Unsafe old/small cars?

[haleyelianasmom]

we have 2 cars, both very small and old (both are 97 cavaliers, 1 is a 2-door, the other is a 4-door). We have no payments and they are pretty reliable so we had planned on just using them until they wouldn't run any more.  However, I'm nervous now that we have 2 car seats in there and our older daughter (age 5) is seated by the door.  She used to be in the middle seat which I felt was safer, but now she's in a forward facing seat (still uses the 5-pt harness.  She's maybe 43 inches and 35 lbs, so she may actually still fit in a rear-facing seat... maybe?  Now she's in a graco nautilus) on the side and we have the baby in the middle.  She's on the right side, but I'm thinking maybe the left side would be safer?

However, I feel the seat she's in may not matter quite as much with a car that is so old it has no good safety features.  No latch, we have to use the locking clip to get her seat in which is a pain and doesn't feel terribly tight, no side curtain airbags, no rear tether, not to mention the car is very small and doesn't do well in side impact collisions as far as I can tell.

So how important do you find the type of car driven is? 

[WindyCityMom]

You can get your car retrofitted with top tether anchors.  Call your dealer for info.  I've heard from CPSTs that the Nautilus is one of the seats that still performs well in a not-top-tethered situation.  

Your seatbelts DO lock, you don't need a locking clip (unless you're trying to prevent the seat from tipping).  All cars made after 1996 have a built in locking mechanism- either at the retractor or at the latch plate.  That would solve that issue for ya!

Try pulling all of the seatbelt webbing out, as far as it can go.   Do it slowly.  Then, slowly let it back in 5 or 6 inches.  Give it a tug, and if it locks and doesn't pull out farther, then it locks at the retractor.  If it doesn't your belts most likely lock at the latchplate. 

Also, I think that one of the graco nautilus models has belt lockoffs- not 100% sure though.  Maybe yours is one of them.

Personally I think that the car is important but the reality is that many of us are hurting financially so we can't exactly spring for a new car, kwim?  As long as your seats are installed and used correctly ALL the time, I wouldn't worry too much.

As far as left/right, I'd install wherever you find it installs easier.  

And please do get it checked by a CPST!

[haleyelianasmom]

Originally Posted by WindyCityMom 

You can get your car retrofitted with top tether anchors.  Call your dealer for info.  I've heard from CPSTs that the Nautilus is one of the seats that still performs well in a not-top-tethered situation.  

Your seatbelts DO lock, you don't need a locking clip (unless you're trying to prevent the seat from tipping).  All cars made after 1996 have a built in locking mechanism- either at the retractor or at the latch plate.  That would solve that issue for ya!

Try pulling all of the seatbelt webbing out, as far as it can go.   Do it slowly.  Then, slowly let it back in 5 or 6 inches.  Give it a tug, and if it locks and doesn't pull out farther, then it locks at the retractor.  If it doesn't your belts most likely lock at the latchplate. 

Also, I think that one of the graco nautilus models has belt lockoffs- not 100% sure though.  Maybe yours is one of them.

Personally I think that the car is important but the reality is that many of us are hurting financially so we can't exactly spring for a new car, kwim?  As long as your seats are installed and used correctly ALL the time, I wouldn't worry too much.

As far as left/right, I'd install wherever you find it installs easier.  

And please do get it checked by a CPST!

Well I know our seatbelts lock when pulled quickly, but I was under the impression that I needed the locking clip anyways since under normal circumstances, it would wiggle around.  Not needing the locking clip would definitely make life easier, that thing is a pain.

I am mostly worried about the car itself, though.  I just feel like my daughter could be in the best car seat, but sitting my the door, if we had a side impact collision, it almost wouldn't matter.  Unless the car seat DOES make a huge difference and I should get her something with even more head protection.  But our cars just do horribly in safety ratings.  ugh.  And I found an article listing both our cars (2 door and 4 door cavaliers) as having some of the highest driver death rates.
 

[chel]

i drive a 97 civic and have no plans to change until the car is too $ to keep running.  i also got a tether installed, just had to pay for the part as honda installed it for free.

[surrogate]

I drove a 97 cavalier when my youngest was born, and i really liked it.  It was hard to figure out the seatbelts, but I had a rear facing radian and a snugride in there fine.  I dont think of 97 as old....i still think my current car is new (2002) but that is just me.  If it is paid for then there is no way i would go get a new car...i would just be looking for GREAT seats!

[WindyCityMom]

Well I know our seatbelts lock when pulled quickly, but I was under the impression that I needed the locking clip anyways since under normal circumstances, it would wiggle around.  Not needing the locking clip would definitely make life easier, that thing is a pain.

I was a little tired when I wrote my post, lol.  What I meant was if your seatbelt changes over to locked mode when you pull the webbing out all the way, you don't need a locking clip.

[an_aurora]

GM vehicles of that era commonly have locking latchplates instead of locking retractors.  They WILL lock for sure, so if they aren't locking at the retractor, it's because they have locking latchplates.