Go with TXSTYLE's contact. He took very good care of me. Bear in mind that ESCORT doesn't like to see discounts in the market, and the margins are thin with electronics so it's not going to be a half-price deal, but it was a good deal.
Originally posted by mooretorque Erick, the best place is also the only place (unless Cincinnati Microwave has changed their previous practice of only selling from the factory).......call the 1-800 #. Interesting (and, of course, not coincidental, since Mike Valentine was the engineer behind the original Escort when he was the Head Wiz at CM) that CM and Valentine have similar marketing philosophy and tend to go neck-in-neck performance-wise.
Direct wire is the way to go.
mooretorque,
About 2-3 years ago Cincinnatti Microwave hit bad times - discontinued thier cordless phone business and sold off the Passport line to a new company founded under the ESCORT name. So now the company that makes Passports is ESCORT, Inc.
In the last year or so they've begun selling through distribution and have managed to hold their retail prices through the channel. Very seldom do you see a Passport discounted, but they are available through private stores asnd on the 'net.
Does the detector need to be on the windshield? It doesn't seem desireable to have a coil cord draped over the dash and dangling down from the mirror. Is there an alternative?
Originally posted by GouxMan Does the detector need to be on the windshield?
No, but it does need to be unobstruced. There are some models that mount in the grill and bumper, but I've read that their performance suffers since they are so low.
It doesn't seem desireable to have a coil cord draped over the dash and dangling down from the mirror. Is there an alternative?
Yes, you can direct wire either into the overhead console where the homelink buttons are or into one of the fuse boxes on the kickpanels. I have my 8500 mounted low on the windshield near the left A piller and direct wired into the driver's kick panel fuse box.
Marty, thanks for the info........after I first went with Val 1, I didn't keep up the Cincinnati Microwave any longer........but I was a long time customer, going back to the original Escort (for which I had to wait about 4 months, since I think Mike Valentine was still making them down in his basement back then.......around 1976, I think.......serial # was on the order of 51000!!)
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2001 GS430, Silver/Black, 17", Levinson.
L-Tuned springs/shocks; Pirelli P Zero Neros, TRD sways, lower front chassis brace, and front STB; TOMS rear STB.
2004 RX330 AWD, Premium Plus, 18", Black Onyx/Ivory (HER car)
Were I to install a radar detector, I'd want it to be invisible from view. Install a sensor in the front, rear, and sides (if possible), and have a small display mounted somewhere in the dash/console. I think someone did that with the Val-1 (with photos posted in a thread). I wonder if you can do that with the 8500.. ?
Here you go fellas! This is the link directly to the site & the 8500. Now when you call ask for Gary. It's been a while but I believe the price was @ $249 + tax. Tell em' Marcus sent ya! By the way look through the site they have some pretty nice stuff/deals!