metroplex

Escort and Beltronics' webpages and policy on warranty is kind of screwy. They say that unless you buy from them or an authorized reseller, they won't honor the warranty... But the manufacturer or large resellers (like Best Buy / Circuit City) pretty much charge about $300 for the good detectors while stores and eBay sellers are selling the same detectors for almost $100 less.

Where's the best place to get Escort or Bel detectors?

TacoBill

Got my Solo S2 off eBay from a guy who claimed he used it only for a few months (originally purchased from Crutchfield).

Paid something like $200, looks and works like new!

There's deals out there, just have to look in the right place.

metroplex

Hi TacoBill! Do you know if the manufacturer would still honor the warranty on your detector?

How is the Solo S2 so far? I read the radarbusters review and it doesn't look too shabby for performance other than lack of POP detection.

awakeinAZ

Wanted to let you know I site I found awhile back. Tests ALL Kinds of radar and ranks them!

http://www.radartest.com/

TacoBill

I too read Escorts policy on not honoring warranty issues for units not purchased directly from them. However, I believe that's on a case by case basis. Manufacturers typically will work with you on service issues and at worse, will charge some small fee to get it repaired.

My S2 has saved me twice so far. Local PD was shooting K Band radar around a 'blind' corner on a hillside road. It warned me way in advance so I can slow down before reaching the source.

I chose the S2 mainly because it's cordless. Pics of it are in my sig.

metroplex

The eBay prices are pretty **** good, but I think there's a large possibility that the ones sold by eBay stores are factory refurbrished. There's no other way they can sell them for $50-$100 below retail prices. The Solo S2 intrigues me because I could just put it on a dash pad and take it with me (the Chotis mount won't work on my Stang due to the manual mirror). The Vector 995 looks like the best deal (Voice alerts, great performance, good price) but I cannot find a good spot to mount it in the car. The GT has very limited options due to the shape of the roof and the black solar dots on the windshield. Plus detector manufactures have cheaped out on the mounts and want everyone to use suction cups (that will fail in cold weather, been there done that).

TacoBill

I think so too. Luckily, mine was private party. Not to say refurb'd units are bad, it's just a personal choice.

Good luck selecting one, there's a lot of good radar units out there, so you just have to be patient until a good deal comes along.

TexaStang

I bought my Escort 8500 a year ago now on Ebay for 100 bucks or so less than retail. Came packaged brand new, thing was in perfect shape and has saved me from many, many tickets. No obvious signs of being refurb.

Robbieg

Here is were I got mine, great customer service and they are an authorized dealer. They also have info on warranty and other FYI too.

http://www.radarbusters.com/

metroplex

http://www.radarbusters.com/support/...ctors-ebay.asp

More info on factory refurbs...

metroplex

How is everyone attaching the detector to the vehicle? (You don't have to reveal your secret location). Suction cups? Velcro? I've had the suction cups fail in cold weather. I can't see any other way of hard mounting the detectors. The Country Joy / Chotis mount will not work with my mirror due to my height and how high I have to adjust the mirror in order to have good peripheral vision, and because of the manual dimmer tab.

I'm contemplating going with the Solo S2 and tossing it on my dash with some felt or a rubber dash pad.

Mustangfreak

http://www.valentine1.com/

metroplex

so how would I attach a V1 to the Stang? suction cups?

Mustangfreak

Sure, it comes with a windshield mount.

thestoogeo

I second www.valentineone.com

metroplex

I've never had any good results using suction cups. I could degrease the surfaces entirely and the cups would just lose suction due to the cold weather here.

Has anyone tried using the Bel/Escort visor clips designed for the new Bel/Escort detectors on their Mustang? Is there enough room between the visor and headliner for that clip? I don't want the clip jabbing into the headliner (bad experiences with Ford's saggy headliners in the past).

TexaStang

Suction cups on my Escort 8500 for a year now. Has fallen off once, and that was only 1 cup. Gone from 120 degree heat in direct sun to 20 degree and snow out with no issues really.

metroplex

For sh*ts and kicks, I took out the suction cups from storage and used them on my Bel 985 bracket. Within 3 minutes, both fell right off the windshield. They've become "flat" from the summer heat and don't stick well in the cold weather.

Mustangfreak

Mount it on the dash then? Hang it from the mirror? mount it in the dash?

Valentine 1>ANY other radar detector.

metroplex

The V1 produced mediocre results compared to the Bel RX65 and the Passport 8500 x50 in the latest results. It's certainly a good detector but I'm too busy watching the road to look for some tiny arrows. The upgrades for the V1 are a bit quirky. I heard the last upgrade to get POP capability required some owners to send in the V1 + $100-$200 for the hardware upgrade versus a simple reflash.