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In the US secondhand car seats are almost impossible to buy because the expiration date on car seats is so short. You sometimes can't even reuse car seats for a second child because everybody knows that a seat manufactured before 2020 is a total deathtrap and there have been so many safety innovations it is missing.

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"total deathtrap" is a wild exaggeration.

The expiration dates are to force you to keep buying them instead of re-using what you already have.

> The expiration dates are to force you to keep buying them instead of re-using what you already have.

Maybe. I do think that the foam they use for impact absorption[1] has a limited life, and degrades over time.

[1] I assume it's the same or similar foam they use in motorcycle helmets, which degrade over time. I personally won't use an old helmet (say, 4 years), even if it has an expiration date in the future (which I also never check - I know when I buy it, so I know when I am going to replace it).

The foam is styrofoam. I've had to tear the seats apart several times to clean bodily fluids out of them, I'm well acquainted with the construction.

> "total deathtrap" is a wild exaggeration.

Sarcasm ;-)

Those expiration dates generate so much waste. We just give ours away on craigslist.. better than a landfill.

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