For Sale Britax Roundabout Car Seat

Tan color, just as picture shown below. Never in an accident. Smoke free home. Mfr. date 12/02 with LATCH mechanism option. Fabric cover has been washed, really clean, good condition. Asking $50. Broadlands resident - pm me for more info.

 

FYI that Britax carseats typically only have a 6 year useful life. You don't want to get into an accident and have the plastic crack and have an injured (or worse) child. Check the manual.

We just threw away our 1/2003, 5/2003 and 11/2003 Marathon carseats the other week. Into the landfill they went since we didn't trust a donee would stop using them at the 6 year mark. Cut the straps and mark "Do Not Use" with a sharpie on the plastic.

 

You know, I have two kids, have done my homework in the past but had never heard about a car seat expiration date before. That is until I started receiving some hate email from the Craigslist.org post. Although I wouldn't hesitate using this car seat with another one of my children (it's in great condition), I guess I won't post it for sale anymore. It's a shame to throw away such a good product. Please consider it unavailable. Thanks.

 

I know that some car seats actually have an expiration date on the back. I have a few that are 7 year life span but actually have a date listed on them. I agree that is is a waste in the land fill too, especially since I have back-up seats that are practically new that need to be tossed out.

 

From the Britax Roundabout users guide page 2 at: http://www.britaxusa.com/uploads/products/user-guides/19.pdf


"To prevent injury due to deterioration or hidden damage, discontinue use of a child restraint that is older than six years or has been involved in a severe crash."

 

I understand not using one after it has been involved in an accident but an expiration date??? I realize that many of them are made of Styrofoam inside but does that really deteriorate that much? What causes a seat to "expire?"

Sorry you got the hate mail since obviously expired seats are not always common knowledge. I never heard of that and I like to think of myself as an informed consumer.

 

Thanks Villager. I feel like Britax owes me two years on this carseat, I didn't purchase it until 2004 and all of a sudden I'm being told I'm supposed to throw it away.

 

Where did you purchase it that it was already 2 years old? That sounds odd. I have heard the expiration date is for a couple reasons. First because of the wear and tear on the seat and not knowing if it would still hold up in an accident. Second because as safety standards change they want to make sure that your child is in the most safe seat available. If you are still comfortable using the seat at this point that is fine, but I agree that it shouldn't be sold to another person because it is technically too old for them to get any use out of it. If you have proof of when you bought it and when the seat was manufactured I would contact Britax and see what they say, they may be able to help you out they are a very customer friendly company.

Suzanne

 

Babies R Us in 2004. The markings on the back of the seat say 12/02 I assume that is the mfr date. I don't see why Britax would care or do anything about it at this point.

It doesn't matter. I have stated it is not for sale any more.

 

On the flip side, if car seats expire, the company makes more money when you (or whomever might conceivably have bought it from you) has to buy a new one. I understand the potential safety issue but this seems a bit representative of our use and throw away consumer economy.

Remember, when you throw something away it doesn't disappear - it still exists, just in a landfill behind someone else's house instead of yours.

 

I said I like to be an informed consumer so I did some googling and found a video from Canada explaining about car seats. It helps explain why they can expire over time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC5ifQ6ho1U&NR=1

Here's an article about it as well.

On the flip side, here is another article saying the seats should be good for at least 10 years if not in an accident.

 

Good video.

 

That was a really great video to see. Thanks Villager!

And believe me when I say that I HATED throwing away the carseats. I called the County last fall trying to figure out if/how I could recycle our infant carrier. I wish they'd develop a way to recycle that kind of plastic.

 

I totally agree. I'd even disassemble the thing if the parts could be recycled. I have that kind of time (obviously from all my postings!).