I received a letter this week from a lady asking about my recommendation for a good, very cheap car seat. She watches her daughter’s baby and wants a decent seat to transport her in. I receive many letters like this one. The motivation is usually that the writer can’t afford one of the top seats. I can appreciate the situation and applaud them for not looking for a used seat or “Hand me down” car seat.
Three Categories of Car Seats
There are three basic categories of car seats and I’m going to give a recommendation for each. They are:
- Infant Car Seats
- Convertible Car Seats
- Booster Seats
Infant Car Seats
Infant car seats are designed for newborns of at least 5 pounds up to around 20 pounds. They are rear facing seats. Rear facing seats are the safest seats for babies. They protect the undeveloped neck of a baby in the event of a crash.
The Evenflo Discovery 5 Infant Car Seat – The Evenflo Discovery 5 infant car seat is one of the lowest priced infant seats on the market. It’s priced at $54.54 on Amazon with free shipping. The Discovery 5 is a rear facing seat that is designed for newborns through 20 pounds. It has passed federal safety tests and is extremely light. The fact that it’s light is a nice feature for those who carry their little one in the seat while out and about. It’s certainly not in the class of the Graco Keyfit but it does the job. This seat has 12 reviews on Amazon which is quite low. The ratings are good however with 4.5 stars average out of 5 possible.
Convertible Car Seats
The next category of seats is the convertible car seat. Convertible car seats are very popular. A convertible seat is rear facing for newborns to about 20 pounds and then can be turned around to face forward until your little one reaches the weight of around 40 pounds.
Cosco Scenera Convertible Car Seat – The Cosco Scenera Convertible car seat is very popular in the low priced car seat market. It’s a sturdy seat that will give service to newborns through a child’s weight of 40 pounds. It’s passed federal safety tests and has nice reviews on Amazon. It has 131 user reviews with an average of 4 stars out of 5 possible. The knock on this seat is that it’s just not as cushy as the higher priced seats are. Basically it just doesn’t provide a lot of comfort. The price is really its best selling point. Right now it’s selling for $39.00 including free shipping at Amazon.
Booster Seats
The last category of car seats is the booster seat. Booster seats are for children who’ve grown out of their front facing seat. The booster seat raises children up so that the rear seat shoulder and lap belts fit them properly. Until a child reaches the height of 5 feet, regular car safety belts don’t fit correctly and can cause injury in the event of an accident.
Graco Highback Turbo Booster Car Seat – My recommendation for the best cheap booster seat is the Graco Highback Turbo Booster car seat. I love Graco car seats and this one is priced low and is a safe, solid car seat. The Turbobooster can be used from a child’s weight of 30 pounds up to 100 pounds. It has high safety ratings and Consumer Reports loves this seat. The price is certainly right at $49.54 with free shipping at Amazon. Owner ratings are great with an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 and 277 reviewers.
The seats that I normally review are the highest rated, safest and most comfortable seats on the market. They are more expensive but of course you get what you pay for. However, if you’re looking for a decent, cheap car seat that’s safe, please check these seats out. A new, cheap seat is so much safer than a used seat. It no longer makes sense to buy used when it comes to children’s car seats.
About the author: Jerry Patterson is the parent of two children and five grandchildren. He’s a retired teacher, child safety advocate and creator of the Car Seats Reviews site at www.carseats-reviews.com. He researches and writes reviews on the best car seats. He recently has written a review on a great 3 in 1 car seat.