[Jo Tyler]

We have recently been to various stores to look for a pram/buggy and car seat to fit our Mini - baby due in May . One store said they couldn't seem to get the car seat to fit 'quite right' and would only be able to get a car seat to fit with an iso-fix, John Lewis said the Maxi-Cosi would fit but were too busy to try it. Halfords said the Britax said their car seat would fit with an isofix but the seat was not in recommneded position for a new born as it is too upright, the ONLY car seat that will fit safely is the BMW one. Maxi-cosi are meant to be brining out an iso-fix for their seats but this won't be until the end of the year apparently (not the begining of this year as it says in the brochure!!)

We would like to buy a Quinny Buzz pushchair/pram as it fits in the Mini boot (without having to take the wheels off - we think!!) and would prefer to have a car seat that clips on to the pushchair frame (Maxi-Cosi). How can we be 100% SURE IT FITS PROPERLY without compromising on safety ??!!!!!

[Paul]

Really the only way is to have it fitted and see, which isn't easy by the sound of it!

[ladyslena]

Hiya,

I also have this problem. Im originally from the uk but now live abroad, im expecting my first baby in may also and wanted to send all of my baby stuff over from the uk. Obviously i cant test the carseat in my mini so i need to be sure before buying as i understand carseats cant be returned unless faulty.

i emailed dorel who are responsible for maxi cosi and got this reply:

"My name is Joe and I am the team Leader for Dorel customer care .
I believe you have been dealing with Becky about whether or not a
cabrio will fit the Mini Cooper .
As for the Cabrio fitting the Mini Cooper some registrations the Cabrio
was compatable for the car but as Mini Cooper change the style of there
car seats the Cabrio will not fit in other registrations.
As Becky explained this is down to Mini Cooper .
The 2004 model was not compatable for the Cabrio as the child seat was
moving around and would be very unsafe for your child however the 2003
model was compatable for the cabrio so when it was fitted it did not
move at all which is what you want ."

Hope this helps in anyway.

P.S. I have someone who said they were going to try it out for me over the weekend as they own a maxi cosi and their neighbour has a mini so hopefully will be able to say once and for all.Email me if you would like to know how it goes!

[scarymini]

Hi , some of the larger halfords stores stock maxi cosy seats , I saw my local one had them in sevenoaks . I asked and they have a trained fitter abd would try it in the car , worth a try at local stores?

[northover]

[quote=ladyslena]
i emailed dorel who are responsible for maxi cosi and got this reply:

"My name is Joe and I am the team Leader for Dorel customer care .
I believe you have been dealing with Becky about whether or not a
cabrio will fit the Mini Cooper .
As for the Cabrio fitting the Mini Cooper some registrations the Cabrio
was compatable for the car but as Mini Cooper change the style of there
car seats the Cabrio will not fit in other registrations.
As Becky explained this is down to Mini Cooper .
The 2004 model was not compatable for the Cabrio as the child seat was
moving around and would be very unsafe for your child however the 2003
model was compatable for the cabrio so when it was fitted it did not
move at all which is what you want ."
QUOTE]

That's interesting, I have a 2003 (built Sep 03) UK MCS and the Maxi Cosi is not suitable, it moves A Lot!
According to the BMW engineer I spoke to you, Mini have not changed the rear seat shape/geometry since inception or across the range until the cabriolet. Admittedly this guy worked at a dealer and I have emailed Mini/BMW for confirmation of this but they have now gone strangely quiet on the subject of infant carriers!

I have been emailing Rebecca Thomas at Dorel (could this be 'Becky' ?) and she provided the following:

"The car seat should be fitted horizantlly. I have just tested a Mini cooper
year 2003with a Maxi Cosi Cabrio car seat and found that it is not suitable
as the seats are not completly flat it would be unsafe to put a piece of
polystyrne in the gap and i also found that there is a lot of movement.So
unfortunately your car is not suitable."

and

"With leather seats it is not suitable as the leather would cause the car seat to
slip.Every car model is different as the specifactions are changed by the
manufacturer yearly so in some Mini Coopers it would be suitable as they do not
have the same features.We have not changed any specifactions on the Cabrio we
have only changed the colours,it is BMW who keep changing there
specifactions.Sorry i couldnt be of any more help."

The first reply appears to contradict Joe's statement about 03 models and the second reply blames BMW for changing the seat shape.

Either the shape of the rear seats has changed (unless we are getting confused with front seats? I think unlikely).
Or if not the Maxi Cosi has never been suitable, surely?

From our tests we are preferring the Britax Cosi-Tot Premium, followed by the Graco with base. The BMW does not require the front seat all the way forward, but we have other concerns with this one.

Also, Halfords staff recommend 6 inches between carrier and front seat, but no-one else we've encountered has mentioned this.

[Rakey]

Quote: Originally Posted by ladyslena

Hiya,

I also have this problem. Im originally from the uk but now live abroad, im expecting my first baby in may also and wanted to send all of my baby stuff over from the uk. Obviously i cant test the carseat in my mini so i need to be sure before buying as i understand carseats cant be returned unless faulty.

i emailed dorel who are responsible for maxi cosi and got this reply:

"My name is Joe and I am the team Leader for Dorel customer care .
I believe you have been dealing with Becky about whether or not a
cabrio will fit the Mini Cooper .
As for the Cabrio fitting the Mini Cooper some registrations the Cabrio
was compatable for the car but as Mini Cooper change the style of there
car seats the Cabrio will not fit in other registrations.
As Becky explained this is down to Mini Cooper .
The 2004 model was not compatable for the Cabrio as the child seat was
moving around and would be very unsafe for your child however the 2003
model was compatable for the cabrio so when it was fitted it did not
move at all which is what you want ."

