Children and the 996?

[Twinkle Toes]

I am about to buy a 996 but am having trouble locating which child seats fit into the back properly. I have been told about one called Sicurio but this does not seem to be stocked by Mamas and Papas any longer.

Does anyone have any ideas, apart from part ex'ing the kids for the car!

[mbutchers]

Twinkle Toes - had exactly the same problem with my Cab.......
Porsche do one, but at 400quid, it's a bit lumpy - and slightly bulky aswell.
They used to do one called the Prince, and I managed to get one on Ebay - this is a link to one that's currently available: They generally go for between £180 - £250. But be aware of the competitive nature of last minute bidding......

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Porsche-Prince-Junior-Car-Seat

I managed to pick one up from Germany - cheaper, but beware of the fund transfer costs.....
Good luck

[After Eight]

The Mama's and Papa's Pro-Tec fits in the back of a 996 perfectly, it's also rated very highly and has a reclining action, if you want to free up more space you can remove the back seats uprights in the 996. The Pro-Tec still remains very secure and is able to lean further back which actually free's up about 4-5".

[ballcock]

Hiya Tootsie!!
I recently purchaced a 996 and had similar trouble. My porsche centre were willing to relieve me of 750 euro (ireland) for one .. buggers!!
I eventually found a quality 'off the shelf' model in a store called "Eurobaby" .. Do they exist in the uk?
The model is made by britax , the seat is called 'trio'. It fits in the rear v. well , is secure enough to satisfy my very fussy wife , and is good for kids from 9 months to 11 years , as it can convert to a booster seat from 4+ years. It has a 5 point harness , pretty necessary if your tiddler is a future Houdini. Best bit is , I payed 150 euro for it , and knowing rip off Dublin , you'll probably be able to get it for £15.99!!

[twinkle toes]

mbutchers said:

Twinkle Toes - had exactly the same problem with my Cab....... Porsche do one, but at 400quid, it's a bit lumpy - and slightly bulky aswell. They used to do one called the Prince, and I managed to get one on Ebay - this is a link to one that's currently available: They generally go for between £180 - £250. But be aware of the competitive nature of last minute bidding...... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Porsche-Prince-Junior-Car-Seat I managed to pick one up from Germany - cheaper, but beware of the fund transfer costs..... Good luck

Thanks for your reply. I read in your profile that you have resently sold your M3 CSL and part of the reason was that it was to fast for our busy roads. Do you experance the same problem with your Porsche?

[mbutchers]

twinkle toes said:

Thanks for your reply. I read in your profile that you have resently sold your M3 CSL and part of the reason was that it was to fast for our busy roads. Do you experance the same problem with your Porsche?

Sold the GT2 for the same reason also..... Not that they're too fast, but they make you want to drive fast all the time. Not good for license preservation
The Porsche is diferent and is the reason I got a Cab.... When the roads are busy and the weather's half decent (more often than you would think) the roof comes down and I just relax....I've never really been a convertible fan (as you can see in my profile) but couldn't see any other way forward with my love of fast coupes. I cant recommend it enough. I wouldn't say my comments compare to the likes of a normal 996 with regard to 'being too fast', as it's not as focused as either the CSL or the GT2 and therefore less likely to tempt the kind of driving that these cars do......

[fulham911club]

Ermm ... there are two types of Porsche Prince seat. The new one with isofix (for 997) and that's GBP400+ and the old one (that we've got) that is more like GBP130. Most OPCs have some the the latter in stock. The ebay item could well be the latter as well. Both look identical from the front. So as for the ebay item ... buyer beware / ask him if its isofix. If not then a reserve of GBP70 is taking the p1ss.

And IMO they are the best / only good-fitting seat for a 911 (although I admit I haven't tried the new M&P seat...)

[mbutchers]

Fulham - Interesting - I've purchased 2 of the non-isofix seats on Ebay - paid 180 for one and 150(from germany ) for the other - Watch that one on Ebay - especially on the last day(hour) of the auction - I sold on one of mine for £235.... assumingly because people cant get hold of them... I agree on the valuation BTW, it's just a piece of polystyrene with a Porsche cover on! But, they're the only seat that fits really well, without marking the rear seats.....
If the dealers have them, then you should buy them up and sell them on Ebay - nice earner.....

[fulham911club]

mbutchers said:

Fulham - Interesting - I've purchased 2 of the non-isofix seats on Ebay - paid 180 for one and 150(from germany ) for the other - Watch that one on Ebay - especially on the last day(hour) of the auction - I sold on one of mine for £235.... assumingly because people cant get hold of them... I agree on the valuation BTW, it's just a piece of polystyrene with a Porsche cover on! But, they're the only seat that fits really well, without marking the rear seats..... If the dealers have them, then you should buy them up and sell them on Ebay - nice earner.....

Hmmm ... just called my OPC and indeed you can't get the old seat anymore (just the isofix one and that comes in at gbp400) ... so that explains why you can sell them for so much!!

[mbutchers]

It's a great seat tho'....tried alsorts before I got one of these.....
Were they really only £130.....?

