Help choosing a Radar Detector

We get asked all the time which is the best radar detector for the money and unfortunately there is no one detector that is best for everyone.  We have recently made some changes and additions to our FAQ's page to include information on some of the newer radar detectors.   We have several models that we like across various price ranges.  We also have custom installed radar detectors as well as the more common windshield mounted radar detectors.

Still the easiest way to find the best unit for yourself is to contact us and let us know where you drive and your budget and we can tell you what unit would be the best for you.

New 2013 Cobra Radar Detectors

At CES 2013 Cobra introduced 2 new radar detectors that they plan to release for 2013.  Both will be in the iRadar platform.  One is the iRadar ATOM which will eventually replace the iRadar windshield mounted units.  Its 30% smaller from previous versions and will have a performance increase over their older models.

Next will be Cobra's first introduction into remote mounted radar detectors.  It is the new Cobra iRadar S-Series ($300) . It differs from previous radar detectors from the company in that it's designed to be mounted in the front of your vehicle usually behind your grill.  All controls and alerts will come through your smartphone.

Next Cobra also introduced their new SPX Radar Line which will include three new models – the SPX 5300, SPX 5400 and SPX 5500, all which include super-charged performance in a more compact unit size. The three models offer double the detection range with less false alerts, all at a highly affordable price.

As with all products manufactures always claim their newer models are better and offer better performance.  Once these products start to come in we will test them and see what they really can do.  As of yet no Cobra radar detector has made it to our Best Radar Detector listing.  Maybe one of these models will perform goof enough to make it on our recommendation list.

Update on Hurricane Outage

While our electricity has come back and we are off generator power our phone lines are still down.  We are still processing and shipping online orders daily and there are no delays.  To contact us please use the Contact Us page on our website if you need to contact us regarding an order if you need help choosing the best radar detector for your needs.  We apologize for the inconvenience but we are told our phone lines should be restored by Monday.

Outage Due to Hurricane Sandy

As Hurricane Sandy came through NJ on Monday October 29th we as well as 80% of the state of NJ lost power.  Since he have backup generators our site is fully functional and we are still shipping packages normally, but our phone lines are still down now 4 days later.  If you need to contact us please use the contact us form on our website: Contact Best Radar Detectors

Also note that new packages are shipping just fine but packages that were in transit from October 29th & October 30th might be stuck in UPS, USPS & Fed-Ex facilities that lost power.  We are told that all packages stuck in these facilities are being moved now and will be routed back in service.

We are sorry for these delays.

New Discounted Escort Live Bundles

For a Limited Time we have Escort Live discounted bundles available on some of the Best Escort & Beltronics radar detectors.  Normally Escort Live sells for $99.95 but for a limited time you can get Escort Live for only $40 with the purchase of a compatable radar detector.

Beltronics PRO-300 w/Escort Live
Beltronics PRO-500 w/Escort Live
Beltronics Sti Magnum w/Escort Live
Escort 8500x50 Black w/Escort Live
Escort Redline w/Escort Live
Escort 9500ix w/Escort Live

The $40 bundle addition includes either the Escort Live Coiled Smartcord or the Escort Live Smart Direct Wire Kit.  Each comes with a 1 Year subscription to the Escort Live service.

Are radar detector still useful today?

We get customers asking us if radar detectors are still useful today as they were years ago and the answer is definately YES! Radar Detectors today are much smarter and can do so much more than detectors made just a few years ago.  While laser guns seems to be growing in popularity with the prices dropping on them radar is still preferred for most vehicles in motion.

Today's radar detectors also have GPS antenna's built in to some of the higher end radar detectors.  Not only do these detectors alert to radar and laser signals but now they can also warn the driver when they are coming up on intersections that have known speed traps, red light cameras and also fixed speed cameras.  Cameras are all public records and there are companies that compile all this camera data and you can simply download all these locations right into your radar detector.

New Products like Escort Live use Live data shared from other drivers using smart phone apps to inform drivers in the area of live speed traps. See photo below:

There are many really good radar detectors on the market today and there is not one that is the best for everything.  The best suggestion we can make is to contact a sales or customer service rep through www.bestradardetectors.net and we will help point you to the best radar detector for your specific needs based on your driving habits and the locations that you travel through.

Beltronics PRO-500 or Escort 9500ix

In summary both of these radar detectors are very good and similar in many ways.  Both share the same antenna platform (M4) and both have bubble convex lens (Helps Sensitivity) and both also have an integrated GPS for red light and fixed speed camera warnings.  There are some differences which we highlight in our writeup of the Beltronics PRO-500 vs. Escort 9500ix on our main site but you cant go wrong with either one of these great detectors.