Smokin' deal on Escort 8500 radar detector

[bmacd]

I saw this on Gixxer.com and if you've been debating whether or not to get a detector, now is the time. This is a top of the line detector, arguably the best (compared to the Valentine 1). I think JDMustang Jim uses this same one...and he can vouch for it's credibility.

-=bmacd=-

RockwilderBarok said:

Allright folks,I recently saw this in Clubb5 forum for a group buy on the passport X50 in red or blue. The company selling this is from NY,so if you live in NY and order it,the only thing they're going to charge you is sales tax. I ordered mine on June 6,got it June 8!!
Here's the pricing:
Escort Passport X50 in BLUE
Regular Price: $339
Group Buy: $285 (shipped in US)

Escort Passport X50 in RED
Regular Price: $299
Group Buy: $245 (shipped in US)

These prices are even better than what can be found on ebay. They said they would put clubb5 on file so the sales people would be familiar with the prices. It will be easiest if you call 1-800-451-5851 to order. I have no affiliation and assume they will provide good service.
I ordered mine and a few people in the clubb5 forums got theirs also,with no hassles,no delays. All units are brand new,no factory seconds,blems,or refurbishing. This is the company's website:
link
I just figured that I would post this great deal here for anyone that needs a GREAT radar detector.

 

[toant103]

illegal in VA

 

[Trikat]

O yea. This post was in Fatwallet for a while now.
It has been confirmed at $245 shipped for the red.
I got it for $250 and a couple days later it dropped to $245! Bleh.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I don't think that group buys are allowed on here. Maybe someone that's been here longer can say for certain, but I think I heard that before.

Edit: Guess this isn't actually a group-buy deal, since individuals can order it for that price outright. My bad.

 

[Trikat]

Nah just ignore the group buy thing. I bought my unit at $250 shipped. I myself and no group.
You can probably just get one at $245 shipped now.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

It's too bad, after I got the 8500, the X50 model came out not too much later.

 

[Jaxidian]

Where is a good site to find out where these things are legal? I've looked and haven't been able to find a general site that tells me. I drive in a number of states regularly and would like to know if I'm safe getting one.

 

[Jaxidian]

Originally posted by: Jaxidian
Where is a good site to find out where these things are legal? I've looked and haven't been able to find a general site that tells me. I drive in a number of states regularly and would like to know if I'm safe getting one.

bump for the question

 

[flot]

Not positive, but pretty sure Virginia (and possibly D.C.) is the only place where they are illegal.

 

[andrewjm]

Valentine 1 is the best.... don't waste your money on anything worse...

False sense of security is worse than no security

 

[ttalkman]

I know in Canada, radar detectors are illegal.
I found out the hard way.

While driving through last year I got pulled over for having one on.
The officer took the radar detector and wrote me a ticket for $130 for having one. He also wanted the power cord and cradle, which I thought was funny until I did a google search to find out Canadian police were caught selling radar detectors over the internet. He never did give me a ticket for speeding, which I was doing while trying to keep up with "all" the other cars. Apparently, speeding is OK over there, just not detectors.

 

[kuljc]

Good deal on 8500... but wow... I didn't know people would pay 245 for these... I'm about to put a FS in that forum, I can get these for cheaper )

 

[brxndxn]

Originally posted by: andrewjm
Valentine 1 is the best.... don't waste your money on anything worse...

False sense of security is worse than no security

That's not set in stone. Escort is a larger company and puts more research money into their detectors. In the tests I've seen from reputable magazines like Motor Trend and Road and Track, the Escort 8500 seems to have the edge over the Valentine 1. The Escort has much fewer false positives. When a detector gives too many false positives, people start to ignore it and then it becomes useless.

I decided on an 8500 OVER a V1 when I bought my 8500.

 

[StealDemon]

I have a Uniden GPSLRD; I received it when I sent my no frills Uniden in for repair. I though that was a hot deal; it all ways seemed to give me such an edge until I met my match. Florida Highway Patrol officer was waiting where the interstate splits and there is trees to provide cover, waited to flip his radar on until he saw me, and wrote me a nice ticket. I was able to slwo down ~10mph and avoid an even steeper fine, but I will nto be speeding veyr much for a while. It will be yet another year before I can take the class to avoid points. I do not even need my detector until then.