>> Edited by mbutchers on Wednesday 18th January 17:26

[fulham911club]

Yep ... in fact I think a little shy of gbp130

[mogv8]

I posted this back in April;

''The recaro start is for 3 1/2 yrs upward, but the 'pro' enables the use of an additional impact cushion which enables younger children to safely use the same seat, and when they are old enough to dispense with the cushion and just use the seat alone. Costs are £189.99 (same price everywhere) + about another £30 for the separate cushion. Halfords sell the same seat except using a slightly different model name (still recaro). A big advantage is the same seat can be used until they are much older without the need to change. It also has inbuilt speakers in the headrest, - another reason I intend to buy one, so the adults don't have to listen to the music we all play to them once in a while. The recaro gives pretty good leg room as well''

I did buy one... fits well and have used without issue for the last 9 months or so, including a tour of Europe.

[mbutchers]

Interesting - I looked at the Recaro. Unfortunately the 'expert' at Halford was a less than confidence inspiring 18 year old and I got no reply from the Recaro 'help desk'. I was just a little worried about the gap down the back at the bottom of the seat - I think it's worse on mine, being a cab. I thought the seat looked great to - So you can recommend, yes?

[SuperSportBilly]

I`m looking for an infant carrier babyseat for a newborn for a 996 Cab.

I`m looking at getting the Quinny Zapp pushchair / stroller which is very compact. The Maxi-Cosi Cabrio infant carrier can fit onto that - does anybody know if that fits in the rear of a 911 ?

I have a Boxster S at the moment - will be swapping to 911 Cab - so can`t just call to stores to check.

Thanks

[mbutchers]

SuperSportBilly said:

I`m looking for an infant carrier babyseat for a newborn for a 996 Cab. I`m looking at getting the Quinny Zapp pushchair / stroller which is very compact. The Maxi-Cosi Cabrio infant carrier can fit onto that - does anybody know if that fits in the rear of a 911 ? I have a Boxster S at the moment - will be swapping to 911 Cab - so can`t just call to stores to check. Thanks

I have a Zapp - fits perfectly in the front of my Cab....(carrera 2 - not sure about 4)
Don't think the Maxi cosi Cabrio will fit tho - Not sure the seat base is long enough, and there's probably not enough room unless you put the front seat completetly forward..... I could be wrong, so you need to try - best wait until the baby is in the next stage seat - 9 months+ I think - then there's more choice (but not much more)

>> Edited by mbutchers on Monday 23 January 08:40

[tertius]

SuperSportBilly said:

I`m looking for an infant carrier babyseat for a newborn for a 996 Cab. I`m looking at getting the Quinny Zapp pushchair / stroller which is very compact. The Maxi-Cosi Cabrio infant carrier can fit onto that - does anybody know if that fits in the rear of a 911 ? I have a Boxster S at the moment - will be swapping to 911 Cab - so can`t just call to stores to check. Thanks

I also have a Zapp, which fits perfectly in the front of a 993. We also had the Maxi Cosi rear facing seat, which I could not get to fit in the back of the 993, though I'm told that with a longer rear belt it can be done, however, I obviously haven't done this myself.

A couple of points about the Zapp/Maxi Cosi combo:

1. the Zapp (on its own) is not suitable for a newborn as the seat does not recline;
2. the Zapp/Maxi Cosi combo is OK for a newborn but not for very long periods - the advice for the Maxi Cosi seat is only to use it for 2 hours max
3. to fit the Maxi Cosi on the Zapp is a bit of a lengthy process - you have to fully remove the cloth seat from the Zapp

So in short you should plan to get another buggy, which almost certainly won't fit in the 911. I daren't tell you how many buggies we have ...

Dan

>> Edited by tertius on Monday 23 January 09:56

[Gulliver]

SuperSportBilly,

Same situation, except I already sold the BoxsterS, and got the 996 .For the same reason as you it seems

Another PHer told me that there is a solution for infants on the back seat, it is the Chico Trio set, it apparently fits in the backseats, and is rear facing. You may need to remove some of the back seat padding and gain another few extra inches.

If this does not work, the baby will be for sale on E-Bay soon after birth.....

[superlightr]

mbutchers said:

Interesting - I looked at the Recaro. Unfortunately the 'expert' at Halford was a less than confidence inspiring 18 year old and I got no reply from the Recaro 'help desk'. I was just a little worried about the gap down the back at the bottom of the seat - I think it's worse on mine, being a cab. I thought the seat looked great to - So you can recommend, yes?

Interesting, saw in evo mag a new tpe car seat advertised, they sounded good and we went to buy 2 of them from Halfords, Not in stock. Halfords did telephone recaro but could not get through to Recaro whilst we waited, they did call us back the next day to say that there were 4 allocated to Halfords, (nationwide) 2 of which had been sold and the other 2 not even in the country!

Needless to say, we went for another make.

Think Recaro needs a look at their distribution/marketing.

[SuperSportBilly]

Thanks for the responses - looks like more research required.

Ideally I would like a travel system that fits into the Porsche - hence thinking of the Quinny Zapp & Maxi-Cosi seat.

However, its not clear if any infant carriers fit in the rear of 996 cab.

Might have to use the front seat with Mum (or Dad !) pulling faces from the back !

[mogv8]

mbutchers said:

Interesting - I looked at the Recaro. Unfortunately the 'expert' at Halford was a less than confidence inspiring 18 year old and I got no reply from the Recaro 'help desk'. I was just a little worried about the gap down the back at the bottom of the seat - I think it's worse on mine, being a cab. I thought the seat looked great to - So you can recommend, yes?

Yes absolutely can recommend, although it was to fit a 996TT so I cannot speak for the cab. The only downside I have found is that fitting the bolster does take a few moments longer than conventional harnesses.