Convertible Car Seats... Which One?

Britax is all I will buy, from their safety ratings online to my personal experience in a fatality accident with one. We have the marathon, and when you consider that it lasts to 65 lbs (my big six year old still fits in it!), it is worth it. We too have found them new in box on eBay with free shipping, or at albeebaby.com.

Britax, but they are more costly.

Look for one with high height and weight limits - it really doesn't HAVE to be a Britax because now they aren't the only company with seats that harness above 40 lbs. Other moderately priced seats with comparable height/weight harnessed limits are the Graco MyRide 65, the Evenflo Triumph Advance, and the Compass/First Years TrueFit. BRU *should* let you take the floor model seat out to test-install in your car (whether or not they actually do seems to vary from store to store) and anyway testing them out in-store should also give you a good idea of how easy the seat would be to adjust and install.

Ugh, I'm so over those huge heavy Britax seats! There are many others out there that are just as highly rated. With our son, we purchased an Alpha Omega Elite by Cosco. This was a few years ago, so I don't know how they are rated now. But we plan to use it for our daughter when she outgrows her infant carrier. I love that seat! It is $130 to $160, you can find it on sale sometimes at Target. We later bought a Radian ($200), which is also a convertible seat, because it has a tall back so our son could stay in it longer before moving to a booster. However, it will probably be too tall for our SUV to be in the rear-facing position. It is also very heavy as it has a steel frame. As for a stroller, my parents just got us a Baby Trend Expedition jogging stroller. I love it! I think it is around $100. I had the older model but wanted one where the front wheel swivels. I wouldn't recommend the stationery front wheel unless you plan to only jog with it.

I think the trade in is only for one more day. We did it in January with our DD's car seat too. I had my mind made up that I was getting her the Britax carseat, but after going and trying them out, she was more comfortable in the Graco My Ride 65, after the trade in we got it for just over $100, it was on sale to begin with too. It sits really high up so she can see out the window easily. She is going to be 20 months tomorrow and she is still rear facing and has PLENTY of room. She will hit the 40lb weight limit before she is too tall to be rear facing comfortable. I really recommend this seat. Before she was rear facing in her older brothers old Safety First and wasn't comfortable in that and didn't have as much leg room either. We also have the same Graco for our 3 year old, he is 43lbs and 43 inches and has a good 6-8 inches of growing to do before he will be too tall for this seat too.

I would look at places like big lots and ollies first. We just got a $100+ carseat for our son for $25. Also big lots will do 20% off coupons every couple of weeks we did that and ended up paying slightly over $20 for the seat. They have tons of different brands depending on what was overstock of course so you could probably find something cheap.

I doubt you can buy a britax on a "very limited budget"....those puppies are nice, but they will make you go broke! $300 for a carseat your kid will use for 2 or 3 years, no thanks. I mean, they are great if you can throw that kind of cash around....but they aren't practical for those on a budget. Basically they are the luxury cars of carseats. Lots of bells and whistles, but are they safer?? Not really. More comfortable? Probably...But we can't all afford the "mercedes" of carseats. If you want a good, safe, extended rear-facing carseat, I'd go with the cosco scenera. It RF to 40lbs. And it's right around $50 at target. Can't beat that! Or, if you have a little more dough, go with the graco my ride 65. Almost twice as much as the scenera, but it has EPS foam and better cupholders. Plus, it just looks a bit more comfortable. Hope that helps!
Oh, I wanted to also add that while buying a truly "convertible" carseat (one that turns into a booster) may seem like a good idea to save money since you can use it for so long...But I have heard that they are not as safe b/c they don't have as much structural integrity. (since they are made to come apart) Just something to think about.

Okay, I know you said you were on a budget, but......my friend has a convertable Recaro that you can only get online. It is absolutely the best carseat I have ever seen in person and I will be getting one shortly for my 11 month old. It is designed by a company that deals in racecar safety. The material is awesome; it looks like it would be sweaty but it's not. It is so soft and comfortable. The convertable grows, if I remember correctly off the top of my head, to almost five foot and 90-120 lbs forward facing, and from 20 to 35 or 40 rear facing (for comparison, my 3.5 year old is considered a 'big kid' and he is 33 lbs). My friend's DD is almost 7 (a fairly tall and 'big boned' child) and she has yet to have to turn it into the backless booster.

This said, it is fairly expensive up front, but for ten years of comfortable use, for our family, the 269.00 plus the potential to hand down is worth it.

Recaro has it's own website, but right now there is a deal on the website (www.babyviva.com) that has 15% off and free shipping!

One word. BRITAX!!! It is more expensive, but I found mine brand new for $170 on ebay. That is half the price of one at regular retail price. Plus free shipping.
Britax is the best seat you can find. It's European designed, but made here in the States. European's have higher safety standards than we do. They also have the small things that make the seat nice. Like instead of using those stupid H clips to lock down the seat belt, they have built in lockers. The also have velcro on the straps so that you can keep the straps to the side while you put your child in. I know it's not a huge deal, but it helps out a lot.
Graco is the only American brand I trust. I worked at babies r us and we have had more complaints about Evenflo, Eddie Bauer, Costco, Baby Trend, Umm I can't think of the others. I believe in touching before you buy. The plastics on all of the above, bend really easily and I personally feel that they wouldn't protect my child at all. Also Britax uses foam in the frame of the seat to absorb more shock if you are in an accident.