Child Seat Anchor Points in Dickie Seats...

[Miss_BB]

Hey everyone, I have a VX 7 seater wagon and i'm about to start family day care. This means that i can at time be needing to cart around 4 children under the age of 4. My current car only has 3 child seat anchor points in the middle row and that leaves me with 3 seats spare, none of which i can use to seat the 4th child.

Trying to figure out the best option. Can you have anything retro fitted to add extra bolt points to the dickie seats? Or should i look at buying another dickie seat with the anchor points already put in? Or just cave in and buy a tarago or something? I love my commodore and dont want to give it up.

HELP!!!

[burleighboy86]

I can't really offer any valuable advice here, except to say, PLEASE don't buy a Tarago. If you're going to cave, go something with a bit of class and not a "Houso Bus". You can pick up a 2005 7 seat Pathfinder for $20k or so. Still the same shape as the current model.

[Miss_BB]

thing is i have heard the pathfinders might be 7 seater but still not have any more than 3 anchor points. So i would have the same problem as i am currently having. Might keep the VX as a family car and buy a cheap tarago just as a daily runabout for the business.

Can anyone tell me what the go is on second hand seats? An installer up here told me not to buy them because they have to have the brackets, bolts and seatbelts replaced. Was he just after more money for the new seat? I can buy a 2nd hand 3 seater with 3 anchor points for $800 + fitting and mod plate costs. Or a brand new one for $2500.

[Calaber]

The installer's advice would probably be correct as you may not know the history of the second hand seat. If it has already been involved in a collision, those items may have been stressed and are therefore not as safe as new items. The seat might still be in good condition though and you might find buying the bolts etc new is still an economical alternative to having to pay for a complete new seat assembly.

From what you are saying, the optional third row seats don't provide anchor points for child seats and harnesses, but I would be surprised if the VX didn't have provision for them somewhere, built into your existing third seat. Before buying another seat assembly, I would check to see what Holden did to enable child restraints on your existing set-up, possibly by checking at your local dealership. I agree with the advice not to buy an old Tarago though. Sorting out your existing car would be a much cheaper and more sensible option.