 

[AncientPC]

Buy what you want.

I've had 1 speeding ticket in the past 4 years since I bought my V1 (and I do a lot of +15-20 speeding on city roads and highway). That one ticket was when I got instant-on'ed by a laser, so not much could've been done about that.

Ironically V1 provied it's cost again to me today. On my way to the office today I picked up 2 cops when I was speeding well over the limit. First one was easy to detect for any radar, it was a straight shot. The second cop was hidden about about 5 seconds back around a sharp bend in a residential area, but V1 caught it early enough for me to slow down. If I had a normal radar at this time, I would've gotten caught by the 2nd cop. At that time I was showing 2 signals, one from front and one from rear. If I had a normal radar detector, I may have ignored the 2nd warning thinking it was remnants of the first cop I passed not too long ago, but with V1 I could make the distinction of a 2nd bogey up ahead.

C&D ( http://www.valentine1.com/lab/detectortests.asp ) gives V1 an edge over Escort, but it's all hearsay until you try out both yourself.

Testimonies (I tried looking on Escort's sites for some, but apparently they don't have any on the web):
http://www.valentine1.com/lab/testresults.asp

Being a bigger company doesn't gurantee a better product, there are a million scenarios that confirm this. Also, "false positives" can be interpreted as radar sensitivity. I'd rather have a radar gimme a few "false positives" rather than detect it too late. You're also disregarding the fact that it has 3 seperate modes which you can use to weed out those false positives as well.

Unlike most every radar detectors on the market, [V1] allows you to DISABLE X BAND! X Band is what causes a ton of falses. Read some of the Report #3 ( http://www.valentine1.com/lab/LabReports.asp ) to see how you can turn it off. This is why I wouldn't even think about buying one of those Escort Passport 8500 radar detectors. The V1 is VERY flexible in custom programming.

I did this myself because I have yet to find a cop using X Band in Dallas / Austin. X Band is quote:

X band: A catch-all band, still used regularly in some areas by traffic radar, but heavily populated by sensors for supermarket automatic doors and other nuisance signals. In shopping areas, expect door sensors. But know the territory. Unless you're sure that X band is not used locally for radar, stay alert until you've identified the bogey.

In my case, I find radar pinpointing invaluable, allowing me to speed through those false alarms. Not to mention, I used the alternate power wire provided with the V1 to wire my detector through the top of my windshield, down the A-pillar, and hooked up to my ignition. They even provided instructions on how to do this and it took me a whole 10 minutes. So much for that annoying power cord down the middle of the console.

Both companies have a 30 day money-back gurantee. Make use of it.

On a side note off http://www.jammerstore.com/faq.htm

Also be aware that VA, Wash. DC bans the use of radar detectors. MN, UT, OK, NB, VA, CA bans the use of radar and laser jammers.

PS. I'm not trying to crap on this thread, it's still a good deal if you don't want to shell out $500 for a radar detector--or you could just not speed.

 

[StealDemon]

I have read for hours on radar and how to beat it via court, detector, etc. As I get older and the need for speed lessens, it seems the only smart choice any more is to just not speed. I used to drive 85 in a 70 on the way home from college, and I loved it. But it only really saved me 20 mins in driving time, which anyone can agree isn't worth the fine in most cases. My Uniden has saved many tickets, and a V1 would have most likely saved me my last. However, adopting a go with the flow or no speeding policy will certainly save me the most time and money. I lost all the time I saved speeding on traffic school and working extra ti pay the fines.

 

[shl0791]

i got my x50 passport 8500 for 185.89
worth every penny!!! it goes off before i can see the squad car. By that time, i've already slowed down a bit, and then see it weezing by.

 

[ROJAS]

I paid $284 for Escort 8500 X50 red at BestBuy, two weeks ago. I own as well Escort 8500.

