pushchair chassis cracked - would you use it?

[omama]

Sorry this may be a bit long.

We got a babystyle oyster travel system when ds was a baby, used it tons & when he was about 1yo we noticed the chassis was cracking, right around where it folds. It has rivets either side of the crack & dh thinks it may be strengthened inside & reckoned it 'probably wouldn't give way'. It was out of warranty & i was worried about continuing to use it as ds got bigger & heavier, so it was retired to the spare room & replaced with a 3-wheeler for long walks & an umbrella fold for shopping.

Fast forward 2yrs & we r now expecting dc2.

Neither of the replacement buggies are particularly suitable for a newborn (umbrella fold not lie flat & 3 wheeler not car seat compatible, no carrycot, has freedom harness & too big to fit in my new car.)

Dh thinks we should use the oyster again since we have the carrycot & britax car seat to fit. & why spend loads on another new one. But i still have this niggling worry about the crack. What if it gives way & baby falls out? DH still thinks it'll be ok - but would you risk it????

[homeaway]

No I would not risk it , imo it is not a risk worth taking. What would you do if the pram collapsed and the baby went flying out onto the road ??? I would try and replace the chassis, if cost is an issue then maybe look for a second hand one ?

[Ihateparties]

I wouldn't.. and I expect when the day came when you have an actual newborn in your arms you wouldn't either.. if it's bothering you now it definitely will then. Contact babystyle, send them a photo, ask their advice. It shouldn't have happened after only a year of use, warranty period or not, unless of course it suffered some sort of accident or incident that caused it.

At best they will replace your chassis, at worst you will find out the cost of a new one.

You may have to go through your retailer, i'm not sure how babystyle work, some manufacturers deal direct with customers, others are less willing.

[ClaraOswald]

Replace the chassis- it sounds like it is very weak and you just don't want to take a risk.

[omama]

Thanks all. I know deep down i'm not happy about it - its just convincing dh!

ihateparties - there was absolutely no accident/incident that could have caused it - it was used for pushing my baby between 0-1yr old on pavements only. I presume its from general use, eg going up & down kerbs. When you push down on the handlebar eg to go up a kerb you can see the crack strains so it is maybe a ds I'm not sure how much recourse we'd have now tho, its been stood for 2 years in the spare room. We never contacted manufacturer at the time as it was out of warranty so didnt think we'd have a leg to stand on. Do u still think its worth a shot even after all this time?

[omama]

Sorry was meant to say

When you push down on the handlebar eg to go up a kerb you can see the crack strains so it is maybe a design weakness, i dont know.

[homeaway]

I don't think that it would do any harm to contact the company, the worst thing they can say is that they won't replace it. They might give you another frame at a discounted price, you never know .

[omama]

Update: They quoted £75 to fix & service it, i reluctantly agreed & it went back to babystyle last friday. I picked it back up this morning, they have completely replaced the handle, serviced it & due to the nature of the fault, retailer haggled them down to £25 which i was happy to pay given it was so far out of warranty. Completely redeemed themselves!!!

[Dillydollydaydream]

Wow. £25 is definitely worth it for piece of mind?