Century Car Seat
Archived Q&A and Reviews
I have to second the negative review I just read about the Century Smart Move. I too got that one for the same reason--the only one rear facing to 30 pounds at the time, and it also had the most reclined position, which seems desirable because our daughter almost always slept once we got rolling. But from day one, I have been somewhat disappointed. I think it has a bona fide design flaw, because although the position does exist it can't actually be installed rear-facing in the most reclined position without a dangerous amount of slack in the seatbelt. The seat is designed so that the seat itself rotates within the base--supposedly some sort of safety feature. But rear facing, the attaching seatbelt goes through the seat, not the base. So when you cinch the seat belt down good and tight, it pulls the seat up from the most reclined position. The people at the 800 number were useless on this issue, and I didn't even bother to approach the clerks at Toys R Us, where I bought it. It worked fine for us in other respects, though. Now that we're car-less and living overseas, I could get positively misty-eyed at the memory of strapping my daughter into it. Meg
I have a Century car seat that I got last year, and I think its the same one you're talking about. We have a Britax in one car and this in the other. While it is much cheaper, which is why we got it too, and I am sure it is equally safe, I do have to say that I find the Britax much easier to use in the forward facing position (I didn't have the Century when my son was rear facing) The problem is the strap tightening mechanism. Britax has a button which releases the straps, and then a simple pull mechanism to tighten them. The Century has a pull tab to loosen, which loosens the straps unevenly. Then, when you try to pull the cord to tighten them, they are uneven, it is very difficult to pull, and both my husband and I find it hard to get it tight. We often have to get into the front seat and pull from there to do it. So, in retrospect, I wish we'd gotten another Britax. Ann
In response to the parent who asked about the car seat, I've also heard that it is highly rated. But where do you get it for $50? I need two! Chris
As a family with 2 cars, we have been using this century car seat and a model from Evenflo (Ultra I?) for a while. Now I wish I had bought another century 1000 in stead of the evenflo (it comes with overhead shield-easier and faster to use, plus a number of add'l features, and costs twice as much..). Initially, for century 1000 it take a little while to get used to. The straps tend to be twisted. But that can be easily avoided by a little patience and care, (which every parent already has plenty of..), i.e. not hurrying up when putting the child in the seat. It has never been a problem to us after that initial period of time. You might have already noticed that 5-point harness restraint the child better than 3-point plus overhead shield, and indeed it is so in our case. Another problem with the overhead shield is that it can block the rear view mirror when it is open.
Thinking about how good it works and how much less it costs I often wonder why people would buy other car seats, and why they are still in the market... well, I am looking forward to see other parents' comments on this topic! Cherri
Thanks to all for your advice on using this seat. Someone asked where I saw this pricing: I found it listed for $49.99 at BabyCenter.com, and for that same price on Target.com (I'm presuming it's the same price in their retail stores and you can save on shipping charges). BabyWorld (Piedmont Ave. location only) and Rockridge Kids both listed them for considerably more (in the $65-75 range), although you get much better service there including installation. Isabelle
My son Nicholas has used a Century Breverra for about a year, and it has worked very well. He previously had a bar-type booster, and he quickly figured out how to get out of that. We're contemplating a new seat for our younger son, and we're probably going with another Breverra--and I'm pretty sure that they are on sale for about $50 at Service Merchandise. Eric
I was looking up info on carseats to write a brochure for the families at the daycare I work at. I came across your website and read about what some parents said about the carseat. I have to totally disagree. We were able to use it in the full recline position while facing the rear. We used a towel under the carseat the leveled it to the correct spot(there is a leveler on the side of the carseat that it should match for the reclining position and rear facing/forward facing position). I spent four months hunting for that particular carseat and finally found it 45 min. away. I first saw it on the Century Products website. I was rear ended when my daughter was 6 months and it auto reclined up in the accident. I was very upset when I could not find another one like it. I had to return it to the insurance company cause of the accident since you have to replace any carseat in any type of accident. I had no problems or complaints about the carseat. Just thought someone would like to know thankyou Mrs Delaney