Children, child car seats and MB's
 

My wife and I are starting a family this year, with any luck, and so the preparation for that major life change begins. One of the issues is transportation. Her car is an '03 Jetta and I have the '84 300D. I haven't tried it yet but I have heard, from almost everyone I have spoken with that a child seat in a Jetta leaves no room up front as the seats have to be way, way forward. Child seats in the 300D may be possible but I haven't found anyone beyond this group that uses a 123 like this. I also NEVER drive the 300D in the snow. Its parked from the first snowfall to spring. Its is in very nice shape and I can't bring myself to subject it to NE winters. Basically I need a vehicle that will haul kids and still need another vehicle as a commuter, so selling the Jetta only gets half the problem solved.

So my options are these:
Assuming the child seat fits in the 300D
-Suck it up, install snow tires and DRIVE the MB in winter. Its just a car :(
-Buy another 300D beater, maybe a wagon, for winter use, keep my car nice. :)
-Sell the 300D and look for a late '90's or newer E-class, even a gasser. Does the '96+ have enough/significantly more room in the back? Sure seems like they do.

Other ideas appreciated, but please don't include minivans, neither my wife nor I will be seen in one. Thanks, RT

We just had our second child this week. I sold my 300CE last year and bought this:

We drive our 123's year round and use the TD as the kid hauler. Plenty of room for the seats and the hatch area allows space for all the stuff you need to bring along like strollers etc.:cool:

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...ior/driver.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b.../passenger.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...rior/hatch.jpg

Don't you have to have the rear-facing seat for a while? It takes up more room doesn't it? I guess that's why you usually see Mom or Dad in the back seat behind the driver with the kid on the right and the front seat shoved all the way forward.

I just went out and measured both the Golf ('06) and my E300. When I move the passengers seat as far forward as I can tolerate (for a cross town drive), the Golf provides 28" of space between the base of the seat back and the back of the front seat. Surprisingly, the E300 - a much bigger car only offers 4 more inches at 32. However, the E300 "looks" like it has much more room.

Another thing to consider is that I would not use a 210 as a Winter car. You'd be asaulting the spring perches - a known weak spot, with salt all season long, then putting it away to rot for the summer.

On the filp side, if you'd entertain the idea of a truck, a Toyota Tundra is a very safe vehicle. The Doublecab version has tons of room in back with it's four full-sized doors. I'd even venture to say it's smoother and quieter than my E300... :eek: My GF's 4wd version gets around 15 MPG in the city and about 18 on the highway.

My 123 worked just fine for my GSon...seat was reversed and he was on the passenger side rear...the important thing in getting the seat fixated is PRESSING DOWN on the seat as you tighten the belt holding the base (kiddie-seat model dependant). That way, there's no 'slack' in the whole assembly should there be any "incident" that would cause pitch and roll...the baby/seat stays solid... :cool:

A local auto-dealer has a yearly inspection program and I take both the van and Benz to it to be sure I'm (pardon the pun) "tight" with any changes in the car/kiddie scheme of things...I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to any of the Gkids and I could have done more to prevent it...those little buggers need their sibblings to beat 'em up...they don't need "Gramps" putting 'em at a disadvantage before their time!!! :rolleyes:

I say keep the Benz, have someone PROPERLY undercoat your Benz and winterize the beast for the next few years...small price to pay for your (hopefully) "little packages" well-being! :)

My son rides regularly in the wagon. He's the reason I got a wagon rather than a coupe. There's room. THe infant seat takes up more room than the forward-facing seat. I put the kid seat on the passenger side. It does limit the seat adjustment for the front passenger. I wouldn't be that comfortable, at 6ft, sitting in the front passenger seat for very long. But my wife never complained during 5hr roadtrips, etc.

I don't think there'd be a big issue with a rear facing carseat in the Jetta, unless both you and your wife are tall. We had a Escort wagon with 2 carseats, with the rear facing seat behind my wife. I've had 3 kids with 2 carseats in my TD and once I get my 3rd row I'll be able to haul the whole family. I guess what I'm saying is that with 1 seat it would just depend on what you wanted to drive.

I don't have kids, but I have 3 nieces. I've found that car seats fit comfortably in the W123. The rear facing seat shouldn't be a problem either. You can always place it in the center as to not interfere with the front seats too much, just make sure that the center lap belt is TIGHT around the base.

I remember in the old days (late 80s/early 90s), my mom would put my booster seat in the front passenger seat of the W126. Of course it had no airbags and that was before the "back seat is the safest" movement.

Another factor is seating arrangement. My wife insisted on sitting beside the car seat. While a Jetta will take a car seat, it won't do as well with a car seat and a back seat passenger.

Figure at least a year of rear facing. Some kids won't put up with it for a year.

Get a Passat and even the 300D will feel cramped.

Sixto
87 300D

Buy an Element. Maybe butt-ugly but it has rubber floor mats and washable seats.

How is she going to sit beside the car seat, if she is driving?

Anyway...what about putting the seat in the middle position, in the back of the Jetta? The seat might wedge nicely between the two front seatbacks. I don't know how large the rear is on a MkIV - so I'm just throwing out my two cents.

And, in case you need another testimonial - there is plenty of room in a 123 in the back - although the seat cushion does tilt more than average...so you might want to do a trial fitting first with a borrowed child carrier.

I have a five and a three year old, and they ride in the 300D about once a week. We currently use the front-facing carseats, but they fit with plenty of room to spare. You'll need the rear-facing ones, and there should be plenty of room for those as well.

The good news is that the w123 is a freakin tank and built for safety - I have little fear of being in an accident in that car and suffering a wounded child.

MB-tex is very washable.

Thanks for all the input, much appreciated.

KarTek,
A Tundra? I already have 2 trucks, adding a 3rd with 4 doors and ridiculously short (useless) bed, that sucks fuel and is well North of $30K is a good option why? Seriously, I'd need a therapist if I thought that was a good idea. If I'm gonna spend $30+K on a vehicle to haul the kiddies that gets poor fuel mileage it'll be a used E55 AMG! I am unconcerned about the spring perch issues and the car would be a full-time car, not just winter use.

Botnst,
A freakin' Element (Uglyment!) NFW would I be caught dead in one of them. My wife read that post and almost blew chunks laughing. Ugg. I'll get something nice and buy seatcovers and mats.

RT

My friend has one of these. It's like a cave on wheels.