I want to buya Valentine One radar detector for much less than MSRP. Anyone?

 

...not selling, but excellent choice! I don't leave home without it!

 

Best of luck! They hold their value pretty well.
According to this thread, post 17, you can find 'em on ebay for $275-300. Is that much less enough?
Love mine. You can't have it. In fact, I finally hardwired it in just today.

 

Good luck finding a steal. After looking at eBay this morning and seeing someone selling them for $499!, I went ahead and bought one through valentine1.com. It was only $399 plus shipping.

 

I just did the same thing last Sunday! $499 on ebay and $399 on the V1 site. I have an Escort 8500 but after seeing my brothers V1 with the arrows I just had to get one.

 

Contact Valentine One directly and see if they have any re-furbished units on sale (somewhat cheaper than MSRP). As the company's policy is continual upgrading of existing units, they normally have several "used and improved" V-1s available.

I live only a few minutes away from the factory and have purchased these units before; they work fine and are trouble free.

 

I did the refurb thing as well. It was only minimally cheaper, but it was from the factory with full warranty, and has done fine for the last ten years...
(I must admit I wouldn't mind the newer, slimmer form factor though. )

 

I have the newer body Valentine, with POP.
Any time I don't have it up, I have a close call, seems like. Had it down for the weekend while my Mother was visiting, so as not to distract her with the why's and what not, and left it in the glove box on Monday as I was driving in. I remember thinking, ont he way home later than day, I should get that out. But I blew it off. Sure enough, CHP sniper on the crest as I'm zooming down the 101 at a VERY modest 70... but unfortunately passing lots of 60s... he pulled on as I Chicago Sweeped over to the right and got off, and he followed me. I was ahead by three or four cars, and zipped up through Sauasalito, turned into residential, and found what I was looking for, a tiny little spot between work trucks at a residential contruction site... hung out under cover of truck for about 10 minutes, then inched out and jumped onto the freeway again and got home with no issues. GAH.

I'm kind of interested in this hardwiring the Valentine... was that a chore?

 

I've love to see pics and a how-to on the hardwiring of the Valentine. Might be a lot of work but it would be nice to free up my cigarette lighter.

 

It's not that much work (though that didn't stop me from procrastinating...)

My install went as follows (for a Valentine One):
Suction cup detector holder up by rear view mirror
Run wire up under the headliner, down the A-pillar (the wire tucks nicely underneath it, I used a little pick to pull the cover back where needed) and along the crease in the dash forward and towards the door.
Remove the plastic cover on the side of the dash - it just snaps out.
Fish wire down under the dash - it will exit right down by the fuse box (you may need to remove the knee bolster/parcel shelf.)
Connect the wiring to the add-a-circuit, then connect the add-a-circuit. I used fuse#36. Pull the fuse and the put the add-a-circuit in its place with an appropriate sized fuse for the detector.
The toughest part is finding a ground for the detector wiring - I used one in the upper left side, but it's a PIA to get to.
I then zip tied the detector wiring (the V1 comes with a two port connector for an auxillary display) to a bundle of wires above the fuse box.

There are some other installs related in these threads.

Uh, bump for the V1 search.

 

Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms. That's what I get when I clicked on the link for other installs.

 

Hmmm. That's weird. Just do a search in the Electronics forum for "Valentine". You should get four results.

 

Will do. Think I'll have someone do the installation though. I'm not that technically inclined. Thanks for posting the info. Received the Valentine today. Looks way cooler than what I had previously (cobra).

 

More importantly, WORKS better too. Once you get used to it, you'll wonder how you lived without it.

 

I bought the Bel XV65 for $227 shipped, $400 is oveboard for me, I'm already @ $26k with tax, shipping, R99's, tint and stripes for my new '05 JCW
Thanks for all the help!
... now if only I could figure out how to get an email when someone responds to my post... hmmm...

 

Click on THread Tools at the top of the thread.

 

b8b- some advice from an old guy - If you're gonna spend $5K (or whatever) on the JCW stuff, spend $173 on the better detector.
If you get nailed by bogey #2, we'll try not to tell you we told you.

 

V1 has omni-directional detectors (well, in plane, anyway) and multiple-bogey detection across different bands, including pop if you're lucky. It's night and day. Not too late!

 

well, that's not what "Radar Roy" says
http://www.radarbusters.com

I just can't swing it right now. I need a car cover to keep the bird poopy off and I've already spent way too much... when the time comes, I'll just eBay off my Bel and get the V1. NAM is actually the only site that I've seen that praises the V1 so highly, in independant tests, the V1 performs on par with the Bel XV65 and the 8500, sometimes slightly better (definately better for laser). I figure having something is better than nothing (right?). $173 is a lot for me right now. I will however give ya'll the chance to tell me "I told you so" if I get a ticket

 

DOH!
thanks!

 

I bought mine on ebay for $250.00 shipped to door. Thing has saved me a few times so far. I don't think you are going to find alot of people selling this detector cause its one of the best out there... Its almost worth buying a new one. Then you wouldn't have to upgrade period. You would have the best one out there... I am planing on having this unit a VERY long time.... Good Luck Spike

 

now if I could have gotten it THAT cheap, I would have!!!

 

I decided you (and everyone else) were probably right about the V1 so I did so more research, and some more, and some more. I have 4 degrees (2 aas, 1 bs <lol> and an MBA) so research on the net is now like breathing. I learned that it would be better to spend that $173 towards the $300 for a Blinder M20 Extreme laser jammer as detecting a laser usually happens once it is too late... I think this is the best choice and will spring for the M20 as soon as I can (found one for $272 + shipping, which is probably $23 considering the low price, still waiting for a response from the seller). It is illegal in only a few states, and the only significant two that I travel in have it as an infraction (less than a misdemeanor) with a max $100 fine, if they even bother since detectors are legal in both states.