Baby seats in an M3?

[BimmerBoyUSMC]

Hey guys,

My wife and I are going to be having a baby soon, and our car situation isn't prepared for one. We have an suv and my beloved M3, which I refuse to get rid of. My wife can't drive stick, so we can't trade cars if she has work and I need to take the baby somewhere.

With that being said, how easy, or difficult, is it to fit a baby seat into the M?

Thanks for any input, gents.

[rayesc]

Have not heard anyone locally having issues with a baby seat and their M3. We do lack the additional latch on the rear shelf for the strap many forward facing seats have.

Our good friend LuxoM3 has a nice writeup on the retrofit (maybe he'll update pic links):
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=392108

[GG Allin]

I did it. All I did was run the seat belt though the car seat. It's not easy to get the seat snug, but it can be done. You need to kneel on the car seat, get all your weight on it and tighten the seat belt. There are no anchors in the E36.

[AgentHubcap]

I have a forward facing seat in my sedan. You may have a bit of trouble fitting a rear facing seat if you have someone in the passenger seat, though.

[AgentHubcap]

I have a forward facing seat in my sedan. You may have a bit of trouble fitting a rear facing seat if you have someone in the passenger seat, though.

[Fenway]

I had no problem with my son in a graeco seat in my M3/4!

[BradR127]

Do you have a coupe/sedan/convertible? Car seat is no problem at all in my sedan. I used to have a mini, and that fit fine, too.... it was getting the kid in and out of the back with a 2-door that was a bitch. ;-)

[Lowflight]

No problems here....I take her to daycare 5 days a week.....

http://www.fototime.com/413C92C80FD9F22/orig.jpg

[Albertan]

There will be an anchor point in the rear package tray. You will find in by looking in the trunk. You will have to drill through the package tray itself since they are not pre drilled. (I know this since this attachment point is one of the requirements to import a BMW into Canada and all 3 series are approved.) My 97 sedan, I figure was owned by a "person"
who was a parent of a small child(ern). Reason: 4 door, auto, back seat upholstery completely ruined, found crayons under the seat!

[M3Alpine99]

My M3/4/5 appears to have an anchor point on the rear deck.

[BimmerBoyUSMC]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll be looking into more over the next few months and I'll be sure to use all the tips and what not.

[RRSperry]

Teach the wife to drive a stick? You know it's not that hard...

[BeerHat]

Teach the wife to drive a stick? You know it's not that hard...

Oh I've been down this road, and sorry in advance for veering off-topic. Wife used to have a Mustang 6 banger auto prior to our 2010 Outback kid-hauler. She misses her little 'sports car' (ok, you try telling her that slow pony-car wasn't a sports car!) and is yearning to drive the M3 like no one's business.

I've taken her out a few times, but she still lacks the finesse, asks "what number on the dial-gauge thingie should I be shifting", and still finds herself in 4th gear at 20mph wondering why there's no GO. On that note, money-shift is also a huge concern.. even with the Rogue tranny mounts, it's still a possibility.

I'm not saying she's incapable, but this isn't exactly a Toyota or Honda we're talking about. There are certain nuances to this car you have to be wary of as an inexperienced driver. Easy to get yourself into a bad situation quick with a powerful LSD rear-drive manual.

Trying to explain that to her always ends in a stalemate. I tried once to paint a clear picture for her.. "Can I take your 1000.00 Louis Vuitton handbag to the hardware store and used it as a shopping bag? I promise to be careful."

Dan

[AgentHubcap]

Oh I've been down this road, and sorry in advance for veering off-topic. Wife used to have a Mustang 6 banger auto prior to our 2010 Outback kid-hauler. She misses her little 'sports car' (ok, you try telling her that slow pony-car wasn't a sports car!) and is yearning to drive the M3 like no one's business.

I've taken her out a few times, but she still lacks the finesse, asks "what number on the dial-gauge thingie should I be shifting", and still finds herself in 4th gear at 20mph wondering why there's no GO. On that note, money-shift is also a huge concern.. even with the Rogue tranny mounts, it's still a possibility.

