What to Do with Carseats?

Around here there's no resale market for carseats since they expire, and many charities will not take them for the same reason (and because you can never tell if a carseat has been in an accident). How about calling a women's shelter or homeless shelter to see if they could use a carseat?

That's what I did with my infant ones a few years ago. The shelter was thrilled to have them... and I didn't have the hassle of trying to recycle or dump them.

You could donate them to your local DCFS for foster parents to use temporarily when a child first comes into care. I know our agency has several for loaning until foster parents can get to the store to get one.

Car seats have expiration dates so you're best off just throwing them out. I know it seems wasteful, but at a certain point the materials in them can break down. The plastic can develop hairline fractures and can shatter in an accident. I know I would never take a used carseat simply because I wouldn't know if it had truly ever been involved in an accident. My daughter is precious and I would never risk her life in that way.

I donated them to Goodwill, I figured they would know better than anyone if there is an aftermarket for them. Even if I were to sell them I don't think they have a good resale value. I would imagine few people will trust the life of their child to the word of a stranger they haven't been in an accident.

If they are expired, you can't resell them. Mine were expired. I clipped the belt on them and donated them to a pregnancy center. I explained that they were expired, but that toys r us offers a 25% discount on a new car seat when you bring an old one in, they call it their "trade in event". The lady told me they had some clientele that could use the discount, since they didn't quite qualify for this pregnancy center's "freebie" program. I am not 100% that they took me up on the offer, but I got a nice thank you note from the center, saying a family used the seat to get the discount. The second car seat we outgrew and was close to the expiration date. This time a friend used it for a discount for her bundle.

You can recycle the plastic take everything off and trash it,then the plastic take it to the recycling bin.I would never buy a used carseat most parents wouldn't.

You should be able to check the expiration date of you seat (typically on the back or side...sometimes on a label and other times pressed into the plastic). If you know someone that could use it give it away, give it to a shelter but most people will not take a used carseat unless they know the person giving it because they don't know for sure if it has been in an accident.

Most carseats expire in 6 years (and few newer ones have longer life spans).

You have some various good options that people mentioned below. I'd be worried about someone buying it and using it beyond the two years, and coming back at you if something happened. It's probably just not a risk worth taking with a used carseat, not with a child's life. People don't always understand about expiration dates. Here is a 2 second link of what happens to an expired carseat in a crash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvCRz7BRAM0

If your child is 4 or 5, you might want to check out the new Evenflo Securekid to keep him harnessed until he has the maturity to sit in a booster. If he's 6, he might be at that point already. It depends on the kid.

Good luck!

Babies R Us will give you 25% off if you take them in for each car seat no limit.

Now through Sept 16.

Our police department has an officer who will take them and use them for demonstrations. Most charities here won't take them due to liability.