes to 55 lbs? If so, it is a good seat. It was made by Britax and has the same shell as the Decathlon. It has a few differences - standard LATCH hooks instead of alligator clips, 55 lb limit, cannot tether rear-facing, one crotch strap position. For the price now ($129) it is a decent value. However, it is no longer being made and spare parts are not to be found. You can use a Marathon/Decathlon cover and it will fit, but not an authorized substitution. I'm not sure their position on harnesses, etc. Also, most of the seats will probably be 6-12 months old at this point, so you will lose a bit of lifespan.

[Joolsplus2]

I'd feel more comfortable buying a Marathon at this point...they are on sale, and the extra money will guarantee you a much higher level of customer support for a seat that's still in production (Britax has already stopped making spare parts for the FP seats...). You'll be using this seat for at least 4-6 years, so that might come in pretty handy at some point (even if it's out of the one year warrantee, you can buy spare parts or get the seat fixed if something goes wrong...who knows what they'll do for the FP seats)