Hope this helps in anyway.

P.S. I have someone who said they were going to try it out for me over the weekend as they own a maxi cosi and their neighbour has a mini so hopefully will be able to say once and for all.Email me if you would like to know how it goes!

which country have you moved to? be careful that UK products meet the regulations of the country you live in, each country is sometimes different, and there are also different laws etc.

[ladyslena]

[quote=northover][quote=ladyslena]
i emailed dorel who are responsible for maxi cosi and got this reply:

"My name is Joe and I am the team Leader for Dorel customer care .
I believe you have been dealing with Becky about whether or not a
cabrio will fit the Mini Cooper .
As for the Cabrio fitting the Mini Cooper some registrations the Cabrio
was compatable for the car but as Mini Cooper change the style of there
car seats the Cabrio will not fit in other registrations.
As Becky explained this is down to Mini Cooper .
The 2004 model was not compatable for the Cabrio as the child seat was
moving around and would be very unsafe for your child however the 2003
model was compatable for the cabrio so when it was fitted it did not
move at all which is what you want ."
QUOTE]

That's interesting, I have a 2003 (built Sep 03) UK MCS and the Maxi Cosi is not suitable, it moves A Lot!
According to the BMW engineer I spoke to you, Mini have not changed the rear seat shape/geometry since inception or across the range until the cabriolet. Admittedly this guy worked at a dealer and I have emailed Mini/BMW for confirmation of this but they have now gone strangely quiet on the subject of infant carriers!

I have been emailing Rebecca Thomas at Dorel (could this be 'Becky' ?) and she provided the following:

"The car seat should be fitted horizantlly. I have just tested a Mini cooper
year 2003with a Maxi Cosi Cabrio car seat and found that it is not suitable
as the seats are not completly flat it would be unsafe to put a piece of
polystyrne in the gap and i also found that there is a lot of movement.So
unfortunately your car is not suitable."

and

"With leather seats it is not suitable as the leather would cause the car seat to
slip.Every car model is different as the specifactions are changed by the
manufacturer yearly so in some Mini Coopers it would be suitable as they do not
have the same features.We have not changed any specifactions on the Cabrio we
have only changed the colours,it is BMW who keep changing there
specifactions.Sorry i couldnt be of any more help."

The first reply appears to contradict Joe's statement about 03 models and the second reply blames BMW for changing the seat shape.

Either the shape of the rear seats has changed (unless we are getting confused with front seats? I think unlikely).
Or if not the Maxi Cosi has never been suitable, surely?


Yes it was Rebecca Thomas I first corresponded with but she did seem to not know what she was going on about and passed on my details to a Josanne who also didnt understand my query. So I emailed back Becky and asked her to get a manager or Supervisor to email me back who is Joe.

Becky didnt write that she had just tested a carseat but she did mention it should fit horizontally - she told me that they couldnt test the carseat as Mini wouldnt let them as they have their own carseats now - seems they dont know what the hell they are talking about themselves.
Its so confusing isnt it. I think what must of happened is she gave you the first response which is what she gave me and then when Joe emailed me back she got the other response I bet if we compared the dates of the emails we received this is probably what happened!!

[Mickey690]

We bought a Maxi cosi Cabrio a few weeks ago, and then proceeded and bought a Quinny Buzz.

We had the maxi cosi cabrio fitted by Two Left Feet in Kempston near bedford. They said it fitted fine and was sercure, she showed us that it did not move around.

This is in a Mini cabrio though. So i'm not sure if the rear seats are differnt except from the size.

The Quinny Buzz however is a differnt story it doesnt look like it will fit in the cabrio boot as it only just fits in my wifes Fiesta. I havnt tried yet, but that might be a job for me at the weekend.

I'm not sure if it will fit in the boot of a hard top as i dont know anyone with one close to me to try it in.

[petlamb]

Hi,

We bought the Maxi Cosi Cabrio as we were told it fitted the Mini and it also fits onto our Bugaboo chassis. We tried it the other night though and it certainly doesn't fit safely at all. At least not in the MC 52. As the seats are so hollowed out at the back, we found that the Maxi Cosi Cabrio wasn't safe at all if pushed forward.. it just went right forward.. possibly squashing baby against back seat and possibly coming loose or turning onto itself. We took it over to our local Mothercare who agreed it wasn't particularly safe so we swapped it for the Britax Cosy Tot Premium which fits much better. Were worried for a moment there as the girls at Mothercare didn't think any of their seats would fit due to the bucket shape of the Mini rear seats.. luckily they decided to try the Britax.

Hope this helps.
Petlamb

[goofytruax]

I am waiting for my MCSC to be delivered but stopped by my dealer today to try out child seats in a car. We have two Britax models, the roundabout and the wizard. I had no problem installing the roundabout rearfacing with the seatbelt (my daughter is nine month so she is in the backward riding mode), I also tried it forward facing and it fit great. The wizard on the other hand did not work so well. It is taller then the roundabout and in the convertable the headrest stick out from the seat. The top of the wizard rest on the headrest so the child seat sits away from the back of the car seat. I was able to make it really tight and it did not move using the LATCH anchers but since it sat so far forward there was no room for my son's legs.