Buy a used child seat? Please not from the flea market!

This detailed explanation for the purchase of used child seats comes from our partner Naturzwergenreich – the child seat professionals in Laupheim.

Good morning, today it will be an exceptionally longer post from me, but I just have to write it down.

Ever since we became a child seat professional partner, I have had a completely different view of the topic of safety in the car and it is incredibly frightening what we consider to be "normal". Flea markets and eBay classifieds are full of child seats that only belong to the bulky waste and can no longer protect a child.
And puuuh, what are really asked for usury prices for it. For bulky waste !! Spend a lot of money so that your child ends up driving without protection? Please don’t!!

You should pay attention to this when buying a used child seat

So here are a few tips on what to look for when choosing a used seat:

Consider the purpose of a child seat!

The child seat is not only there to drive your child from A to B, but mainly for your child in the (hopefully never occurring) case of an accident to protect as best as possible. And most of the seats that are on the used market simply can’t do that anymore. For me as a mom, the idea that my child will be slightly injured is worse than the idea that I myself will be seriously injured. Do you feel the same? It is therefore extremely important to optimally secure the child.

Age and material fatigue affect the safety of child seats!

Why is an older child seat no longer good? This is about the topic fatigue. Basically, a child seat is mostly made of styrofoam and plastic. The child seat is in the car when the temperature is below freezing, and in summer when the car heats up like a sauna. The material is incredible temperature fluctuations exposed. Add to that the UV radiation from the sun. And over time, the material just becomes porous, cracked and unstable. The biggest enemy of the child seat is actually the sun to attack the material. (I always tell my customers about the comparison with the clothes pegs. Those who are outside and who are exposed to daily sunlight break down faster than the ones we have in the basement. They just break apart one day without much force. )

In the event of an accident, enormous forces act on the car and the child seat (if you are good in physics, you can even calculate the exact values) that a child seat should withstand, so that these forces do not affect the child to meet. But if the seat is already old and porous, it gives in much more easily to the action of force, breaks, and the full external impact of the crash hits the child. The risk of injury to the child is therefore much higher. The manufacturers provide various information about the life of a seat, usually 5-10 years. The production date is noted in every child seat, often somewhat hidden and somewhere else with every manufacturer. We will be happy to help you if you are not sure how old your seat is.

Only complete child seats are safe!

Missing parts: What I also observe very often is that the seats offered are simple safety-relevant parts, e.g. Belt pads are missing. These parts have not been attached to the seat by the manufacturer for no reason, but of course to protect the child in the event of an accident. In addition, many seats are ONLY approved with this accessory. By removing some parts, many seats even lose their approval. So dangerous and not allowed.

Only take child seats with a known history!

What has the seat already experienced? A child seat can only protect a child ONCE in an accident and must be replaced afterwards. Here we are again on the same topic as material fatigue. Due to a previous accident, the material can be broken inside without being seen from the outside. Even if the seat is only a few days old. In such a case, the seat can also no longer protect the child. And when you buy a used seat, you don’t know what you did before with the Seat has happened and you always have the risk that the child may drive in an unprotected child seat. Therefore, only accept a child seat from family and friends whom you trust and with whom you can be sure that the seat has not yet been involved in an accident.

The child seat must comply with current safety standards!

The development continues. Our cars have ever higher safety standards that did not exist 10,15,20 years ago. This Save security standards but Life. Just like good child seats, especially reboarder, of course. Here, too, the development has of course continued in recent years.

our recommendation

Finally, my overall conclusion: A child seat is there to protect the child in an accident. Many, many child seats on the used market simply cannot do this anymore. Therefore, when choosing a seat, always pay attention to the age, the completeness of the parts and only accept seats from people who you are sure that it is really accident-free.

The safest way is of course for your child to always drive in an optimally fitting seat, so to speak the child has chosen it. Our goal is that always more Children drive safely, so we also offer installment payments. It is not supposed to fail financially if you want your child to have the best possible protection.

And always remember: a child seat and a car can be replaced, your child is not.