How long will my Multimac last?

We understand that a Multimac is expensive and it’s an investment for you and your family. It may be cheaper than purchasing a new bigger car or a second vehicle, but we completely get that you as a customer would still like to know that you’re getting your money’s worth out of your Multimac (spoiler alert: we can safely say that you most definitely are!).

Unlike Your Standard Seats

With regards to the lifespan of your Multimac, the first thing it’s important to understand is that, unlike your typical children’s car seat, the Multimac has been made to last. The Multimac is made mainly out of aluminium, so it will not need to be replaced after six years and is stronger than your standard plastic children’s car seat would be. This even means that the seat itself is far stronger and more resilient than a normal car seat, so would likely not need to be replaced even in the event of a crash.

We’re often asked if the Multimac would be suitable for families with children in different age groups, and the short answer is yes, it absolutely is. The Multimac is designed to comfortably transport children from birth until twelve years old, and can even be suitable for your child after twelve years old with the correct accessories (but more on that later). Having a Multimac in your car also doesn’t mean that your back car is redundant, or that no adults can sit in the back of your car whilst the Multimac is fully installed and in place. A small adult can comfortably sit in a Multimac for a short journey with no issues, but in the event that this wouldn’t be suitable, the Multimac can quickly and easily be removed from your car, in less than five minutes. This would likely be a two person job however, because, as mentioned above, the Multimac is made of aluminium, so it can be pretty heavy for one person to lift on your own.

If you have any knowledge about children’s car seats, you’re probably wondering how on earth a car seat suitable for a 12 year old child could possibly also simultaneously be suitable for a newborn baby, but it’s all in the accessories! The Multimac is sold just as a seat, without any accessories, so it’s a sort of blank canvas. From there, you would purchase the age specific accessories for your children, making the car seat further tailored to your family, and able to comfortably seat all of your children, regardless of their age.

How The Multimac Adapts

For babies from birth up until 18 months (or 13kg and 82cm, whichever comes first), we have the Minimac. This is our rear-facing baby seat, which clicks on and securely attaches to the Multimac. The Minimac comes with a Head Hugger as standard, which is made up of two different foam inserts to support your baby in the Minimac, which can be added or removed as they grow. You can also fit up to three Minimacs in almost every Multimac seat, solving a lot of car seat issues for parents of twins or triplets, who’ve struggled to fit two or three rear-facing baby seats in a car. The Minimac has a unique way of fitting into the Multimac, so you would not be able to use a different rear-facing baby seat with the Multimac, nor would you be able to use the Minimac with a pushchair or stroller. In the UK and Europe, children legally have to rear-face until at least 15 months, and whilst the Minimac can seat your baby and allow them to rear-face for longer, we understand that the longer your child can rear-face, the better, so as a result we’re currently working on an extended rear-facing Minimac, which should hopefully hit the market by the end of 2024.

Once your child has outgrown their Minimac, then they’d just need an YLVA Headrest. This headrest is a necessity for children when they’re forward facing until at least 6 years old as the YLVA provides side impact protection when in the Multimac, and would protect your child’s heads and necks in the event of a crash. The YLVA Headrest can be fully height adjusted, so can be lowered or raised to suit your child’s height, just as the fully adjustable five-point harness can. As your child grows taller, we also offer the YLVA Back Pad, which fits into the headrest when it’s extended in a higher setting, to further protect the back of your child’s head. This isn’t needed while your child is smaller however, as the back of their head would be protected by the Multimac itself.

Once your child outgrows the YLVA Headrest, or if the ceiling in your car is too low to accommodate an YLVA, we also sell the Tommy Headrest. This headrest is more like your typical headrest in a car, and is smaller, without the side impact protection. This headrest can also be fully adjusted to suit the height of the person sitting in the Multimac.

An additional accessory created to accommodate older children and allow you to get even more use out of the Multimac is the Low Profile Seat Cushion. This is a dipped seat cushion which replaces the standard cushion in the Multimac, it allows your older children to sit lower in their seat, therefore allowing them to use the Multimac with the five point harness for longer.

Also, as your child grows, you can purchase a Plug-In Buckle, which will allow your child (or teenagers / small adults) to use the car’s seat belt to buckle in, therefore allowing them to comfortably use the Multimac if/when they are too big for the five point harness. As previously stated, the five point harness is fully adjustable, so this should last your child until they are around 135cm tall, which is usually when they’re around ten to twelve years old. It would be a good idea to purchase a Plug-In Buckle if there’s a chance you’ll frequently be having small adults or teenagers needing to use the Multimac, as they would obviously be too big to fit in the five point harness.

Conclusion

I don’t know about you, but I’d say getting at least 12 years of use out of your child’s car seat is pretty good going, and definitely value for money. Not to mention, as the Multimac is built to last, they retain their value, so they can often be sold second hand for a decent price too.

If you had any questions, or wanted any further information on how Multimac would work for you and your family, please visit the Get A Quote page on our website, or get in touch via phone (0121 44 22 007) or send us an email to [email protected].