Car seat rental issue

[Poly-Anna]

For our upcoming trip, we are renting a car for a one-way trip to our Disney resort (to pick up supplies on the way) and are also renting the car seat for our 2 & 1/2 year old through the car rental company. Has anyone ever done this before? Our trip last year we were miserable dragging the car seat through airports (we used it at the time on the plane and aren't using it this time) and we vowed to never do so again. Are the car seats usually in good shape (clean!)? Any thoughts? We are renting through National.

 

[momofbgtwins]

We have 3 yr 8 mos old twins. We have done this every time we've traveled (10+ times since 2 weeks after they were born!). Usually we try to get a minivan with integrated car seats, but a few times they weren't available, so they gave us a regular car seat, that we installed. It worked out fine! I would never drag my car seats from home. Be prepared....many people here will admonish you for even thinking of putting your child in a car seat that you don't know the history on...is it dirty, safe, etc? I think from a dirt standpoint, the ones in my car now certainly aren't brand new clean, and from a safety standpoint if a particular seat doesn't feel secure and tight, ask for another one!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Basically, because I'm cheap we always bring our own booster seat (and until last year, car seat) We check it with our luggage (it doesn't count toward luggage allowance) and some of the airlines (Delta for sure) will even bag it for you. I don't find it to be inconvenient. Also, since the seat wasn't brand new I didn't worry if it got a little dirty. Same goes with the booster-it's not an expensive one anyway. The only time we had a problem was the one (and last)time we flew American. We missed our connecting flight and took a flight to a different airport. We barely had time to call my sister who was picking us up to pick us up at OC instead of Ontario. We didn't even think of it until we landed but the car sear was with our luggage in Ontario and we were in OC. My DD had to ride without it but I figured we were raised without car seats and we survived right? And it was a one time thing.

Other than that, bringing our own has never been a problem. (And did I mention I'm cheap?

 

[Poly-Anna]

I appreciate your responses. And since we only need a car seat for the trip from the airport to Disney, I think we'll rent it with the car instead of dragging ours along. If we were renting the car for the week, then that would be a totally different scenario.

Thanks again!

 

[mrsltg]

Be prepared....many people here will admonish you for even thinking of putting your child in a car seat that you don't know the history on...is it dirty, safe, etc? I think from a dirt standpoint, the ones in my car now certainly aren't brand new clean, and from a safety standpoint if a particular seat doesn't feel secure and tight, ask for another one!

Not an admonition, but a clarification. You can't see if the carseat is unsafe. You don't know if it has absorbed impact from a collision or even from having something heavy thrown on it. Once it's absorbed one impact, like bicycle helmets, it's worthless. You won't be able to see this or judge by whether or not the seat is "tight" or "feels secure". The two are totally seperate issues.

 

[katytrott]

It makes sense your comments about not knowing the history of the rented car seat. I am considering bringing our own now, but my only worry I have is how do you know the car seat doesn't get thrown around so much in the luggage section, that it ends up taking an impact that could make it dangerous to use (just like a rented one)? Do the bags you get given by the airlines protect it enough? Does checking it in at the gate also protect it?

I have also heard that checking it in at the gate means if there is a free seat, it can be used on the plane. Has anyone had experience of this?

Sorry, alot of questions here!!

 

[all4fun]

Katytrot, good question, and one I've had myself, actually. I think the only way to 100% make sure that the seat isn't damaged in flight is to take in on board with you and use it. Gate checking is probably "better" but it can still get tossed around. Honestly though, I wonder if it's as big of an issue as some say it is. After all, even the NHTSA (national dept of transportation) say that car seats that meet a certain criteria for "minor" accidents don't have to be replaced (see here) . If it can be usable after a "minor" accident, one would think that a little jostling in the cargo hold wouldn't really hurt it, I guess.

hth...

 

[Pooh&Piglet too]

I've done just about every senerio mentioned and for what it is worth, I'd just rent one from the car rental company for the short time you will need one.

