Buying car seats - need advice

Hi all - we're starting the girls in preschool next month and will need a second set of carseats - for my husband's car. He'll drop the girls off in the morning and I'll pick them up in the afternoons.

We have Evenflo Triumph Advances in my car and I like them a lot, no issues. But now I have the opportunity to buy my "dream" carseats. I'm leaning towards the Britax Marathons because they get great reviews and come in cute colors. However, I wonder if I really need to spend $270/seat or if there are other good car seats for toddlers/preschoolers out there.

The girls sit forward facing and are about 27-28 pounds and 35 inches tall. Neither DH or I are large people so I'm not concerned about getting a carseat that can handle really big kids. I'd like to find comfy and safe carseats that are easy to get the girls in and out of and that will last for a few years.

So... Do you love your car seats? Hate the ones you have? Would you pick something different now than you picked previously? Any advice is appreciated!

 

I've heard great things about the Graco Nautilus from lots of people, though we've never owned them. We have Britax Boulevards, and they are good, but nothing incredible. We also have secondary seats: Safety 1st "Vantage" seats. They are not impressive and hard to get a secure fit with, so I would definitely not recommend those.

 

We have Marathons and LOVE them. My 5.5 year old still fits in his just fine (he is just now on the top slots).

I have heard great things about the Graco Nautilus, too.

Good luck!

 

I have Graco Nautilus's and they are terrific seats...will be the last seats you'll need as they turn into a booster and then a backless booster as they grow!

 

we also have the graco nautilus seats and love them!

tanya

 

Our twins moved from their infant seats to Marathons & are STILL in them. They are fabulous, comfortable, adorable & worth every penny I paid.

I would do it again in a heartbeat! Go for it :Clap:

 

We have 3 of the Marathons and we love them. My DD is 5 and above average in weight and height and still rides comfortably in it. :good:

 

I have two radian premiers and one marathon and I like them all. I like the radians because they don't take up alot of room and they are easy to get the kids in and out of. I bought the marathon because my one son needs a little more support. I like the marathon but it doesn't have much more support than the radian and it takes up more room It also sits higher off the seat and isn't as tall as the radian but the radian doesn't have great head support for older kids so when they fall asleep they kinda flop over. The radian also folds flat which is kinda nice for storage. Both are kinda heavy so if you are going to move them around alot you might want to keep that in mind. I would totally spend the money again as I had a convertable safety first care seat that doesn't even compare to these.

 

If you want something that you can later convert to a booster, go for the Graco Nautilus. We have two, and they work really well -- and, they're inexpensive and have a cup holder. We never had Marathons, but we did have two Roundabouts, and I *loved* them. They were just great quality seats, and you can't beat the Britax straps or comfort.That said, I'm not sure I'd spend that kind of money if I had to do it again, since our Nautiluses are working so well. All three of my kids use them, although they're technically Nadia's seats (one in each car -- but Karina is 40+ inches and pushing 40 pounds at this point, so she can actually share a seat with Nadia with barely any strap adjustment necessary).K&K are in Radian 65's in my car. Also very good seats, and they have the advantage of folding in half if you're going to travel with them. Also nice and narrow. However, they are a PITA to install, and it's really tricky to get a tight fit.

 

we just bought 2 nautilus (we have 2 Marathons that are FF). The Nautilus look to be a bit narrower, but i haven't installed. I think we are going to like them and we may put them in our primary car.

As Amy says, they should be the last seats you ever buy.

ETA - I ordered them from Wal-mart for 144 bucks yesterday and they arrived today! Only 97 cents shipping per seat....great deal! You can also find them at Target for around 150..

 

We recently got 2 Nautilus seats and love them. They will last until they are done with carseats/boosters. We got them for $144/each on Walmart.com as well.