Your Bargain Huntress: Britax Marathon Car Seat

Jamie writes:

"The question is....convertible car seats. Are Britax Marathons reallyworth the big bucks? I'd like to get a convertible one as Blake willprobably be too tall for his before he hits the one year mark.

Thanks!"

Almost everyone that reviews the Britax Marathon (retails for $279), or any Britax, for that matter, seems to be hooked. They will only buy Britax ever after. Amazon reviewers rate the Britax Marathon at 4.7 out of 5 stars.

However ,the only things I can see that are better with the Britax are that the weight limit goes to 65 lbs (rather than 40), it has a versatile tether (a strap holding the top of the carseat stable that can be used for both rear-facing and forward-facing), and it has more foam padding.

No one claimed that it made babies happier in the car or smarter, or much safer, though.

WWBD: Buy a good carseat that fits a child from 5 to 40 pounds for $65 (such as the Evenflo Tribute). Then, if your state's law requires a booster seat after that (until 65 pounds, for example), you can buy a $20 one (try the Cosco Ambassador) from Wal-mart or Target. The two added together total less than 1/3 the cost of a Britax Marathon.

If you're dead set on the Britax, the cheapest one I could find was at HappyMothers.com for $231.74 (includes tax and shipping--enter 10percent when it asks for a coupon).