Very good detectors.

 

[bmacd]

SOMEBODY give me a reason not to buy this...

-=bmacd=-

 

[AncientPC]

Not speeding is free?

 

[Dan2]

8500 vs. Valentine 1...
*FIRST LET ME NOTE I NEVER USED THE X50 MODEL, ONLY THE NORMAL 8500!*

Well, every magazine review I've read put the V1 over the Passport. And everyone knows Radartest.com is full of crpa.

As for false detections, I think the V1 is by superior to the Passport for two reasons. It might go off more, but because it has arrows telling you where the radar is coming from and how many there are, it's a lot better than random beeping. You know when you passed the cop, etc.

The only ways the 8500 is superior is physical size and secondly, the mute button on the cigarette lighter. The V1 is bulky, heavy, and the mute button is way up on the unit.

FWIW, I don't own either. But I was borrowing a friend's Valentine 1 for almost a year, then another friend asked if he could try it out and let me use his 8500. That was three years ago. He never gave the V1 back and he owned the 8500. He drives a heavily modified 996 twin turbo Porsche and wouldn't dare going that fast with his old detector. The range and accuracy, features, etc of the V1 are great and I'd gladly spend $400 instead of $250 on the V1 than the 8500. On the way to Los Angeles one time, we a car with the 8500 in front and ~100 feet behind was a car with the V1. The V1 went off BEFORE the 8500 in every instance, despite this distance difference. This was over the Grapevine, near Santa Clarita, where people get tickets constantly.

The 8500 is DAMN good for the money. But if you really want to feel safe, get a V1. At least see both in action so you can understand the benefits of the arrows and # of radar counter, etc.

I don't care what you buy, but if you want an unbiased opinion from someone who's tested both, there ya go.

*AGAIN LET ME NOTE I NEVER USED THE X50 MODEL, ONLY THE NORMAL 8500!*

 

[MisterMe]

Originally posted by: bmacd
SOMEBODY give me a reason not to buy this...

-=bmacd=-

Detector or no detector, if you speed you get caught. If not sooner then later...count on it. Save the $$$ for your next ticket. Or look for my Valentine on the side of the road (I75 north around Atlanta) - threw it straight out my passenger window after my >> LAST << ticket. Slow down - you'll get used to it and everybody, including yourself will be safer...

 

[jaroque]

Originally posted by: MisterMe

Detector or no detector, if you speed you get caught. If not sooner then later...count on it. Save the $$$ for your next ticket. Or look for my Valentine on the side of the road (I75 north around Atlanta) - threw it straight out my passenger window after my >> LAST << ticket. Slow down - you'll get used to it and everybody, including yourself will be safer...

exactly where on 75 was this? i can use a free v1.

 

[andrewjm]

The biggest problem with most radar detectors is they go off a lot when there isn't a cop. Lets say you have an Escort 8500 and there is a cop hiding near a grocery store... you hear it go off, but ignore it cause you THINK theres just one radar at the grocery store... BAM.. ticket

However with a V1 you notice that the usual 2 radars that go off at the grocery store now show 3 radars one day... you slow down and save yourself from a ticket.

It takes some time to understand how the V1's work. You can't just get one and use it out of the box. Well, you can, but you will not understand everythingcompletely. You have to understand all the lights and what a cop usually looks like vs. a grocery store.

V1 has logic and advanced logic to help stop false positives, and it works amazingly great!

My V1 has saved me so many times that the false positive beeping doesn't even bother me, cause i know that when there is a cop, i will know, and i will save myself from a ticket. Worth every single penny...

When getting a radar why try to save the most money? I rather focus completely on the performance and ignore the money aspect. If its a "good deal" radar, then it may be crap, and you just wasted $250 rather than $400. Spend a bit more, and be as safe as you can get while speeding.

 

[orion7144]

I'll stick with my 8500 and extra $200 we are not talking brain surgery here the difference between the two is minimal at best.

And whoever said Dallas does not have X-band is mistaken. Several cities in the DFW area use it. My neighbour is a Denton cop.