Car seat confusion uk

[bbbbbbb811]

I've been looking at ERF car seats for my LO. This may be silly but where does isofix come into it? Most of the ERF don't mention isofix but isofix ones I've looked at you have to match the price of the carseat to purchase a base for the carseat to sit on. I'm struggling to put the two together and if isofix is going to be in compulsory in the next 2 years then it would make sense to get isofix but I don't understand why the ERF ones wouldn't be as safe as the isofix approved ones? And would the ERF ones be OK under the law? I hope someone can explain it in simple terms for my pregnancy brain

 

[sethsmummy]

its all so confusing right now.

At the moment old seats dont come under the new rules and neither are seats which are secured via a seatbelt.. only the new isize seats. I dont know really know how they can make it law that they all must be isofix at some point in the future because not all cars have isofix.. and honestly an isofix base secured with a seatbelt is no safer than the seatbelt secured seat in the first place.

All seats sold just now are legal whether isofix or not, theyre just changing the laws on sizes etc with Isize seats but if its an isize it should state it when you buy it.. for example when you look online the seats name will say isize (or state it in the description).

There will be some isofix ERF seats out there but they will be pricey. In my honest opinion after research they are no safer than a correctly places seatbelted seat.

does that make sense? i dont know if ive answered your question but i gave it a go lol x

 

[bbbbbbb811]

Yeah I know! My car does have isofix but the bases aren't for seatbelted cars they are for isofix cars?!(from what the woman in store told me) Which I do not understand! Which is £190 for the Base to put it in an isofix car and £210 for the actual car seat but for £400 surely I could get a top of the range car seat but they mostly require bases? Would an isofix ERF carseat fall under isize? I don't understand what is separating Isize from a car seat that is RF past 15months anyway? I saw an article(I don't know how factual it was) saying that they can sell non isofix car seats until 2018 but then it will be compulsory and people will be forced to get new cars? Again seems crazy. The shops I have gone into aren't clued up on any of it either, which is no help lol.
Sorry for winding on and you did help me make some sense but I don't think they have made it very easy or clear for parents (or maybe my brain has shrunk with age)

 

[loeylo]

I was so confused about this too.

We have an ERF seat which has an isofix base. We paid £175 for the seat but they were doing a deal where you got the base for free which normally costs £115 I think. Our seat cant be used without the base whatsoever, the base can be belted or used on isofix points. Look into the joie I anchor. Its cost effective, suitable for birth to 4 years and can erf til 4 or be turned forwards. You need the seat and the base but it works with a seatbelt or isofix. We love it and it will save us money as we don't need a new seat til she is about 4.

 

[MindUtopia]

Speak to an actual ERF specialist. They will know the rules and they will be able to advise you. I think there are really only two specialist dealers in the UK. One is Securatot, which is in Wiltshire, the other is somewhere further up north. I'm not sure. But the folks at Securatot are lovely and so helpful. They will be able to respond via email or call them. We have a Klippan Triofix Recline, which goes in both with a belt and with isofix (we use isofix). It came together with the seat and the base. I didn't have to buy them separately. It also becomes FF and a high back booster when we decide to move her from RF. We don't plan to before she's about 4.5, but even then we could use it until she grows out of a booster, which I think can be like 12? (We'll have another baby who will need it before then, but still, it's great value for money).

 

[bbbbbbb811]

Wiltshire is four hours from me but I think a car seat specialist is what I need! General baby shops that sell car seats are pretty clueless in my experience and just have the basic shop training rather than in depth about the products. So I will have a look to see if there are ones closer to me!

 

[bbbbbbb811]

I was so confused about this too.

We have an ERF seat which has an isofix base. We paid £175 for the seat but they were doing a deal where you got the base for free which normally costs £115 I think. Our seat cant be used without the base whatsoever, the base can be belted or used on isofix points. Look into the joie I anchor. Its cost effective, suitable for birth to 4 years and can erf til 4 or be turned forwards. You need the seat and the base but it works with a seatbelt or isofix. We love it and it will save us money as we don't need a new seat til she is about 4.

That's a brilliant deal!! If the base was free I don't think it would of been a big deal but I just thought surely I can get an all singing and dancing car seat for £400 rather than spending £190 alone for the car seat to sit on. Which shop was this deal at if you don't mind me asking? They might have similar ones in the future.

 

[KatieB]

I found a retailer that fitted and advised me on erf seats from the link attached. Scroll down and it lists retailers by area. There should be a few near you that can advise you and will fit one correctly. Hope this helps!

https://www.rearfacing.co.uk/buyersguide.php