More vaporware from Coastal Dave

you can call your credit card company and stop payment if costal charges you for something you never recieved.

 

Has anybody been charged, and not received the item ? That would be fraud.

Not answering the phone, or delays in sending out product is certainly rotten customer service, but it is not fraud, and saying that it is is wrong. It is also libel.

-- not a friend of Dave, not a customer of Dave.

 

I agree that Coastals service is downright laughable - I think it's awful that they are updating their site but still not shipping product. Unfortunately for you, if they haven't charged you, they haven't robbed you. Good luck with it all - I hope everyone eventually gets their orders - the products sound phenomenal, if not easy to get.

 

IFAIK, there has be one instance. It was a $10 kit for the power outlet which was part of a multiple order, so it's possible that it was accidently missed.

I ordered an Auto-Lock kit and a NAV override back in April. I received the Auto-Lock in September and my credit card wasn't charged until it was shipped.

I do agree it would be nice if they let people know honestly about the delays, either by their web site or responding to emails and calls.

 

I too have ordered from Coastal and have received every product (with the exception of the NAV kit) on a timely basis. He has never charged my credit card until the item was shipped.

If Coastal has a product that no one else has, so be it, and be patient.

If others have his products, then get them elsewhere.

Most of us knew he's extremely slow before placing orders. Dave's slow development of great products only opens him up to competition and lack of profits. I don't condone his lack of communication, I simply accept it.

Maybe if everyone boycotts them, I'll get my NAV kit sooner!

 

I've experienced nothing dishonest so far from Coastal, based upon a purchase I made in January 2006.

So far I've only purchased the EV switch about 2.5 weeks ago. When I made the purchase I was stunned to see the UPS tracking number go out to me the same day! It got to me in under a week. However, response to email questions are kind of sketchy so far. I don't believe there's any intent to be dishonest, but possibly they are ill equipped to handle the rapidly increasing number of Prius owners that like what they see on the website.

They sort of remind me of this other family run internet business that made unique telescope optics. I was promised a special part in 2 months, and in the end it took me about 14 months! In the case of the telescope optics it was a one of a kind part that no one else in the world could make, so I simply waited.

I sort of wonder if this fantastic sound iPod controller that Coastal advertises is going to be one of those things that if you're incredibly patient you'll eventually get, but only if you are incredibly patient.

 

Right. I learned patience while waiting for a Prius so I can wait for any accessories.

 

I sense a lot of hate in you... leave the hate... calm your self.... center your chi ... reach for the force.
In other words chill. It is just stuff. Stuff is not important and not worth breaking a sweat over. If you are in Washington I know some people who can help! B)

 

So far I have ordered the 12v always on mod, XM Sat, and front end bra. All three of these item arrived in a timely manner and I was given tracking info. The XM Sat came with a year of free and that was done after registering the XM radio and emailing coastal. They responded immediately and credited my XM account. While this is all very good, I will tell you that they have lost sales with me. I have not bought any thing that is on "Pre-Sales" status. This is of course vaporware. I wanted the Viewtech but bought the Vais AIC-100i instead. They may have other products I want, but until they are shipping them, I will not buy vaporware. Even if they don't charge my CC until later, I don't want that floating out there for the next year or so. What if I buy a similar product later? They have a very poor reputation in responding to emails and phone calls about canceling an order. Yes, you may be lucky and get a response or you may not. I won't play that game. If they have a product, and it is available and shipping I may spend my hard earned $$$ or I may find an alternative product in the mean time.

I wish them luck, because their vaporware sounds very nice. But so do many of my dreams.

 

I don't believe they've ever "swindled" anyone (charged them without delivering a product), but they DO have horrifically long processing times, extremely poor customer communication, and list products which seemingly never will be released.

I don't plan on ever ordering from them...

 

I've also been frustrated my with experiences here. I ordered the Nav and Bluetooth kit 5-6 months ago. Once they started shippin gthe nav kits a few weeks ago, I sent multiple emails (no reply) asking about when my order would be processed. Now that they are saying "sold out" of the bluetooth portion, I wonder if that means they never really sold any to begin with or is there some small chance they filled a tiny handful of backorders and that was all they had? Either way, it wouldn't kill them to update their existing orders, and especially to give us the chance to give us the option of just getting the NavKit without the bluetooh if thatis all they have left.... Really horrible communication/service but unfortunately the only game in town for these products.

 

I would agree on the long processing time and the horrible customer service. I ordered a NAV defeat and an EV mod last March (a month before I bought the Prius!), and they still haven't shown up. In June, I called and added the Bluetooth fix to the package, and to check and make sure they actually had my order... since there had been no communication. Talked to a woman (probably Kelly), who said the order was in the system and would go out when they received the parts.

I called yesterday, about 10 months after the initial order, to check the status. They're still waiting on the Bluetooth fix, but assure me that it will be shipped when it is completed. I cancelled the EV mod, but kept everything else on the order. It is worth noting that my credit card has not been charged. It is also worth noting that it will expire soon.

No love for Coastal Dave here... but I do get the impression that they are just clueless, not malicious. Still, there is no excuse for running a company that badly.

Dan

 

I too ordered the viewtech and navkit when they were announced and now I read that the bluetooth kit is sold out. Has anyone received the bluetooth kit? How many did he make? One?

 

At least they aren't like the company ICONS Replicas, which sold replicas of movie props. They would show you a picture of the prototype, took your money right then, and IF you were able to talk to them, they had a ready excuse (machine down, painter sick, part on back order) until it was too late for you to get your credit card reversed. The last time I had checked, there were 90 people that ordered a full scale replica of the B9 Robot from Lost In Space (from $10K to $12K), 9 of which were actually made.

They went out of business in March 2000, leaving several angry customers.

 

Yep... makes sense. Coastal Dave waits until all parts are on the order before shipping anything in the order, so the lack of having a Bluetooth adapter held back the EV mod. That is OK; I'm happier with the switch I got on eBay. If you do order from them, have them ship the parts separately.

Since the NAV mod and the Bluetooth adapter are part of the same solution, I'm OK with waiting for those, within reason. Ten months is a bit long, though.

Dan

 

Not to hijack this thread, but...

Which switch is this? I did a quick search on eBay and came up empty.

At this point in time, I'm deciding between running a single wire to the flasher and doing a two-wire Radio Shack button in the spot where the OEM EV button would be. But I'm open to alternatives...

Thanks!