Enteprise mini-van rental: I really shouldn't rent their car seats?

[ChrisM]

I booked a minivan through Enterprise and added two child/toddler seats to the rental figuring, "hey, that's what you do when renting a car with kids".

But reading through stuff online it sounds like everyone is like, "OMG! Never use a car rental company car seat! OMGOMG!"

Is this really that bad of an option? My kids are 3.5 and 5 years old and there's no way we are bringing or checking car seats onto a plane.

Have I lost my mind here or will this actually turn out okay and I don't have to bring my own or rent car seats from some third party?

 

[luvmy2babies]

I think more than anything it's an issue of trust and feeling safe. You don't know the history of the seat. It's not so much the expiration of seats, because you can easily check that and go to the rental counter for a change. You can check recall lists before leaving home and address that if it's an issue. But if a seat has been in an accident of any kind it is supposed to be tossed but renting you don't know.

You would hope that the company would do what they should do, especially well known ones like Budget, Enterprise, etc. But damage to a seat from a previous accident may be structural and not visible.

I did it one time, once my daughter was old enough for a booster. When she was still in the toddler seat/harness stage, I brought mine. I took my son's car seat last month for cab rides. The cabs are a different animal though. I took a total of 4 on the trip and asked for a car seat for a 1 year-old, but twice had to use my seat because the cab didn't have the right one. Actually one of them did have the right type, but I didn't like the look of it.

Side Note: Reading online can make you feel like everyone does the same thing. When we flew to Disney World last year, based on what I read online, I expected every child from infant to 3 years old to be strapped down in their car seats. I counted close to 20 infants and toddlers on the plane and I had the only car seat on our outbound flight. Same thing on the way back. He was 10 months then. I had his seat for our flight last month and they actually looked at me funny. He's 22 months.

In the end, it is just like most other things. You'll do what is right for your family. Have a great trip.

 

[ChrisM]

Sage advice. Many thanks!

 

[dishguy1977]

We always take our own car seats and we've taken as many as 3 (1 toddler and 2 boosters)!! We don't find it that difficult...we have a big eddie bauer car seat bag that will fit them all in the same bag. On Southwest I don't think it counts as a piece of luggage (we are allowed 10 anyway - 5 tix x 2 each) and I think it may be the same with all airlines. We always do curbside check-in and just drop it off so we aren't lugging it through the airport - we also take the seats from our 2nd vehicle and have them ready to go so we aren't trying to take them out of the car we are driving at the airport.

We much prefer to take our own as it saves a lot of money and the kids perefer their own seats, especially the toddler seat. It would cost around $150 to rent 3 and that's more than we pay for the actual rental of the car!! I also have to agree that some of the rental seats I have seen in the past look a little sketchy...

 

[gmeh1]

I booked a minivan through Enterprise and added two child/toddler seats to the rental figuring, "hey, that's what you do when renting a car with kids".

But reading through stuff online it sounds like everyone is like, "OMG! Never use a car rental company car seat! OMGOMG!"

Is this really that bad of an option? My kids are 3.5 and 5 years old and there's no way we are bringing or checking car seats onto a plane.

Have I lost my mind here or will this actually turn out okay and I don't have to bring my own or rent car seats from some third party?

Enterprise, Alamo and National clean the seats after each use and bag them in plastic bags, only use branded seats which are up to industry standards and are disposed of after any accident.
I can certainly understand your concern and the concern of the other parents on this site. But, I feel it only fair to let you know how Enterprise, National and Alamo handle the seats. We pride ourselves on safety and do not allow anything to compromise our customers or put ourselves in the line of fire for liability.

 

[NikitaZee]

We brought our own this last trip, if for nothing else but logistical reasons. We needed our youngest (age 4) and our middle child to have their car seat/booster for the ride to the airport and back, so we put the booster bottom in the overhead bin and used the car seat on the plane (we were going to gate-check the car seat, but a poster here who is a car seat inspector convinced me that it's not the safest choice). As a PP said, we were only one of two car seats on the plane - all other kids were strapped in or lap babies.
I'd rather bring my own than pay for one at the rental agency, for many reasons - cost, trust issues (more my husband than me) and the fact that my kids are comfiest in their own familiar seat.

 

[KelnRon]

It's just a slight PITA to take your own but we go to Disney every year and bring our own. Last year I threw them in black trash bags and just checked them in. It was no big deal. I took my chance they wouldn't get smashed and they were just fine. They sell car seat carry bags if that makes you feel better.