I am due in 7 wks and am trying to figure out what I should do about this baby girl's car seat. We have the car seat (infant car seat-Graco snugride) that we used with our son. However, the expiration date on it is December 2012. So she would be about 10 months old, which is no big deal-it would be almost time for her to switch anyway by then to a bigger carseat (still rear-facing of course). But I also bought a Graco snugride at a nice consignment sale for $25 (because it is pink and is a close match to the Graco stroller I bought down the street from a neighbor), it is without a base, but we have the bases that came with our son's (again, bases would go out end of this year also). The date on the pink carseat is 2015, so it's newer. So I took it by the fire dept. today for inspection, and they say they do not recommend a second hand car seat that you don't know the history of. If it's been in a crash and I don't know it, it could have a crack or some structural damage that is unseen. So now I'm having second thoughts...I could switch the cover and still use the pink on our own carseat...or now I'm just thinking get a new one since ours is almost out of date anyway and know we have a brand new one that is definitely better, unless of course, recalls. Any suggestions? Am I just being overly protective?

I would switch the cover, use the one you know is good until it is no longer useful (carseats expire? I had no idea)or until the baby is big enough for the next size up.

Haha, Reena--thanks for putting your comment in parentheses because I thought I was the only one!

happy, I like Reena's suggestion.

Yes, they do expire. Look on the bottom of the seat. They expire 6 years from the time you buy it. For instance, our son was born in 2006 and it expires the end of this year. The reason is that the plastic can become warped over time with heat, cold, etc. I talked to my ex-sis-in-law (knowing she's an overprotective mom, too) and she said she probably wouldn't use it, and offered me the carseat her mom had bought for my niece (which wasn't used much because my sis-in-law had one, too). It expires 2013, so I'm going to use it. It's a snugride also, so I can switch the cover