We have that kind of convertible car seat. Never had a problem with latches or straps (well, other than yesterday, when I had to take it out to fold down the s

We have that kind of convertible car seat. Never had a problem with latches or straps (well, other than yesterday, when I had to take it out to fold down the seats & transport a piece of furniture). The car seat stays in the car, the kid plops down in the car seat, and then he either fights us over the 5-point harness or buckles it himself, depending on mood. I think the big difference in perspective is whether you just leave the car seat in the car or take it out for every trip. I had a similar discussion on Facebook where I was like "Why does it matter how heavy the car seat is? It just stays in the car?" and then found out that a lot of people detach the carseats and lug them up to the house and back down every time they take a trip. There's an element of privilege in being able to afford a complete set of car seats for each car you drive, but it totals about $300/kid (less for infants - many infant seats have a clickable base that's ~$100). If you can afford it I would highly recommend it - paying $300 to avoid daily skinned knuckles & schlepping 20-30 lbs. around is often well worth it.