Our car seat didn't test well

I am so annoyed - not sure whether it's at myself, the sales person in baby bunting or safe-n-sound. The car seat that baby bunting recommended (and I failed to research) did really poorly in the RACV's latest crash testing. See:
http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/conne...13ffdec5734ddb

These tests are recent so they weren't available to me - but I'm a bit car seat obsessed so I'm mad at myself. We even spent money on buying our capsule (S-n-S Unity) and 2 bases instead of renting the baby capsule. I was always planning on upgrading to proper car seats but this capsule is good rear facing until 12kgs and I was hoping to use it until DS was 1 (or outgrows it height-wise) - now I feel like I need to replace it ASAP even though it's like new - and I'd be reluctant to use it with any future child. I wish I knew why it rated so poorly - I may call S-n-S on Monday to see what they have to say. It really sucks to spend a lot of money on something that is all about safety only to find out it isn't all that safe.

That sucks.... I can't even FIND my carseat on there!!

That's disappointing.
They all meet the minimum standards, so they're not exactly shonky. It is unfortunate they can't just make them all to the highest possible standards.

Aww that sucks :( I haven't even checked ours on the RACV site
I feel your pain with being annoyed about it though - we bought the capsule that plugs into the Strider Plus 4 pram and planned on using that one for the first few months and then again for a future second child however when we put the base in my car to try it out (Subaru Impreza) the base doesn't balance well because of the bucket seats and seems like it's hanging there. When I rang the shop up he said he's told other people to just put a towel underneath! :doh: I didn't think that sounded very safe so I'm quite cranky at that

Professional installers often use a towel to help steady the base. It would be impossible to make a base that fit perfectly with every type of carseat out there.

Looks like the testing has changed. I am sure the Royale that we got for DD1 and are still using for DD2 was quite well rated when we purchased it, but now it is quite low on the list. On the plus side the Baby Love seat we got for DD2 for the second car rates very well.

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Professional installers often use a towel to help steady the base. It would be impossible to make a base that fit perfectly with every type of carseat out there.

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Yep, our installers told us to come with a towel just in case. We used a towel and one face washer with the capsule, they told us where to put them, and the convertible seat has two towels underneath it.

I'm a bit of a carseat nerd too, and have been watching the ratings for years, because some manufacturers change their design a bit from one year to another, so something can rate brilliantly one year, not so much the next. I've had our carseat picked out since 2008 (we weren't even properly ttc) and I love it.

You'd be able to sell your Unity on and upgrade. People do buy these things secondhand. I wouldn't, but people do. I know up here, local refugee support groups are always looking for secondhand carseats, because sometimes it's that or nothing :(

i agree with astrid re the towel, ours have always been stabilised with a towel or foam that they have supplied.
we just got a new car and im booked in to get teh seats re installed, ours are currently unstable but i know that they will fix the problem

I'm such a car seat rookie so it's good to know that the professionals use a towel! :D
I feel better now knowing that I'll still be able to use the capsule. Thanks!!

Thanks for posting this link - we are in the process of looking for a forward facing seat for DD and this is really helpful for us.

They definitely change from year to year (on RACV you can see the past three years results) - I also think that in the ratings they should do a chart showing if you want one for both rearward and forward facing e.g. the A2/B class. I mean you can sort of work it out but would be nice to see it listed that way too. Not all seats will fit all cars either (if you have a small car in particular), so I think you do have to listen to people in the shops for advice - but sometimes they probably don't keep up with the changes - e.g. the Meridian (Safe-N-Sound) Series 7200/A/2004 is rated fairly highly, but the Meridian (Safe-N-Sound) Series 7000/M/2004 is not rated so highly - and probably all sales people aren't aware of the differences between models with the same name. The seat I have is rated high for rearward facing but not so well for forward but in our car was told didn't have that many options, anyway at least these confirm my thinking that when Bub2 grows out of rented capsule (about 5 months if is like DD) then he will get that, and will get a new one for DD.