Baby seat in Touring?

Sun Feb 04, 2007 5:57 am

Still working on getting rego on my Touring. One of the requirements is to have Anchorage points for child restraint systems.

Are there already anchorage points in the Tourings, and if so, where? Otherwise, i guess it's drill time.

On the 2/4 doors, they are located in the parcel shelf.

Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:22 am

Four anchorage points on the seat base pan and one either side in the pillars, but I've no idea what you're requirements are.
I've successfully fitted a centre lap and diagonal belt in the rear of one of my tourings by mounting a inertia reel assembly at the top of the rear right side locker and an anchorage in the rear right pillar by the hatch.

Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:43 pm

If your local laws allow, fit rear belts and use a rear facing baby seat which is held in place by the seat belt.

Rear facing is much safer, spreads any impact forces across the baby's back as opposed to the narrow belts of forward facing seat, which can do a bit of damage in the act of restraining the baby.

Guess your days of driving fast in a E30 are over

!

Tue Feb 06, 2007 3:20 pm

andyborris wrote:If your local laws allow, fit rear belts and use a rear facing baby seat which is held in place by the seat belt.

Rear facing is much safer, spreads any impact forces across the baby's back as opposed to the narrow belts of forward facing seat, which can do a bit of damage in the act of restraining the baby.

Guess your days of driving fast in a E30 are over !

That works for a while whilst the baby fits in a rear facing seat, but what do you do after that? My son didn't fit in his after 9 months so had to have one of the forward facing ones, which i still haven't even checked fits the cabriolet.

Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:02 pm

It's very difficult I know, not helped by the prices charged by the manufacturers/shops. This sort of necessary safety equipment should at least be VAT free and have a lower profit margin too.

You can get seats which work for a wider age range and are front/rear facing, cost more though

.

Andy

Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:39 pm

andyborris wrote:It's very difficult I know, not helped by the prices charged by the manufacturers/shops.

Have always bought mine in France at a fraction of UK prices!

Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:51 pm

That's a good idea, how much is the airfare from Auz?

Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:53 pm

That is a good idea actually, plus baby clothes are much cheaper too.

Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:04 pm

andyborris wrote:That is a good idea actually, plus baby clothes are much cheaper too.

Plus oil, diamond discs, washing powder, aluminium foil, cookware, compressors, bicycles, satellite receivers, etc., etc., (and the baccy and booze, of course).
I can assure you that my caravan doesn't come back from France empty!

Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:11 pm

And that's why you went M50, to pull a overloaded caravan!

Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:03 am

We have to use our rear facing seat (Jane Matrix) in the front, as the rear belts aren't long enough to go around it. I don't really have any problem with it being in the front though. She goes in the back of the Honda, so it is a treat to be allowed in the front of Daddy's car.

We are about to buy a new seat for her as she will soon need a forward facing one, we are planning to get a Britax Duo Plus ISOFIX or Britax Explora ISOFIX - this will mean it fits securely in the back of the Honda, and they can be used without ISOFIX, but with belts in the BMW. They should fit in either the front or the back, but we are waiting for our local stockist to get them both in before I rock up in the E30 to try them.

Have you looked at the fit-finder on the Britax website? The only model that they have tried in the E30 has now been discontinued, but I am sure that if you visit a good stockist they will be able to find something similarly compatible.

As fas as price is concerned, while I don't dispute that buying from France is prob cheaper (a client in Belgium got the exact same pushchair / car seat combo as us somewhat cheaper), it is always worth shopping around, and use people like Mothercare, Halfords, John Lewis, etc. to make sure the seat fits your car, but before buying from them have a good look around as we have found both to be very expensive compared to good independants.

Oh, and I also think there is perhaps a small premium to pay for the convenience of being able to return to your local independant stockist if there is a prob, or if you aren't sure about the fit once you have got it.

Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:57 pm

What you have to realise is that the requirements over here are different to that in Australia. The Child seats in the UK are "Not allowed" in OZ. They have different laws regarding the type of seats / anchorage used. In OZ you need to have a seperate "central" anchoring point. In a saloon this is usually the rear parcel shelf, or in People carrier type cars is located on the roof. To have this fitted in a tourer I would assume that you would have to have this anchor point installed on the rear upper tailgate support.
Mick

Sun Feb 11, 2007 12:24 pm

thanks for the help guys.

as you said above, we need a separate anchor point installed. well, i bout one of the proper anchorages, and did a quick dodgy install the night before my inspection. so anyways, the inspector made a not on my papers that said the third anchor point wasnt needed. so that means i already have 2 in the touring. i didnt really get time to ask the inspector what they actually were. Im thinking they might be the two 'flip up' catches that are n the floor panel behind the seats. dont quote me on that.

regardless, the car passed the inspection, and I now have it registered. babys are a while off for me anyways. hehe.

Thanks again for the help.