What Is a Secure Convertable Carseat for 2 Cars Without the Latch System?

As CPST myself I would definitely agree with Justplainbecky. First of all the mightytite is not recommended at all for the exact reasons she explained. It is found that in vehicles using the mightytite the seat belt can actually break causing the seat to become a flying object in the car. Every car seat comes with a locking clip attached to it. The car seat should not move more than 1 in at the base (the area where the seat bottom meets the seat back). Children should be in a rear facing seat until at least age 2, depending on size of child.

Any car seat will install securely with the seat belt. If your seat belts don't lock (the 98 may not) use the locking clip that came with the car seat. Find a CPST at www.safekids.org to help you learn how to use the locking clip properly.

You just need to know how to install the seat properly. I can get our car seats installed in any vehicle with the seat belt (I don't use LATCH even if available because of the weight limits.... LATCH is 40-48lbs, but the seat belt is tested up to 500lbs. I trust it more).

www.safekids.org will help you find a CPST in your area to show you how to properly install the seats. Remember to not put anything under your seats like those car seat mats, they give a false sense of security, don't really protect your seat, and can compress in a crash.

EDITED TO ADD- DONOT USE THE MIGHTY TITE! It overstretches your seat belt and makes it more susceptible to breaking in a crash. If you need an aftermarket product (ie the mighty tite, car seat mat, etc) then you are NOT Installing your seat right and need help to show you how to do it properly!

Ditto what Justplainbecky said, the neighbor may not be installing it correctly. I don't think it should make a difference. You can usually go to your local Fire or Police Dept and they will install it for you correctly. Maybe you could borrow your neighbor's seat, go have it installed and see for yourself. Then you will know how it will work in your car. And I would have your neighbor get it checked, several inches is NOT safe and shouldn't be used in that car if that is the case.

I recommend buying a Mighty-Tite. It is a seat-belt tightener that has been crash tested, is easy to use and is the only thing I know that can make a car-seat unmovable. I love them and buy them for all of my friends for shower gifts. I found mine at Babies R Us for about $20. Good luck!
http://www.mightytite.com/

If your friend's car seat moves from side to side, it isn't installed properly. When you install the car seat with a seat belt, you thread it through and pull the seatbelt out ALL the way and then let it retract. Your friend probably stopped at that step. Next, you need to place your knee with all your body weight into the car seat (the part your child would be sitting in) and then pull ALL the slack out of the seat belt. If you do that, you will get a really tight fit with no movement at all. Thus, I don't think the problem is your friend's car seat, but the manner in which he installed it.

That being said, we love the Britax Marathon. I have three installed in my minivan with the latch system (the lower anchors AND the back tethers). I have another 2 in my 1999 Nissan Pathfinder that I installed using the seat belt only. Important to use one or the other. Don't use latch and seatbelt or you are overtethering.

The only car I've ever had a problem fitting a car seat into is my husband's Audi convertible. That is because you need to remove the headrests when installing a convertible seat (another thing that many forget), but in a convertible, you can't remove the back headrests (or at least in his car you can't). So we only use low backed boosters in that car, which means our 4 year old twins can't ride that one...

I have had various car seats installed with the seat belt and you can get them tight with some effort and a locking clip (costs about $5 at a baby store). Basically install the seat without the clip and get it as tight as you reasonably can (this might take a little practice). Then unbuckle the seat belt without letting it retract, put on the clip, and rebuckle it. The clip tightens the seat belt up just a bit more.

I also love our Britax boulevard car seat! One of our cars doesn't have the latch system, and we can get it in there really snuggly by just using our body weight in the seat and tightening the seat belt. It moves less than an inch that way on the leather seats (more slick in our experience). Plus, our daughter is 3 now (we bought the car seat when she turned one), and she is as tall as a 4 year old and she still fits great. They're a little pricier than the evenflo, but worth it bc you can use it for so long, it's easy to clean the cover (we throw it in the wash), and it fits in the car well.

Good luck!

,Any carseat that is properly installed will not move an inch. Take it to
your local police or fire station for installation. My 2002 trailblazer does
not have a latch system however, behind the passenger seat there should
be tabs that the seat can hook into. Mine were hard to find, but when I
did it helped. Still when in doubt have it done professionally. Better to
be safe than sorry. I have become a pro at putting carseats in.

Go to the police station. They install them for free.

in general, britax seats install VERY well using latch or seatbelt... your husband's vehicle should have latch though, i believe anything after 2002 was mandated by law to have latch, so check a little more closely, sometimes the anchors are a little hard to find. i would go with britax boulevards personally.