Car seat rental

[MustSailNOW]

We are traveling to FLL in Oct with our son, who will be 1 at the time, for a cruise out of Miami. We will be there one day before the cruise and will be driving to Orlando after the cruise for a day before flying home. I would like to bring our car seat, but my husband would like to rent one from the car rental agency we will use (Dollar) so that we won't have to carry it through the airport and store it in our cabin.

 

From what I've read, it is better to bring your own because you don't know what condition the rental car seat will be in, if it's been in an accident, and you have to install it yourself (usually without the use of a manual). I know we can get something like the Traveling Toddler to carry the car seat, but he doesn't seem convinced.

 

Does anyone have any insight in car seat rental? Is it really better to bring our own? I tried to do a search on this and couldn't find anything.

 

Thanks!

[cb at sea]

Will you be doing any shore trips that might require a car seat? If so, go ahead and bring your own. Otherwise, I don't see where a rental would be a bad thing.....it should come installed, if it's part of the car.

[QTMichele]

Have you tried calling the rental company and asking about the condition, age, brand, style, etc they carry?

 

A few thoughts...

 

Car seats expire, typically 6 years from the date of manufacture - check the date that is posted on the seat.

 

Seats involved in an accident generally shouldn't be used (some can, but you need to know the guidelines).

 

Will the seat have a 5 point harness? This is BEST. Do not use a seat with the bar that pulls over the head.

 

Although all seats should meet or exceed government standards, some have terrible recall histories and poor safety policies. (Cosco/Eddie Bauer, for example)

 

How clean is the seat? The last thing you want is for your child to pick up an illness from a dirty seat (think fecal matter and vomit).

 

The worst part about bringing your own seat is the transport; however, it may offer you peace of mind you may not have with a rental. If you bring a stroller, you could use that to transport the seat and carry your child (hint - use a carrier like an Ergo, backpack,etc which will work great in port/on the beach where a stroller won't work).

 

Good luck with your decision. :) We'll be in your shoes in a few weeks (flying, not cruising) and again next year for our cruises.

[QTMichele]

Will you be doing any shore trips that might require a car seat? If so, go ahead and bring your own. Otherwise, I don't see where a rental would be a bad thing.....it should come installed, if it's part of the car.

 

My only concern about the install is... Is it properly installed?! Most carseats, about 75%, are installed improperly. I don't have a lot of faith that a rental agent is trained as a certified tech, and I wonder if there is any training regarding car seat installation in general.

 

Which makes me think of another question to ask... Are the directions available? Not all seats are installed the same way.

[jac1976]

Yes, it is really better to bring your own. You have listed the dangers of renting from an agency, so obviously you are aware. It is easy enough to check if the seat is expired, but if it is and the agency doesn't have any current seats, what do you do then? And it is impossible to know whether or not the seat has been in any accidents. Often times you can not tell by looking whether or not the seat has been damaged, and I believe almost all companies recommend suspending use after ANY accident (the only exception that I know of is Britax, and due to the cost of their seats, I doubt any car rental agency supplies Britax seats as rentals.)

 

Storing it in your cabin is easy. Depending on what cruise line you are on you can either store it in the closet, or I even stored my son's seat in the shower before (when I needed to use the shower I just put it on the bed, but for the most part it was completely out of sight and out of the way.)

 

ETA; Here's a news story about the danger or renting car seats.

[MustSailNOW]

Thanks for your replies!

 

cb - From what I understand, the car seats are not installed and have to be installed by the person renting to avoid a lawsuit if, God forbid, there is a car accident and the seat wasn't installed properly. I've also read that a lot of times, they do not come with instructions and you just have to figure it out. As far as being in port, we are planning a lot of beach days. If we happen to take a tour, we are only considering those with a van or coach bus.

 

QTMichele - The cleanliness of the seat is one of my main concerns. I'm not sure if the car rental agency actually sanitizes the car seats after each use. I doubt it though. I also plan to bring my ergo for walking through the airport and while in the ports. He's a cuddle bug, so he likes to be snuggled against Mama :)

 

I'll call the company to get some info on the seat. However, I've learned from previous experience that what is said over the phone is not always what actually happens when you get there. I just don't want to be "stuck" if we pick the rental car up and they are out of car seats (even if we reserve one) or there is something wrong with it and we don't feel comfortable using it. To me, all of that could be avoided if we just bring our own, but my husband feels like it is more hassle than it is worth.

[MustSailNOW]

It is easy enough to check if the seat is expired, but if it is and the agency doesn't have any current seats, what do you do then? And it is impossible to know whether or not the seat has been in any accidents.

 

These are my thoughts exactly! If something is wrong with the seat and they don't have any others, what will we do? I like to plan ahead and my husband likes to go with the flow (hence the question, lol). Thanks for the article. I'll show it to him and see what he thinks.

 

I just didn't know if I was looking too deep into this and getting myself worked up over nothing. It's really helpful to hear from "been there, done that" parents.

[QTMichele]

And it is impossible to know whether or not the seat has been in any accidents. Often times you can not tell by looking whether or not the seat has been damaged, and I believe almost all companies recommend suspending use after ANY accident (the only exception that I know of is Britax, and due to the cost of their seats, I doubt any car rental agency supplies Britax seats as rentals.)

 

This has recently changed. There is a checklist to determine of the seat needs replaced.

 

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/childps/childrestraints/reuse/restraintreuse.htm

[jac1976]

This has recently changed. There is a checklist to determine of the seat needs replaced.

 

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/childps/childrestraints/reuse/restraintreuse.htm

 

For all of my non-Britax seats (even my newer Graco seats), the manual says to replace after any accident. My Britax manuals say to go by the NHTSA standards. I will go by what the manual says over NHTSA.

[QTMichele]

For all of my non-Britax seats (even my newer Graco seats), the manual says to replace after any accident. My Britax manuals say to go by the NHTSA standards. I will go by what the manual says over NHTSA.

 

You need to do what's comfortable for you. :)

 

For others, assuming all the requirements are met, this is a great alternative to the previous guidelines (particularly for those on a tight budget). I tend to believe the new guidelines are accurate as they are backed by studies; whereas, the CS manufacturers may be considering the additional revenue for each replacement seat. JMHO, but I would encourage each person to do what they need to do.

[Mom2B&Z]

These are my thoughts exactly! If something is wrong with the seat and they don't have any others, what will we do? I like to plan ahead and my husband likes to go with the flow (hence the question, lol). Thanks for the article. I'll show it to him and see what he thinks.

 

I just didn't know if I was looking too deep into this and getting myself worked up over nothing. It's really helpful to hear from "been there, done that" parents.

I can't tell you how many times companies have assured me that they would bring car seats/booster seats "just in case" I changed my mind about bringing ours and they NEVER had them. I have also seen people in the car rental line who were assured seats would be available and they have run out or don't have appropriate seats.

In addition to the other reasons already posted, bring your own seats. You know how to use it, and even though the install might be different in the rental vehicle, you're more likely to install it right when you're used to it.

[MustSailNOW]

Just giving an update on what we decided to do in case other parents have the same concerns.

 

We decided not to rent the car when we land in FLL. Instead, we will be using SAS to transport us to Miami. We are still planning on taking the car seat to use in the taxi to get to the port.

 

To transport the car seat, I bought a luggage cart from Macy's (only cost about $1 thanks to what was left on a gift card from my company from a couple years ago :D).

 

Hopefully, this helps someone else who is in the same boat and looking for ideas