I need some help picking out a child car seat for my 2-seat auto. FWIW, my child is over 1-yr old & over 20 lb. I am having trouble determining which child car seat for which is best suited for that position. None are recommended by this website, and yes I know why. I guess I could just find a seat that is designed for use with a passenger-side lap belt, but what child car seat is best for that?
Alternately, is there a child car seat with tethers that will wrap around the bottom and back of a car seat? I think that would be the best solution. If not, I have also thought about getting some bolt-in
LATCH clips that I could attach to the base of my car seat pedestal bolts. (I work on my own car, am mechanically inclined, and feel I could do that work safely.) Has anyone ever seen or modified an older car like that?
I have a feeling this is going to raise a 'red flag' my many of you, but my circumstances are such that this is the only practical solution right now. If you insist on knowing my circumstances, read on:
- The auto is not paid off. 
- I cannot sell this auto because it would net less than -0- on the sale or trade-in due to some parking-lot bumper paint damage.
- I cannot take on any more debt because I am still paying off student-loans from college. 
- I fear my spouse or I may lose our job with this economy. 
- I would use the car to transport my child ONLY TO AND FROM day-care.
- Day care is only 1.5 miles away on a road which thankfully has very little traffic, is very safe, and has 35mph speed limits.
- Believe it or not, my taking our child to day care saves my wife 30 minutes of extra driving per day (because after the drop-off she'd have to turn back around and get into the normal flow of heavy traffic).
- I would be able to get our child home at least an HOUR earlier.
- We cannot trade cars (my wife's commute is through some of the worst traffic in the US that would damage my car's standard tranny within a month).
- The precautions I take while driving with my child are second to NONE.
- The passenger-side airbag will be disabled while my child is in the car.
If you still see this as only black-and-white issue, unless you have $5K to donate to me, please spare me the lecture. I am only looking for the best advice to make this as safe as possible with what I am working paying off today. Please remember not everyone is so gainfully employed such that changing cars is an easy thing to do. Thanks...