Car seats: the one thing never to buy second-hand

This is the only purchase on the list where getting it wrong has a serious consequence. Here is what matters. The rest is marketing.

The standard

i-Size, or R129, is the most recent European standard. It requires rear-facing to at least 15 months, sorts seats by the child’s height rather than weight, and adds a side-impact test.

The older R44 standard is still sold. It is not illegal, but it is less demanding. At the same price, take R129.

Rear-facing, longer than the minimum

Fifteen months is a legal floor, not a recommendation. A young child’s head is proportionally heavy and their neck is fragile; rear-facing spreads the force of a frontal impact across the whole back instead of the neck.

Keep them rear-facing as long as the seat allows. Bent legs are not a problem.

Never buy a car seat second-hand unless you know its history. A seat that has been in a crash can be weakened internally with nothing visible. This is the one absolute exception to our second-hand-first position.

Fitting matters as much as the seat

An excellent seat fitted badly protects less than a decent seat fitted well. Try it empty, in your own car, before the day. Many shops and some organisations check fitting for free.