9 Ways to Get the Best Deals on a New Car Seat

Buying a car seat is a must, but the reality is that most of us don’t have unlimited funds to shop for one. That’s why we went in search of car seat deals on brands like Graco and Britax that’ll save you serious cash. While a car seat is really an investment, if you buy an all-in-one or convertible car seat, your child can grow with it, giving you several years of use — so the money you pay up front is actually very little when you calculate the cost per year. Plus, knowing your child is properly secured and protected in your car is worth every penny. Not to mention: it’s the law.

Here’s our best advice for finding the best deals on a car seat and when stores offer their best car seat sales — including when to expect Target’s car seat trade-in event and which retailers offer the biggest discount car seats.

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Important: A car seat is one of those things you shouldn’t buy used. They have a shelf life of 6 – 10 years and should be retired after an accident — even a minor fender bender.

1. Head to the Target Car Seat trade-in event in April, 2024 and get a 20% off coupon.

In 2023, Target ran their Car Seat Trade-In Program from April 16 – 29. We expect this event to return April 7 through Saturday, April 20, 2024. During the two weeks you can bring in any car seat in any condition and Target will recycle it for you. Target will give you a 20% off coupon for a future car seat, stroller, or select baby gear purchase.

You can’t stack that 20% with any other coupon, but you can use it with your Target Red Debit Card to get an extra 5% off your entire purchase. There’s a reason this car seat sale is our fave. It works like this:

2. Save at least 30% on Graco car seat/stroller systems when you shop Amazon in November.

We spot great Graco car seats on sale on Amazon every year just before Thanksgiving. In 2021, we saw a 37% off the Graco FastAction Baby Seat and Stroller System, Redmond, for $135.44 (regularly $214.99).

In November 2020, Amazon had the Graco FastAction SE Travel System – Quick Folding Stroller & SnugRide 35 Lite Infant Car Seat (regularly $199.99) on sale for $139.99, a 30% savings.

New baby on the way? We put together money-saving tips to help you prepare for your little one without costing a fortune.

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3. Put a car seat on your Amazon baby registry and get 15% off — if no one buys it for you.

Complete a baby registry on Amazon and you’ll get a coupon for 15% off your baby purchase.

This is one of the easiest ways to get a discount on your baby’s car seat. If no one decides to give you that car seat as a gift, you can use your coupon toward the purchase.

4. Stack a discount with a promotion for 25% off a car seat at GracoBaby.com.

Shop at GracoBaby.com when they have a sale or promotion like the “$20 for $100 spent” to score bigger savings on a Graco car seat. Sign up to receive Graco Baby emails and get a 15% off coupon right away. Yes, you can stack this discount with the promotion. Here’s how it worked on a recent deal:

5. If you shop Target.com for car seat deals, sign up for Capital One Price Protection (formerly Paribus).

When you shop Target.com, Capital One Price Protection (formerly Paribus) monitors your email, and when it finds a price drop, you’ll receive a notification that it’s time to request a price adjustment. For example, if that $200 Graco car seat drops to $150 within the price adjustment period, you could get the $50 price difference kicked right back to you. The best part? Capital One Price Protection is free for anyone to use.

Paribus compensates us when you sign up for Paribus using the links we provided.

RELATED: Ways to get free baby stuff or under $1.

6. Use Sam’s Club Instant Savings to get a lower price on a car seat than competitors.

We recently found a Sam’s Club Instant Savings deal on the Cybex Eternis S All-in-One Car Seat for $144.48 (regularly $169.98). While the savings discount may not sound great, compare their price to a few other retailers and you’ll see Sam’s Club’s sale price is pretty sweet.

• Albeebaby: $197.99 (reg. $329.99)
• Amazon: $197.99 (reg. $299.95)
• buybuy Baby: $239.99 (reg. $299.99)

7. Shop car seats during Kohl’s Cash events.

We love Kohl’s Cash events. If you’re looking for a car seat deal and shop Kohl’s, here’s your chance to save. Here’s a deal we found recently:

8. Shop car seat sales in the outlet section of Evenflo.com to beat even great deals from competitors.

While the prices on EvenFlo.com aren’t the cheapest, if you shop their Outlet section, you may find some pretty good deals, especially when looking at the car seats on sale. We found the Evenflo Gold EveryStage All-In-One Convertible Car Seat with SensorSafe + Easy Lock Install on sale for $199.99 (regularly $299.99) in the EvenFlo.com Outlet section. Although Amazon, Target, and Kohl’s have this model, it was the regular price of $299.99 for all of them.

9. Buy two car seats and get one free at Dinio.com.

Watch for a buy two get one free promo on car seats at Dinio.com. We caught this deal on the Radian 3RX convertible car seat for $299.99 each. Buy two of them for $599.99 and get a third for free, a savings of 33%. This car seat deal is great for families who have multiple cars.

Here’s the scoop on how you can get the best baby deals every month of the year.