Carseat for 3.5 Year Old for Grandma's Car

I'd get the Graco Nautilus. We have one in my husband's car and a Britax Frontier in my car. They are very similar and will both last as long as he needs a car seat or booster. The Graco is about half the price, so a much better option for grandma's car.

Britax Frontier will take her in a 5 point harness till 85lbs and then will go booster to 120! She'll be in it forever. Lots of safety and bang for your buck!

for your 3.5YO's size, if the Nautilus or Frontier are out of your budget range you could probably get a few years good usage out of an Evenflo Maestro (about $80 retail - harnesses to 50 lbs. and then can be used as a belt-positioning booster. Doesn't adjust as tall as the Graco Nautilus or Britax Frontier, but by the time she outgrows it as a booster you could get a good basic booster like a Graco Turbo Booster for $50 or less)

The Maestro, Graco Nautilus, and Britax Frontier are the combination seats (forward facing harnessed seat that converts to belt positioning booster when harness is outgrown) most frequently recommended by certified child passenger safety techs for their high height and weight limits for the 5 point harness and for positioning the lap and shoulder belt well in booster mode. Most other combo seats are either outgrown too quickly as harnessed seats, position the seat belt poorly as boosters, or both.

We LOVE our Recaro ProSport. Great ratings, max weight to 120lbs, and my son is comfortable in it. I like knowing it will be the last carseat we need to buy for him! Good luck! its a tough decision!

http://www.amazon.com/RECARO-ProSPORT-Combination-Harness...

Definitely the Britax Frontier 85 if she can afford it.

Most of the convertible seats that you can get in the store only go to 40 pounds. So that leaves most people buying a booster seat for a child who is nowhere near the age or maturity level to sit in one. And the boosters are just not as safe as a 5 point harness.

We got our Frontier 85 on diapers.com. They have free shipping. And if you've never ordered, you can sometimes find a code for an ADDITIONAL 20% off your first order.

We have a Graco Nautilus in grandma's car.
Britax Frontier in our van.
HTH!

Britax Frontier 85. Just got it for my son. VERY happy with it.

Best wishes,
M.

i know i am in the minority so far, but i, like many, cannot afford to spend an arm and a leg on a car seat. i would go to walmart, costco, or wherever you choose, and read the labels, they will tell you what size child they are for. my son is 3 1/2 as well but is a BIG boy. he has booster seats in about 4 family members' cars. they were around $20-$40 each.

We love the Graco nautilus for our 3 year old (about the same size as your daughter). She can climb into it herself which she loves. It has a 5 point harness up to 65 pounds then turns into a booster seat.

Graco nautilus if you can swing it. It's $137 and has a 65lb 5 point harness and a 100lb booster. I assume that will be enough weight limit, that's another 33lb and by that time she can switch to the attached booster if she still needs something cuz that will be a few years (if not more) for her to be 65lbs. My daughter loves it on short and long car rides. Plus it has a built in cup holder which I love for her sippy cup or snack cup.

http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=g...

From what I can see almost all the stores have them in stock around here so you can check your local store's inventory and just pick it up :D

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Evenflo-Chase-Deluxe-Booster-Ca...
That's the one I have in my mom's car. It goes up to 40lbs but you can remove the harness and use the seat belt up to 100lbs. It's $62. I would go with a harness system because she seems small (but I'm going off my daughter who is big for her age, 2 1/2, 31lbs, 36 inches)
Just read read read reviews lol.

The Britax is good if you want to spend that much. The Graco Nautalis is loved by many too.