I am buying a new Britax and need the best price! Isn't there a website that can list websites based on price? Also any advice on the differences in the Marathon, Boulevard and Advocate?
I have 4 marathons (2 in each car) and I LOVE THEM. I found the best deals just by googling Britax marathon on line. I think the cheapest I got one for was 179.00 and another for 209.00. The roundabout is more expensive, and quite frankly the side "flaps" are annoying.
I don't have any advice on the differences but the Britax website has a comparison sheet.
http://www.britaxusa.com/uploads/cms/file/ViewAllProducts...
Albeebaby.com is usually pretty good price-wise when it comes to purchasing the seats.
sorry I do not know any websites since we bought our Britax car seats used, but Boulevard is the only one out of those 3 that has side impact wings. It "cradles" kids heads and gives me comfort that in case of side impact crash it will protect our boys heads/necks.
I just got the Britax Boulevard from AlbeeBaby.com. I compared prices everywhere online and found them to be the most competitive at the time (about a month ago). I also saved almost $100 by buying a discontinued print (pink & green flowers since we have a girl) and AlbeeBaby offers free shipping on big orders. I LOVE this seat, especially since it adjusts the height of straps with by just turning a knob on the side. It is quite large though, so if you have a compact car it may not fit...we have an SUV so it fits just fine. The other selling point on the Boulevard for me vs. the Marathon or Advocate is that it has the "wings" on the side so their heads don't flop over when they fall asleep in the car. It's also safer in case of a side impact collision, especially if you have side curtain airbags. It also tethers to the car while rearfacing which is SUPER important for safety.
I have a few girlfriends who bought a MyRide 65 and HATE it because it's just about impossible to get your hand in and adjust the tightness of the straps once it's installed.
www.babyage.com www.albeebaby.com www.elitecarseats.com are a few that have good prices on Britax often.
The Marathon is the basic seat. It will rear face to 35lbs, forward face to 65lbs, and generally fits kids rear facing to age 2/3, and forward facing to age 6. We had one, it was by far the best car seat we ever owned! I loved ours.
The Boulevard has side impact protection and infinite adjust. Meaning you rethreading of the harness to adjust the height, you just turn a dial on the side. THe top harness slot is slightly lower than that on the MArathon, so you will lose time height wise on a Boulevard. Its a good seat though.
If you are looking to save some money, look for the Roundabout 50. Its the same shell as the Marathon, but only harnesses to 50lbs forward facing, and has no belt lockoffs. My boys are BIg boys, but my oldest didn't hit 50lbs until he was 5, and my youngest didn't hit 50lbs yet and he's almost 5. The seat is a great buy for a Britax seat because you get all the height of the Marathon for about $100 cheaper.
Do you ahve a Britax preference? Becuase there are so many seats out right now that you could purchase that would rear face longer and forward face just as long for less money. The BIGGEST bonus of a Britax is the ability to tether while rear facing. The rear facing tether option is HUGe because it reduces rebound dramatically in a crash.
Graco Myride 65, First years Truefit, Evenflo Triumph Advance, are a couple other GREAT convertible seats if you are still looking for a seat.
Heres a site that I found http://carseatplace.com/.
When we bought ours, I used a BabiesRUs 20% off coupon, I think thats the best deal you can find. I have a coupon book that I don't need. You can send me a private message with your address and I will mail it to you if you want it.
The main differences I saw is the marathon is more basic without the head section. We have the Roundabout and had the Boulevard. The boulevard was quite large. When our son needed to move up to the frontier I sold the boulevard. The advocate has extra side impact protection that the others don't have. It is also the most expensive. The Marathon is like the Roundabout but bigger. The Roundabout only goes to 40 or 45 lbs where as all 3 you are looking at go to 65 lbs.
It really comes down to preference. Your child will be safe in any one of these car seats. How much room do you have in your car? They can be big. Is your child on the tall side? Our son was in the Boulevard through 40 lbs and is tall (probably 41 inches at the time). I was constantly hitting his head or elbow getting him in because of how tall the car seat was and how tall he is. That is the primary reason we moved him into the Frontier at 2 1/2.
Check ebay.com
I bought my Boulevard for $50 off retail. New in box, never opened.
Make sure it says, new in box, and check the shipping price first.
I have three boys and LOVE BRITAX. We had a Roundabout as an extra carseat, which is smaller than the Marathon, both are excellent carseats and by far my favorite of them all!! My 5 year old is in a Britax Monarch for his booster right now, my 2 year old is in his Marathon, and my 11 wk old will be going into his Marathon in the next few monhts. Dont get another brand carseat, Britax has been so highly rated and a the top for so long for a reason!! Def. Stick to the Marathon or Roundabout.
