[pinecone]

We purchased the SafeGuard Go a couple of years ago because we were looking for a seat that our DD could use (hopefully) until she turned 8. In our state the law says 8yo and 80lbs. We liked this seat and chose to dole out $169 because of the 5-point harness was labeled to fit a child up to 60 lbs and 52 inches tall. DD is just turning 7 and we're having problems with the car fitting properly. My DD is about 50 lbs and is 43 inches tall. The problem is the shoulder straps don't go up high enough and so it doesn't fit her. When we called the manufacturer on this issue they said our daughter must have an unusually long torso. Which made me laugh. She is the smallest in her class and while she's still in the range of normal for her age (well on last check) she is usually in the lower 25 percentile. Bottom line: We feel like we got ripped off from this company and aren't sure at this point what recourse we have.

What do you think? Here's a link.

http://www.safeguardseat.com/go/index.htm

 

[alegna]

The go does NOT have high strap heights. I'm sure she's outgrown it at her age.

-Angela

 

[bobandjess99]

I'm not really sure what you are saying..did someone tell you the seat would be good until your child was 8?? That seat only has about 17 inch topslots, and is outgrown by age 5-7 by the vast majority of kids.
did you believe the "52 inches" part to be a..like,guarantee? I'm sorry if you did.
The height limits on seats are just guidelines...depending on how your child is shaped, they might be more or less tall when they outgrow a seat...it would be absolutely impossible to put a concrete height limit on a seat, due to differences in body proportion.
to give you an example..my dd is 41 inches tall with a 16 inch torso, which is HUGE for her age....in contrast, my 45 inch tall grandaughter has only a 15 inch torso...which means that even though she is a full 6 months older and 4 inches taller...she is an inch SHORTER than my dd when she is sitting down,and fits into a number of carseats that my dd has already outgrown. With carseats, total height means nothing, it is torso height that is everything.

At 7 yo and onyl 43 inches, yes, your daughter is certainly VERY small for her age...but it sounds like she has proportions like me dd, and her torso is long and her legs are short, and therefore she has outgrown the top slots.

One more thing to consider..due to the way the Go installs with the top tether and stuff, the topslots are actually affected by the vehicle you are installing in and the way the top tether falls and stuff. It's possible your vehicle causes the Go to be shorter than it is in some other vehicles.

If your child is 7, a booster is certainly an appropriate choice...Meijer has some nice cheap $45 turboboosters on sale right now...

 

[chickabiddy]

I agree that it seems like your daughter has a proportionately long torso, and that I'm not shocked that at 43", she has outgrown the harness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandjess99 I'm not really sure what you are saying..did someone tell you the seat would be good until your child was 8??

It converts to a backless booster, so yes, it can be used to age 8 -- just not with the harness.

 

[DahliaRW]

I agree. My ds who is 4 is barely too tall for the harness on that one. He's 42". So not unusual at all.

If you still want her harnessed check out the nautilus, frontier, or regent. Otherwise a booster is a fine choice at her age.

 

[pinecone]

Thanks to all who responded. Wow, I just feel so dumb. No, I didn't expect her to use this seat until she was 8 - but we DID expect that the manufacturer statistics to be accurate. We only have 1 child and so not a lot of experience that is why I count on MDC.

Anyway, I'm going to measure her torso this morning and see what the deal is. I will agree she has short legs. Just like me!

As for our car, we've heard this argument from a number of people. We drive a VW Jetta wagon and because of the style of headrest (removable) the auto manual says not to go over the headrest with the rear latch. Not sure I'm explaining this well, this part is DH's domain.

Either way, if we could stretch the headrest a tiny bit then we might eek out another 1/2 inch for DD in the shoulder straps.

Alright, we must resign ourselves to using the seat as a booster. I've got to check now to see if we can use it with the shoulder strap (ugh) or go out and purchase a booster. Bums me out. We're in some tight financial times and we thought we had invested wisely. Just not so..

You guys are awesome. Thanks for all advice.

~ d

 

[mbhf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinecone Alright, we must resign ourselves to using the seat as a booster. I've got to check now to see if we can use it with the shoulder strap (ugh) or go out and purchase a booster. Bums me out. We're in some tight financial times and we thought we had invested wisely. Just not so..

I think you got your money's worth, she did make it to seven in the harness. That's pretty good!