Car seat 8 month old and discount codes

[Kelserchief]

Good evening,

My family and I will be travelling to Orlando in June with an 8 month old. We will be hiring a car for the duration. Question is... what to do about a car seat for her.

I've read that some take their own as it is free and easier to fit than a strange car seat supplied through rental companies. However, am I right in thinking uk car seats fo not meet US requirements?

Also, I've heard that rental companies can reuse car seats when they've been involved in an accident which means that people have been left unable to claim when they have been involved in an accident?

Basically, I'm unsure whether or not to take ours or hire one through the rental company.

I'd really appreciate everyone's thoughts on this please.

As a side note, I'd appreciate any active car rental discount codes you are aware of.


TIA

Kelly

[geewhiz]

Take your own, it’s usually free to take anyway so will save you money and you know where it’s been.

Most people wouldn’t buy a second hand seat for their child without knowing the history and car rental companies don’t really have a reputation for being trustworthy so it’s the safest option.

[Kelserchief]

Thank you for your speedy reply!

Would car rental places say anything or refuse to let you take a car without hitting one of their seats?

I've just got this vision of us rocking up and then having to hire a car seat anyway!

[geewhiz]

Absolutely not, they don’t care if you’ve taken one of their seats or not.

I’d imagine many more people take their own than hire, we certainly always did.

[Carnard]

We took our own when our little one was about that age. Much cheaper and easier than hiring. It was free to take on the plane and meant we could stuff a load of nappies and other bulky bits with it rather than in our cases. The only thing was with the pushchair, cases and car seat we had to do second bag check at MCO.

[Kelserchief]

Might be a daft question but when do you hand over the car seat? Will this go along with our hold luggage or would be take this as far as boarding and handing it over like others do with pushchairs before they board the plane?

[joanna23]

Originally Posted by Kelserchief

Might be a daft question but when do you hand over the car seat? Will this go along with our hold luggage or would be take this as far as boarding and handing it over like others do with pushchairs before they board the plane?

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When you check in you need to tell them about car seat and buggy. They will tag both and give you the option of taking buggy to the gate. You make your decision. You then are directed to take the car seat over to Oversized Baggage where they will take it from you. They could take the buggy there if you choose or you can take it to the gate.
A baby travel hack is to get one of the cheap car seat bags off eBay as they’re great to add items such as towels, nappies, toiletries when you’re stuck for space on the way home! They don’t weigh the car seats.

[Carnard]

At Gatwick we checked in our bags and they put a tag on the car seat and then put it in a big clear bag and taped it up (ours was already in a car seat bag but was good to put it in this so save the our car seat bag from getting dirty!). We then took it over to the oversized bag drop (just round the corner from normal bag drop).
Totally agree with joanna23 having the bag for the car seat is great for extra luggage space!

[Lisa_Lollipop]

We took our own in September and packaged it up in it's original box and dropped it off at over-sized luggage when checking in. It was extra handy as we were able to also fill the box up with nappies and towels (providing extra padding/protection and saving space in our suitcases!)