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Hi all
Potentially strange question – have people taken their own car seats and used them for car rentals in the US? A colleague recently mentioned that apparently there are ‘compatibility issues’ between US/Non-US car seats which sounds surreal.
I’m not sure if this means that a non-US car seat wouldn’t PHYSICALLY work with a US car, e.g. issues with the seatbelt not working, etc., OR if it’s simply a preference by rental agencies.
Can anyone shed some light on this please? Do rental agencies (thinking I’ll be renting Avis) get difficult with this? We’re travelling with a 2 month old infant and I’ve heard horror stories about inadequate car rental car seats, so would rather take my own.
Thanks.
They fit on the Isofix (LATCH in the US, it’s the same stuff). But UK seats won’t have the necessary US certifications, so won’t comply with the legal requirements. I don’t think any police officer will look at that (they are more likely to shoot you), but the rental car company might I imagine.
Yeah – doing it right now.
The rental company won’t bat an eyelid. It isn’t their job other than to try and sell you a semi-knackered one for $13 a day plus tax or whatever they think they can get away with.
In terms of certification, check the laws for the state you are in which is easily googled.
Currently in Florida where the law says my two should be in the back seat with a seat belt on and that is it.
So I think a booster for Kermit and a high back booster for Freddo is more than meeting my legal and parental obligations.
California is more strict. Freddo needs to be suitably restrained (or some wording like that) but that is normal policy with him anyway. Even when we are not in a car…
Thanks for the prompt responses! I re-ran the numbers and as much as I love the prospect of having my 2 month old use our tried and tested car seat, I think the inconvenience of carrying it all over the place vs ~£10/day has swayed it somewhat.
On a side note, I agree with the being shot by the US statement…
“What’s the problem officer?”
“Calm down sir”
“I don’t understand officer”
“I SAID CALM DOWN” shortly followed by a taser being pulled out.Ha ha you think they’d bother pull out the Taser.
As covered above the seats won’t be certified for use in the USA. Which is not going to cause any issues in relation to the rental company etc. theoretically could cause an issue in terms of insurance cover.
Certainly when we travelled with the kids when very small, the US standard was a 5 point harness, but in the UK that only kicked in once they were out of the rear-facing car seats.
On a couple of occasions we took a bus from the airport to the city then arranged to buy car seats/collect from a department store. The Pound was stronger and I guess the retail world was different in 2005-2009.
We’d then just leave the seats in the car at the airport on the return. It was way cheaper than renting seats, we knew they were in good condition and having had an airline lose a car seat once, we didn’t want to repeat that experience.
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