AUBURN – Labor Day weekend is one of the biggest yard sale weekends of the year and, although buyers can get some great deals, a child passenger safety seat is probably not one of them.

“Buyers of child passenger safety seats need to be wary of purchasing used seats from yard sales and resale stores,” said Child Health Center’s Child Passenger Safety Coordinator Patricia Valeriani.

“When purchasing a used seat you don’t know the history of the seat. Among the concerns with a secondhand seat are that it could have been in a crash or that it may have been recalled. Recalls on seats vary from incorrect instructions to issues that could result in injury or even death in a crash. Over 6 million seats have been recalled in the last five years and under 2 million of them have been replaced or repaired,” she said.

Suzanne Cook, Coalition for Maine SAFE KIDS coordinator, said “The coalition recently destroyed 307 seats at a resale round up event in Portland.” Many of the seats were confiscated at fitting stations and check-up events across the state, while others came from resale stores.

Cook said, “The seats we destroyed had either been recalled, were more than six years old or otherwise deemed unsafe for use. One hundred thirty three of these seats came from events held by the Child Health Center in Oxford and Androscoggin counties.”

Some of the other problems people face when buying used seats is that manufacturers do not recommend the use of seats that are more than six years old. They should also keep in mind that there are more than 100 models on the market and a wide variety of safety-belt systems as well as more than 300 models of passenger vehicles. Not every seat will fit properly in every vehicle.

The make, model and year of the vehicle will play a large factor in what seat can be used as well as the seat’s appropriateness for the individual child.

Valeriani said there are several programs that offer income-eligible families free child passenger safety seats. The Child Health Center’s ProtectME program, with the support of Maine Safe KIDS, the Bureau of Highway Safety, United Way and Maine Public Health, offers the families seats at monthly fitting stations in Auburn and Rumford, and the Maine Injury Prevention Program offers seats throughout the state as part of a voucher program.

Anyone who would like to learn more about a program can call 743-7035 or 782-5437 for the Child Health Center or the Maine Coalition for SAFE KIDS at 1-800-649-1304.

The Child Health Center will offer a fitting station at the Auburn Police Department from 2 to 6 p.m. on the second Monday of the month and at the Mexico Fire Station from 10 a.m. to noon on the first Friday of every month. People wishing more information can call 743-7035.