Children & Car Seats

Most cheap car rental companies require children (who are a certain age, size and weight) to be secured in a car seat, due to state or provincial laws. They will usually have child seats available for rent.

Ensure that you have the following questions fully answered before renting a child safety seat with your cheap rental car:

1. Does the agency have safety seats appropriate to your child's age, size and weight (e.g. backward-facing, forward-facing)? Is the seat of the non-shielded variety?
2. How many seats of the particular type(s) you need do they have available?
3. Does the vehicle you intend to rent have the proper fittings for the car seat(s)? If the vehicle you originally plan to rent is unavailable, will there be others that have the proper fittings?
4. What is the history of the child seat you want to rent? How old is it? Has it ever been involved in an accident? The answers to these questions may affect your decision whether or not to rent with the particular agency.

Some other things to consider if you are travelling with young children:

1. If you decide to take your own child safety seat, ensure that the available cars have the necessary fittings.
2. Like using any child safety device, check that the seat is fitted properly before securing your child.
3. If your child requires a booster seat, you may have to bring your own since they are not normally available for rent by most car rental companies.