I'm not saying she's incapable, but this isn't exactly a Toyota or Honda we're talking about. There are certain nuances to this car you have to be wary of as an inexperienced driver. Easy to get yourself into a bad situation quick with a powerful LSD rear-drive manual.

Trying to explain that to her always ends in a stalemate. I tried once to paint a clear picture for her.. "Can I take your 1000.00 Louis Vuitton handbag to the hardware store and used it as a shopping bag? I promise to be careful."

Dan

Trust issues ITT. It's an E36, man, not a Ferrari.

[BeerHat]

Nope. I trust my wife, that's not the issue. I just don't want her dead, or anyone else for that matter.

EDIT: my E36 is, in-fact, my Ferrari...

Dan

[alanilil]

+1

Just tell her to take it easy and keep the rpms between 2-4k. These cars don't really rip unless you launch them hard and run them into the higher RPM ranges.

The newer cars (335 for example) have tons of performance. If it wasn't for traction control people would be wrecking them left and right.

Edit:

A car control clinic probably wouldn't be a bad idea either.

[///w3fl3x]

I have a 95 coupe and my rear shelf has the strap for a baby seat. I believe the original owner had it installed. It can be added on.

No children for me so they're useless.

[BeerHat]

+1

A car control clinic probably wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Actually, not a half-bad idea. Next time it rains I might just take her out somewhere vast and have her get it sideways, teach her out to steer with the right-foot. She would probably get a kick out of it. I may need to pack an extra pair of underwear though!

[ScotcH]

It's like $10 worth of parts at the dealer. All Canadian models have to have them by law, and there are provisions to install from the factory ... just have to drill some holes in the rear dech, and there are bolt-in point under there. Three of them I believe.

[BimmerBoyUSMC]

I've tried teaching her to drive stick in my previous E36 (323is R.I.P.) and between the grinding of gears and stalling and "I'm afraid to shift to the next gear", I gave up.

I agree 110% that this is not some Toyota or Honda that is meant for new drivers or the fuel efficient minded. It may not be a Ferrari either, but it is a 14 year old (mine is a '97 coupe) German sports car. Something is bound to break if being driven by an inexperienced driver.

In other words, where could I find this factory set up for the seats? Is there a DIY thread I could investigate?

- Kevin

[rayesc]

1000.00 Louis Vuitton handbag...

Based on that I'm guessing this is not the only stalemate you find yourself in with the wife.

Buy an old Miata as her learning platform. Plenty peppy to satisfy her and the gearboxes are bulletproof. Once she has the skill, sell the Miata for what you got it for.

Alternatively, trade-in the Outback for a Forrester 2.5 XT.

[AlaskaBimmer]

I have two car seats in my M3 at the moment. The rear ones work fine, I did have to move the passenger seat up a bit. I highly recomend you get a rachet clip (I forget the actual name) you put it on the seat belt and rachet it tight. They run about $20.00 or so at toys r us. Until I started using the rachets I would strain trying to get it tigh enogh and I just never could, the rachet takes all the work out of it in cars that don't have the safety system clips.

[m2pc]

I had a rear-facing child seat in my 328is and it was no problem; a bit cramped to get my son in and out (especially when asleep) but it was doable. Once he got older and I was able to flip the seat around, it was a breeze.

Now, with my M3 coupe, I have 2 forward facing seats ready to install once I get the windows tinted; I'm not sure how difficult that will be!

My M3 is my DD and also our "backup" car in case our grocery getter is out of commission.

[BeerHat]

Based on that I'm guessing this is not the only stalemate you find yourself in with the wife.

Truth. :confused

[Lowflight]

I have two car seats in my M3 at the moment. The rear ones work fine, I did have to move the passenger seat up a bit. I highly recomend you get a rachet clip (I forget the actual name) you put it on the seat belt and rachet it tight. They run about $20.00 or so at toys r us. Until I started using the rachets I would strain trying to get it tigh enogh and I just never could, the rachet takes all the work out of it in cars that don't have the safety system clips.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2267437#goto-top-of-page