Renting a car w/ a car seat

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Although we're staying at BLT for our late August trip, we are still considering renting a car for our days at DHS, AK and Universal. My DS is going to be 3.5 at the time so he still needs to be in a car seat. In my early research I am finding nothing but nightmare stories about people renting car seats only to arrive and be escorted to the Island of Misfit Car Seats, usually a closet with 20+ year old and in many cases malfunctioning/soiled car seats.

Has anyone had a good experience renting a car seat on their WDW vacation, and are there any companies that have them already installed for you?

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Unfortunately I know exactly what you're talking about. We encountered many problems with rental car companies and car seats. Biggest problem(s) were getting to the rental car agency and them telling us we didn't reserve a car seat, telling us they've run out, and once directed to a pile of stacked car seats and told pick one (which mostly were dirty). I ALWAYS travel with a copy of my rental agreement. They won't install the car seat for you, safety/insurance reasons. I have to say that the car seats I have gotten from the rental car agencies are pretty flimsy. May want to consider bringing your own. Avoid a lot of hassle, plus the cost of a car seat per day adds up. I will also say that most of these bad experiences were with Avis. My daughter doesn't require a car seat any more, but uses a booster and when we traveled, we bought our own booster. However, with our last trip to WDW we used a bumble bum. Heard about it on these boards and it worked great for us (I think you child will be too young for that). I will also give a plug to National. We used them for our last trip to WDW in April for the first time and I couldn't have been more pleased with their service.

 

[Crl1817]

I would not trust the rental company to have an unexpired, never been in an accident seat that is right for age and size. We recently bought the ride safer vest and find it very handy for travel and car pooling. My daughter met the minimum weight requirement at around age 3.

 

[mrsp1030]

We will never ever rent a car seat again. Did it once and it's not worth it. I ended up going into the storage closet at Hertz to find the best seat and that was still not a great experience. Old and worn out and not something I felt suitable for our child but we had no choice when Delta lost our seat.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

I would not trust the rental company to have an unexpired, never been in an accident seat that is right for age and size. We recently bought the ride safer vest and find it very handy for travel and car pooling. My daughter met the minimum weight requirement at around age 3.

Never heard of the Ride Safer Vest, just googled it and we may have a winner! Thanks so much!

Still keeping ears out to see if anyone has ever had a good experience with car seat rental, because right now it's sounding like no but I'm genuinely fascinated.

 

[pjacobi]

I had intended to bring along our own carseat, but at the last minute, I left it in the car at the home airport. When we arrived in Orlando, I inquired about renting a car seat from the rental car company, but the charge of $10-$20 per day was ridiculous.

We decided to simply strap down our then tall, 2 yr., 11 month daughter in the backseat as best as possible (illegally) and drove directly to Walmart. We purchase a brand new carseat cheaper than the weekly rental.


-Paul

 

[laughinplace199]

We bought car seats to use for travel (Cosco Scenera and Evenflo Maestro). We used them on the plane and in the rental car.

Now that our youngest is 7, we just bring a backless booster and put it in the overhead compartment on the plane.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

You could easily purchase a "bare bones" seat at Target or Walmart and bring it with you. Car seats check for free on flights. This would be the best way to know your seat isn't expired, gross, or been in an accident. Even the most minimal of seats have to pass certain standards. Thats what I would do

 

[Crl1817]

Checking car seat depends a bit on your level of paranoia. The two problems I have seen highlighted with checking a seat are (1) the airline might lose it and then you would be stuck at the airport with no legal way to transport your child and (2) checked baggage is not treated gently and some people are concerned that the tossing a car seat around is more or less the same as the seat being in an accident and no longer safe to use.

There is a forum devoted to car seats that might be helpful if anyone is interested in researching these issues. I believe it is carseat.org

 

[Gracie09]

Bring your own. Have your child use it on the plane.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Thanks crl, found the site via google and there is a ton of good info there.