On my last trip to FL, I had to rent both a booster and a car seat. Both were in the car, in plastic bags for me to install. While I'm sure car companies do everything they can to save money, I can't imagine that they'd re-use a car seat that had been in an accident. Especially, when with insurance they can get it replaced.

Gate checking or counter checking a carseat - yep, it's going to get tossed around just like luggage. However, if you've ever watched them load/unload the luggage, overall it's not tossed about that much. The damage that most people experience is due to the luggage itself being just cheap luggage, old or overpacked. The tossing around that the carseat will get is just like the tossing that is done when it is shipped to the store or from you lugging it in and out of the airport.

Since you are flying, if you haven't already booked your seats, try to book with an empty seat between you and DH. This will give you a better chance of having an empty seat and being able to use your carseat on the plane. We did this for our trips to Paris with our son. I didn't have to buy him a ticket due to his age, so we booked our seats skipping one so there'd be an empty one between us. We were able to use our carseat and our son slept wonderfully.

HTHs!

 

[katytrott]

Thankyou for the advice. It has all put my mind at rest. I think we will go for the cheaper and the potentially quieter option (if it means we have a sleeping child) of taking our car seat with us on the plane. What a great idea regarding leaving a seat between two booked seats. I think we will give that ago

 

[ntink]

It might be less expensive to do the limo with a grocery stop. When I had checked into this last year, renting a car was much more expensive than the limo and some services provided car seats.

 

[swilshire]

My biggest complaint regarding rental carseats has always been trying to get the straps adjusted just right. After a long flight, that's the last thing I want to futz around with. We just take our own.

Sheila

 

[wrldpossibility]

Trust me, I understand why you're considering it...it doesn't make sense to lug around your own for only one or two rides. But I've had experience twice renting a car seat, and both times I had to complain, get new ones, and complain again. I was shocked by the condition of the car seats I was issued...and these were flaws I could see--broken buckles, cracked plastic...plus filthy. I returned each of these and were given other ones not much better...and a horrible attitude from the employees. This was at Alamo and National, BTW. I just vowed to never rent again. So unsafe. I understand your problem, and good luck!

 

[eeyoresfarmfriend]

Pooh&Piglet,Too, no disprespect to you but I had to laugh at your comment about the bags not being thrown around much. We sat on a plane for awhile before we could take off down the runway as there was a problem with our plane. Anyway while we were sitting there we watched a plane next to us being unloaded of their bags. Well you know how high these planes are from the ground. The guys were tossing the bags out of the plane and to the cart. about every 5th one missed and landed on the ground. No kidding. We sat there in disbelief watching them do it. After we made a comment to each other, my husband and I. Someone else noticed it and soon the whole plane was straining to watch these two guys tossing the bags out. All we were thinking is man we sure hope that there were no breakables in those bags. But cheap or not those bags took one heck of a beating that day. Just thought I would throw my two cents worth in here on this subject.

 

[kathi29]

All children age 2 and over are required to have their own seat on the airplane. Even so, younger babies are safest in their own seat - yes, in a properly installed carseat. Did you know that in the event of trouble, the flight attendant will require you to put your lap baby on the floor? Purses and bags are secured, we can't hold them during takeoff or landing, but we are allowed to hold babies? It just doesn't make sense.

(National Geographic did a special report on a plane crash where several babies died a survivable crash.)

If you are bringing your own carseat, you should use it on the airplane. I would always choose to bring my own seat as there is no way to know the history, expiration, and the fit of the seat with your child. Children are much to precious to have their safety be an afterthought.

 

[crisi]

We had bad luck with carseats in that the rental agency ran out. So here we were with two toddlers and zero carseats. Two hours worth of waiting got new carseats - but it was two hours I really didn't want to spend in the rental car garage.

 

[Ariel8676]

You could always take Magical express with your child and make your hubby do the shopping himself...