+1 mine has saved me a bunch of times... Then again I had never been written a ticket until after I got one.. LOL long Story

 

Also OP if your in VA the only undetectable RD is the bel STI if your in VA. Purchase that one and no other, otherwise u have a selection.

I use to own a x8500 and got rid of it once it "service req'd" mode on me. Apparently the 8500's lose there programming after so long and you will eventually get a service req'd mode. It may say error S01 or something at first letting u know there's an error and you can reset it and get it to work sometimes, but once it says service req'd it's done for. You have to send it in to escort and for $60ish they will reprogram it for you and update it and send it back.

Just know at some point that seems to be the demise of the 8500 is that it will end of at a service req'd screen.

That is the only reason that I would stay away from the 8500 is the damn service required programming crap. Once there fixed i've heard people say usually a year or year and half or 2 is when they start kicking out service req'd messages.

So the refurbs arn't bad, it's just they somehow lose the programming. All your getting when you send yours in for repair (not under warranty) is prob another refurb.

The 9500ix I have I love that it autolocks out false locations. I know there are someplaces you drive in US that have so many false alerts from businesses on the interstate that it makes having a RD useless. That's another reason i opted for the 9500ix.

Also http://www.radardetector.net/ is a great place for information as well.

Edit: I hate to see people purchase bad RD's that won't help them at all, and whatever you do avoid cobra like the plague. Cobra use to be half decent like 10 years ago when radar was new. Now you have to worry about I/O (Instant On) radar, instead of C/O (Constant On), even with small I/O bursts the 9500ix has some small kinks in not picking them up due to design. Then LIDAR (Laser) is a whole nother game.

 

My Passport has saved me countless times and has paid for itself many times over. You still have to be vigilant, but they do work well. Now, if you're speeding, not paying attention, and the only car on the road, then no, a radar detector may not save you in that case.

Dustin

 

I bought a refurb'd 8500 x50 off ebay and it worked great until a week ago when it began throwing false laser signals. I reset it yesterday and so far no false signals. I only paid $150 for it and have had it for a year in which it has saved me many times (not to mention the peace of mind) so I figure it is worth it.

 

I would ONLY use a K40 Calibre. Any windshield mount one is sub-par and if you get pulled over with one on your window the officer will not be happy with you.

 

x2

I was driving down a 4-lane highway, one of the only cars on the road. Just as I was thinking to myself "self, the detector won't help if you're the only car out here (you hope the detector catches somebody else getting beamed)" - the detector went BEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPP as the highway patrol was doing a u-turn with blue lights on.

Since they were at least 1/4 mile behind me, I quickly pulled the detector off the windshield and stuff it in the glove compartment.

I got a ticket.


Exhibit B...

A friend in law enforcement tells me they are regularly trained to visually estimate vehicle speeds and you'd be damn surprised how accurate this can be. They don't write tickets based on this. They use this training to determine who to trigger the radar on to. Point is, they're gonna beam people that they know are speeding and the detector isn't going to help those people.


I'll still use my radar detector, but I have to recognize that law enforcement is pretty darn clever about how they use radar.

 

I always have my eyes peeled for a deal on one of those. I just can't justify around $1,000 for a dang radar detector. Its a total ripoff that RD makers in general charge 3-4x their normal price simply for making remote-mounted parts. There is little extra cost in putting the electronics behind your grill and/or rear pumper with your user interface still in the car.

 

IMO, you get what you pay for. There are a few websites with test data and comparison info which agree with the Valentine1 as ONE of the best. There are quite a few others out there and it also depends on what other features you're looking for. I personally run the BEL STI Driver. Both Bel and Escort are made by the same company and you can't go wrong with them. There is 1 or 2 Cobra models that are barely marginal. You can find that out on the webste that has the test info. I'm not on my PC or I'd give you the link. Anything less than about $200 and you're getting crap.

You should also reserch laser protection. Although most of the high end detectors do well with laser, the technology is such that IF you get an alert, you're likely already caught. Look into VEIL and laser absorbing license plate covers plus active laser jammers if you can afford it.

 

I have had my Valentine One "V1" for about 6 months & it is awesome. I paid $476 shipped w/concealed display, straight from the V1 website. the deciding factor for me was the ARROWS, no other RD will tell you were the radar is coming from. it is alot of $$$ but I would do it again without thinking twice.
as someone mention already mentioned, I would consider getting a Laser jammer , VEIL G4 coating or both as that would be one of your only chances against Laser, because as said many times before, a Laser detector is a Ticket detector...
as with any detector, you still have to use your brains & always be aware of your surroundings

 

I had the Passport 8500x50 for a long time and it was great. Eventually the laser calibration went bad and kept giving false alarms - but it took over 10 years for this problem to occur. Pretty good life if you ask me...

I was going to buy the Passport 9500ix but had a hard time swallowing the price. Instead, I was able to find a local acquaintance selling his Valentine V1 for $200. It has proved to be a pretty good detector as well and the arrows are kind of nice knowing where the radar is coming from. Plus, with the money I saved and can look into laser jammer down the road if I want...or save the $$$ for mods =)

But, I would recommend you stay away from the Cobra...you really do get what you pay for!

On a side note - you can buy my old 8500x50 for $50!! lol I think you can turn the laser function off - the X and Ka bands work great still. If you want the laser - you can send it in to Passport and get it fixed for $60. But..if it says LASER - it's too late anyways...the cop already has you!