A friend is giving us her Chicco travel system stroller. is it safe to use the car seat?

Question

The travel system/car seat is almost 1 year old. I have heard its not safe to use another person's carseat and to buy a new one. Is this true?

Answer 1

I have heard that it is ok to use a second hand or hand me down seat, but to go to your nearest AAA location to have it inspected. Most fire departments can do that too, they will install it according to spec, and make sure it is safe.

Answer 2

It's a good rule of thumb if you don't know the history of the car seat, but if you know for certain that it has never been in a car accident, that it was well taken care of, and that it's less than 2-3 years old, then it's totally fine, in my opinion, to use it.

Answer 3

as long as you know that it has not been in an accident and it's not past it's date then it should be safe to use it..

Answer 4

Make sure it hasn't been in any accidents and that there have been no recalls on it. All straps and buckles should be in good working condition. If these things check out its ok. Beware of cracking and plastic rotting. If the seat is only a year old it should be ok.

Answer 5

If this is a friend who is truthful and you *know* it has not been in an accident or mistreated in anyway then it is OK to use a used car seat.  I would only be wary if buying one from a garage sale or where you didn't know the people.

Answer 6

Its actually unsafe to get a used car seat unless it is coming from a trusted friend or relative and you are 100% positive:

1)it has never been in any wreck

2)it has all the original pieces, including manual

3)it has never been dropped, which means never been checked as luggage at the airport, either, since this frequently happens when checked or gate checked .

4)it is less than 6 years old

5)the straps have never been completely submerged or washed with anything other than mild soap(it messes up the flame retardent treatment)



But if it passes all those - then definitely, save some money and use it - the Keyfit22 and Keyfit30 are both great seats!