First baby due in September and we need to buy a pram/car seat but there are 100’s of different brands and types out there. We would quite like a 3 in 1 setup that will last as long as possible, any real world recommendations from parents?

Maxi-Cosi + Quinny in various combinations worked for us and our 2 x kids.

We’ve had an Uppababy Vista and BeSafe izi Go car seat.

Would recommend both (if you search I’m sure others have recommended Uppababy Vista too).

Maxi-Cosi seems to be the goto brand but BeSafe topped the safety tests, was the same price and fitted seamlessly with the Uppababy pram without having to buy any adapters.

Lots of threads on here though if you search.

Maxi-cosi here too. Ability to transfer it to our buggy was v useful in the first twelve months. As for buggy, moon on a stick doesn’t exist (or at least, it didn’t a few years ago when we looked). Decide which features are really important. Go to JL or Kiddicare to try them. Buy second hand on eBay. Advantages of maxi-cosi is that adapters, accessories, etc are easily available second hand. As they’re mostly moulded plastic, they’re always in good nick and undamaged. There’s also a good resale value on car seats – as long as you can sell on “not-in-a-crash” with a clean conscience.

We popped into JL for a look and it is a bit overwelming with the variety, plus the cost of some of them 😯

Car seat would have to be new, I couldn’t buy one second hand no matter how good it looked, just in case it had been damaged.

Indeed, nor would I (unless it was from friends but no one we knew was selling). However, there are plenty of people who will buy them 2nd hand, and while I’d never sell one that had been in a crash, I’d happily move one on undamaged if someone is willing to buy it.

Our maxicosi did both our girls fine and we’ve had the attachments to put in onto the pram – a bugaboo chameleon which I had a fit over the price but it has done us well and will have some residual value on ebay

in practice the seat wasn’t clipped on all that much because it’s better to get them out after a journey so they can move about/stretch and they are more comfortable in the pram

Car seat would have to be new, I couldn’t buy one second hand no matter how good it looked, just in case it had been damaged.

Just need to check the polystyrene is intact. I know someone who bought on on Ebay, checked it out to find the polystyrene had been taped back together so returned it. It went straight back on Ebay.

Uppababy Vista here too, we’re happy with it although not used the seat yet, just car seat or cot on the frame. We’ve been using the cot part instead of a moses basket – friends also had a Vista and bought the wooden frame for it, now loaned to us.

Pushes really nicely, big basket underneath, folds down pretty small and square. There are lighter and narrower options if you’re city-based or just use buses/trains a lot, there are chunkier options if you’re using rougher tracks more. Friends love the Babyjogger City Mini (they’re in the former camp). Uppababy is somewhere in the middle.

Maxi Cosi are the default UK choice of car seat. We have a Recaro Privia which is a similar cost when you buy an isofix base too, but won recent German safety tests and Which too. I prefer the integrated headrest and belt pads, they can’t move anywhere so stay in the right place.

We inherited a Maxi-Cosi seat from BiL and bought an iCandy pushchair from eBay. With the adapters for the seat (about a tenner s/h IIRC) it worked really well going from car to pushchair & back.

Almost everyone from our NCT group bought Maxi-Cosi too. They’re the default choice it seems.

We have a 1yo and have had this system from the beginning.

It’s not quite as ‘cool’ or as light as some of those newer styles (that look like ridiculous office chairs with little castors on the bottom) but if you’re ever going to use it off a pavement then you’ll appreciate something like this.

We take it down the beach regularly, pushed it through forests, round the lakes and it’s never missed a beat, apart from one flat (which was due to a knackered valve).

We have the Uppababy Vista and BeSafe izi Go car seat too.

The uppababy is bigger and heavier than some so if that’s going to be a problem it’s worth checking some others out. Best plan is to go to the shos with your car and try getting the demo versions in and out of the boot, it can be a bit of an eye opener! The wheels do come off the uppababy which we’ll do if we’re doing a long journey with lots of luggage but otherwise it fits flat in our boot with everything attached (Audi A3)

Having said that, 6 months in and my wife still says how happy she is with it. It wheels really nicely and the larger than normal basket is a bonus if you’re planning on doing lots of walking to nearby shops rather than just go in the car.

Basically, as someone above said, you can’t have everything and there’s always a compromise. We choose larger wheels and basket and sacrificed a bit of weight.

Our baby never really slept in the carrycot section when not on the buggy (or a moses basket for that matter), just decided she didn’t like them! All babies are different so just be prepared to buy loads of stuff just to see if there’s something that will help them (and therefore you) sleep! Hope you get one of the well behaved ones…

As for the car seat, we were all settled on the maxi-cosi but the shop also had the BeSafe which has a 5 point rather than 3 point harness and just seemed a bit more protective, personal opinion though and i think whatever you go for your baby will soon learn to hate being strapped in!

Good luck with it all!