Car seats are unfortunately not a good item to do ‘hand me down’. Its actually unsafe to get a used car seat unless it is coming from a trusted friend or relative and you are 100% positive:
1)it has never been in any wreck
2)it has all the original pieces, including manual
3)it has never been dropped, which means never been checked as luggage at the airport, either, since this frequently happens when checked or gate checked .
4)it is less than 6 years old
5)the straps have never been completely submerged or washed with anything other than mild soap(it messes up the flame retardent treatment)

And actually, if the child is 6 years old, there’s a very good chance the seat is expired or not appropriate for a 2 month old child. 6 years is a LONG time when talking about advances in technology in anything, car seats are no exception. The more we learn the better they male them and a seat from 6 years ago doesn’t compare to one new off the shelves today. As well as simply degrading over time to where it may not hold up in a crash.

If I was the parent, I would not want it used with my child. lol But if I was the parent, I would’ve provided you a seat for my child and made sure it was used and installed to my satisfaction, too.

Law in NJ:
http://www.inventiveparent.com/lawsreg2.htm#New%20Jersey

It says seats are required in all vehicles except public buses. So the 6 months old needs a seat. The bigger issue, however, is that a 6 month old baby needs a car seat in EVERY vehicle for EVERY trip no matter how long or short, no matter what state. That baby will be hurt just as much in a taxi as in your personal vehicle. Is it convenient? Not particular. But I’ll be achingly blunt – how convenient would a funeral for a baby be? The laws of physics do not suddenly change just b/c baby is riding in a taxi rather than a family SUV or sedan. And a 6 month old not in a car seat is a death waiting to happen.

So – required by law in NJ, not in NY, though what a stupid rule.

Best bet? Get a seat that travels well, is light weight and/or installs easily. At the least expensive end of the spectrum is the Cosco Scenera, $45 at Walmart/Target/Kmart. Lightweight, generally installs easily. Its major benefit is that is rear faces to 35lbs, very important since kids should stay rear facing as long as possible. Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child’s life!
1)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.
2)A child’s vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
3)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.
4)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)

The Scenera doesn’t last very long once the child outgrows it rear facing, most kids outgrow it forward facing by 2-3 years, but for $45 its still a great deal.

The Britax Marathon is the easiest car seat to install, but more pricey (Target has them on sale this week for $229) and heavier to tote around. But definitely the easiest which makes it more convenient. I could get ours in any car in under 2 minutes forward facing, 5 minutes for rear facing. Very simple. Get a Traveling Toddler Travelmate or GoGoKidz to attach to it to make it a little easier to tote around since its heavier.

Either way – baby needs a seat everywhere you go. Including on airplanes!