Car seat rental

[loveswdw]

I found a decent deal through Avis and can also reserve a car seat. On the reservation it shows that we are reserving one safety seat but there's no price listed. Is it automatically worked into the price or is it something we pay for when we pick up the car?

I also found that Budget reserves car seats and it actually shows up on the reservation as a $9.95 per day charge. But I don't get that with the Avis reservation.

Also, I can't find anything on Dollar's web site at all about car seat rentals. Do they just not rent them at all?

We have lugged around my DS's BIG HUGE Britax car seat on the last two trips. My DH says NO WAY he's doing that again. So we are looking only at the companies that rent car seats.

Any input would be appreciated!

 

[Hockeymommy]

I am a certified car seat safety tech in Wa. state and I can't stress enough for you to not rent a seat from an agency.There are so many reasons why and so many alternitives to doing so. The biggest reason not to ever rent a seat is that you don't know the history of the seat. If a CSR has ever been in a collision of any type it needs to be destroyed. That DOES NOT happen. The companies will use these seats over and over and over again.

Having had two kids in the Britax husky(the biggest car seat made!) I totally understand not wanting to drag yours around with you. By the way, nice choice on the seat you picked. However you have a few different choices on what to do this trip. I don't know the age of your child, but if he/she doesn't need to be in the seat on the plane why not just have it checked. We did this last year and it didn't count as part of checked baggage. Now, if your child is still young enough that he/she will fly better in the seat then why not buy a new one for the trip. What I mean is buy a less expensive (and lighter seat) to use on the trip. Without knowing the age of your child I'm not able to make any suggestions, but I'll give you an example. If you have a three year old that weighs 38lbs. you could go with a high back booster with the 5 point harness. The benefit of this is that the seat is very light and you can keep it at home. If you are saying I don't need another seat at home then donate it after the trip. In the long run you will probably be saving $. If the rental places charge $10 you would already be able to buy the seat I described after only 4 days.

I'm not saying that all rental seats have been compromised, but why take the chance?

One more thing to look at. Know what kind of car you are renting and make you you are familiar with the seatbelts in the model. All it takes is a quick trip to the dealer.

I hope this has helped, if you have any questions feel free to send a pm.

 

[Tiger926]

I guess I'm concerned with you recommending to check a car seat - have you ever seen how they fling stuff around? Please explain how you checked your seat, as we were planning on renting from Alamo also as our 3 year old doesn't do well in her car seat on the plane, so we need to have a car seat for our rental which we pick up at the airport. Our daughter will be 3 at the end of May, and weighs 36 lbs., so she can't use a small compact booster seat, so we need to rent a convertible seat as well. We are going in July.

You have provided awesome info, but if you could be a little more specific about checking car seats, that would be great.

As well, your comment about the high back booster is confusing as well, since here in Ontario these aren't rated until 40lbs., so again, this isn't the proper seat for a 36 or 38 lb. child. Our provincial laws are such that children between 20-40lbs. must be in convertible car seats (they base this on average of 1.5 - 4.5 years). Our booster seats are not to be used before 40 lbs. - I thought about the lightweight high back Graco Princess seat, but again, she's not 40 lbs. yet. Are you saying it's ok to use this even though our kids aren't quite at the weight requirement yet? We also thought about buying one in Orlando as our Graco is very heavy, but that would mean that my hubby has to leave us at the airport and go to a store by himself, and he's not comfortable in doing this as we know the only way to properly purchase car seats is to put the child in them.

Thanks. Looking forward to your reply, Tiger

 

[robinb]

I think the idea of buying a convertible booster with a 5 point harness is a great one!

 

[loveswdw]

Well my DS is 2 and weighs 35 lbs. We have the Britax Wizard seat and it is HUGE. DS flew last trip and just sat in the plane seat. But we took ME so we didn't have to worry about the car seat at all. This trip (not to WDW) we are renting a car for 5 days so we have to have a seat.

His first trip to WDW in March 2005 we took the car seat on the plane (pain in the butt--small Embraer jet and the dang seat hardly fit). He was only 15 months then and much smaller. I don't think he would fit comfortably on the plane in his Britax now.

We do have one of the car seat covers with wheels from that first trip. If we have to I guess we'll take it. But I've seen threads on here where people comment about their car seats getting damaged in the checked baggage. It's an awfully expensive seat to get thrown around and broken. Another reason we didn't want to take the seat.

I just assumed that a rental company would dispose of any seats that had been in an accident. That's why we won't ever buy a used car seat on consignment or at a yard sale. You just never know what's happened to them in the past. I can see your point. I guess no one ever takes care of your child like you do.

Thanks for the input.

 

[tjmw2727]

I rented a carseat for my dd once and used it exactly long enough to get to wallmart to purchase a replacement. It was AwFUL - dirty and the seat covering was ripped, I can't imagine it was safe. I personaly would not recommend renting. Consider taking the $10.00 per day average rental price and putting it toward a smaller but age and weight appropriate carseat for travel. We used that wallmart seat for travel, aunties car and nana's car so it was well worth the $$.

As far as price for Avis, when you click the link to the right of the carseat option it shows as 9.00 per day plus tax.

Depending on the age of the child you can (and maybe should) use it on the aircraft - this will keep the child comfy and the seat safe. The FAA and AAP recommend children stay in an FAA approved CRS until 4 years or 40lbs.
Here is a link for more info: http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;108/5/1218

If you prefer not to use it on the aircraft than gate checking it will prevent alot of the issues of checking it through with your luggage. Using a carseat bag or other protection is a good idea as well.

Have a great trip!
TJ

 

[tjmw2727]

Tiger - I am not the poster you are asking but I will comment.

Here, booster seats can be dedicated boosters without a harness and have a higher height and weight requirement. Many though, have a nice harness system and act as a carseat for children between 20 and 40lbs and then the harness can be removed and the carseat is now a booster and can be used from 40-80lbs. Here is a good example:
http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber=8686PMR&CategoryID=1

These are FAA approved when using the harness system and not FAA approved without.

On your other point, I agree and I never put a carseat through as checked luggage, we either used it on the aircraft or gate checked it. When you gate check you leave it at the entrance to the aircraft and it is loaded last with hopefully more care and nothing piled on top. You then pick it up at the door when you de-plane. I imagine if you pack it well and put a fragile sticker on it you could check it through.

HTH
TJ

 

[Tiger926]

tjmw2727 - Thanks for the info! We don't have these car seats in Canada - wish we did as this is a great car seat. I am trying to do some research on our Transport Canada website to see if I can use this car seat in Canada if purchased in the USA, but I can't find this info. My hubby says this looks good - he is very picky about car seats! Does anyone have this car seat, and if so, how much does it weigh?

My hubby and I are still nervous even about gate checking the car seat - we have had no problems gate checking our strollers - this year we are gate checking our new Maclaren Triumph, so hope all goes well - but with a car seat we are a bit more nervous in case it gets knocked around and the safety of it is compromised. I am determining though that it seems you all would recommend gate checking car seats and taking a chance this way, over renting from car rental companies as no one knows exactly what is going on with those.

By the way, most car seat companies have a max. car seat rental rate - we have our ressie for 14 days, and our car seat rental maxed out at $49.00. Just a point for some who are renting from car seat companies.

Looking forward for any more info on these Graco dedicated boosters. Thanks, Tiger