Wow, these are some seriously "good boy" answers. Who are you guys monks? hehehe
Well my two cents' worth is this. I agree wholeheartedly that it depends tremendously on where you live. But I think the general vibe in this thread is to really underestimate the value of a radar/lazer protection system. I've used radar detectors in my cars my entire driving life in three different countries and I've saved myself on countless occasions. Currently I have The Escort 9500iX in both these BMWs and they have both paid for themselves already at least twice over I guarantee you that. IMO after researching tirelessly for months before deciding, This and the V1 are the best detectors money can buy right now if what you're looking for is simply a detector. Which as others correctly said does NOT protect you from lazer detection. It just lets you know you're screwed, basically. It's like the worst sound known to man. The 9500ix is one of the detectors with built in GPS technology which knows of upcoming speed traps and traffic light cams/speed cams etc (valuable depending on where you live, again). To suggest it's inaccurate is false. It depends on how meticulous you are about keeping your database up to date. I keep my subscription going on both detectors and I marvel often times at the accuracy. I can't imagine driving around either and having to deal with false alerts forever more. These GPS units store false alerts automatically. I love that.
Luckily where I live in NC they don't use much lazer at all. But with the M5 I'm about to take delivery of, I asked the dealership to go ahead and install the Escort 9500Ci system for me. It's basically a 9500ix "pulled apart" in theory with multiple small components which can be mounted professionally very stealth. so that no one can see it. It's also immune to radar detector detectors (someone mentioned Ontario: aren't detectors illegal there???), and has what they (Escort) refer to as "lazer shifters" which are installed very stealth on front and rear of the car to initially deflect a lazer signal for long enough to allow you to adjust your speed before the cop gets a true reading. Different from a jammer. It's s pricey system at like 1500 bucks but for me with a car of this caliber it's worth it.
So that's my take. GET A GOOD detector. Don't be fooled into thinking a system isn't valuable with a car like these. It is. Sure it won't likely save you if you're driving on a lonely night road and a cop pops on a detector on you going 120 in a 45, even with those brakes. But for all those instances where you're "accidentally" going 15 over or 20 over or 30 over etc. which are much more common than "wreckless speeding", it's foolhardy to think a detector doesn't have value. Happy researching and good luck!
