Ok, Out of sheer impuls shopping I picked up a K40 Radar detector...I didn't know anything when I walked into the store and the dude sold me when he said the company will pay for any ticket you get within one year of purchasing the unit and bla bla bla...anyway, I got it and brought it home the came to my favourite site on the net (RX-7Club.Com) and realized that most people favour the Valentine...Should I keep this thing or return it?

 

Oh, paid $280 including tax...if that's a deciding factor

 

I've got the passport 8500 and its doing the job.
http://www.radartest.com/DS4HEM.html decide for yourself

 

what did you pay out of curiosity?

 

I use to have that k40 and that thing doesn't work at all. You can practically pass by cops and it won't even light up. It's total bs. Just my .02

 

$270 after shipping off ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1380627384

 

Thanks for the link...think I am going to get it and return this thing tomorrow...probably will print out that test result and put it with the instruction manual in the box

 

Bummer. Re-list it on ebay. I have the BEL 980($229)

 

I have the Valentine One and I like it.

If you get one, I would also reccomend getting the concealed display! The best place to mount a detector is up high and this makes it hard to see any detector.

No matter what you go with, it is much better than no protection at all.

I would have to say I am very happy with my V1 though

 

I have the Cobra 9200 mentioned in the test and it seems like it's doing a pretty good job.........for $99 it seems just as good as the passport I have in my other vehicle...........

 

Yeah bro, if you want a really good radar detector get a Val One. They have been rated the best in all the mags. A couple of friends of mine have them and they said there has never been a time where they saw a cop before it went off. They are #1.
- Steiner

 

Tanks ya guys....that shows me to not impulse shop crap before researching it...So back to return it tomorrow...

Think I am going to get that escort 8500 on e-bay...I really need one....

do the others like the Val1 and the Escort come with the "we will pay your ticket" guarantee?

 

no..

Only company I have seen has been a laser blocking device company. However, if you read the fine print, they will only pay if it is 10 MPH over the limit or less (or something), which is pretty pointless. Most people get pulled over for going more than 75 in a 65 or 45 in a 35 etc...

 

have you guys seen the new police radio detector in one of the magazines (sport compact car i think)? it sounded like a good alternative to radar detection since police radio is always active, even when their radar is off, like when they use instant on, or when they would be near you in traffic or something...

 

I've got an escort 8500 and it detects stuff way far away. I've still gotten one ticket since buying it, though.. But the cop didn't even have his radar on, I'm sure he just guesstimated it. I coulda fought it, but at least he only said I was doing 49 in 25 rather than the 79 I really was doing, hah.

 

this is the type of situation i would imagine the radio detector would protect better than a radar box would. what are your opinions? i am considering a radio detector as an alternative to a radar detector, but still have both in mind. what do u guys think?

 

I'd get both... The radio detector would work well, but you'd pick up a lot of bum signals, plus it wouldn't help you much at high speeds on the interstate with speed traps etc. Remember, radio signals are a lot easier to pick up so you'd have a hard time telling where the cop is from em.

 

also, are you guys also a little suspicious about radartest.com's extreme bias towards the escort 8500, and against the valentine one? i know that car and driver is sort of obligated to support val 1's product because of all the advertising they spend with them, but i mean... come on! look at the writeups on the downsides of the other detectors, then look at the shittalking they do of the valentine one. i think it looks a little fishy.

 

Ok...Just wanted everyone to know that I returned the crap K40 and headed for the Escort...yeah me!

 

Pretty interesting...I had written to K40 and told them that I was planning to return the K40 on account of the test results and this is what the wrote back...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>

Dear David:

Thank you for your recent e-mail. K40 Electronics is well aware of the website www.radartest.com, and has been for some time. A couple of points of interest that might be helpful for you in evaluating this review:

1. Craig Peterson, the owner of this site, is a paid consultant for both Beltronics and Escort Inc. Both of whom are owned by the same individual. Mr. Peterson has been paid by these companies and supplied with their latest prototype products for several years now, with the intent of developing positive evaluations of their product lines.

2. The K40 system featured in this review has not been in production for over 5 years. When K40 contacted Mr. Peterson, he acknowledged that the K40 system he tested was based on results they had obtained at a much earlier date, with the thinking that nothing had changed about our products because the model numbers were the same. This couldn't be further from the truth. Every component in the K40 system he tested, from receiver technology to individual wires had been significantly updated and improved. This is an excellent reason why you can't believe everything you read.

3. Because K40 markets exclusively to independent automotive specialists and high-end car dealerships, we do not invest heavily in expensive print advertising. As a result, very few publications will feature our product in a review. Generally speaking, the products that win product tests, and that goes for products in any industry, are ones that advertise extensively. That's just the nature of the business.

If you would like to read an independent evaluation of our products, I've attached a couple of reports in PDF format to this e-mail. Please keep in mind that with any evaluation, positive or negative, human factor is a main contributor. Specifically, what is important to the reviewer.

That's a big reason why our products feature an exclusive speeding ticket guarantee. While K40 is not in the business of paying tickets, we do want to get across that our technology is sound and will dramatically help you avoid speeding tickets. After all, isn't that why people by a radar detector in the first place.

I hope this information is helpful to you in some way. If you should have any further questions, please feel free to contact us. You can respond by e-mail or call toll free at 800.323.6768.

Kindly,
Kevin Fryer
Marketing Manager

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He also sent a couple of pdf. which I will attach in another post

 

The attachments can't be uploaded so if you want to read them just e-mail me and I will forward the mail to you