LocostUSA.com

More than 3 months and over $4,000 later, I have nothing. They strung me along with excuses about the weather until the eBay reporting time expired, now they just ignore me. Their feedback says they've been shipping to others in that time period. For some reason they've picked me out as the victim to cheat. Might they chose you next?

So my only avenue now is a mail fraud complaint. Glad I deal in checks in cases like this. (Does PayPal have an expiration date too?)

You want to buy from Coveland? Well, that's YOUR business. . . .

_________________
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

2000 Plymouth Neon
1999 Beetle
1999 Cherokee
1990 Eclipse
1989 Jaguar Vanden Plas

Do you subscrible to the Locost North America Yahoo group? Jim Posted this letter a few days ago.

"I am responding to the negative publicity For Coveland, and sincerely
appologise that it has taken so long. What I thought was a great idea
and service to the Locost community turned to disaster. The
relationship with Robin Hood Sportscars was an effort to bring in a
variety of products, new ideas and benefit builders in the USA with a
good source of UK manufactured goods. Our shipment came days before
they declared bankruptcy. We received a container of incomplete
product and damage beyond belief. The effort to salvage this disaster
has been overwhelming. The end result has created "domestic" problems
for me that are more devistating than any financial problems could
be. My guys in the shop have been the best support imaginable. We have
tooled and salvaged the UK product. We have regrouped and are now able
to push on. We love the Locost niche and will manufacture all of our
products in house from here foreward. I have spent all of my time in
the shop, and am thankful that our base of business (British
Sportscars) has gotten us thru. The "domestic" problems have made the
office and paperwork a mess. I am spending the week in the office
taking care of problems. Fortunitely there are only a few, despite how
it sounds in the forum. ALL will be addressed. Look to our website
next week for new contact information including direct email and phone
numbers dedicated to Locost. This is a difficult letter for me to
write and I hope the community understands.
respectfully
Jim Chamberlain
COVELAND MOTORSPORTS, INC"

It sounds to me like they have been put in quite a bind by their UK vendor. When I spoke with Jim near the end of 2006 he was telling me that many of the parts they sell come from the UK. I am not sure what you ordered, but maybe that is part of the problem.

_________________
-Jeff

Project Seven
Instagram: @RexRacer19

My condolences I hope it all gets sorted out...

Sounds like the guy may be trying to make an effort to do right. I can only imagine trying to pick up the peices after a supplier goes under (that would be a disaster that wouldn't have me sleeping right for sure). I would hope that I had the presenence of mind to write every customer and explain the situtation and what we (I) would do to make it RIGHT.

Every company is built on simple principles...
Product, Price, Customer service, and Reliability (of the fore mentioned three).

Like I said I hope he makes it right by you and the others.

_________________
I'll keep an eye out for you!

To err is human...
I am more human than most.

Honestly, that letter only makes me more suspicious. Just another of the long string of convenient utterances from this guy, and yet another change in his story. You are aware he'd claimed they were fabricated right there in his shop in New York State, right?

First, I'd sent him the deposit, and he would EMail the balance when it was "Ready," per HIS instructions. And I told him the date several weeks later that I was leaving town and wouldn't have access to EMail for a short period. Funny, on that first day comes the EMail, "It's ready."

When I got back two weeks later suddenly it WASN'T ready anymore, and he asked questions about what it was to be. Gee, I apologized to HIM when my answer apparently didn't send and I didn't realize that for two days. And it took a few days for him to respond. Was this AFTER this "Shipment" arrived? Did he FRAUDULENTLY seek more money when he knew he couldn't deliver? This is months ago.

And after several ignored inquiries, this is cut and paste from his EMail:

"DOUG your check has cleared and the kit is packed and ready to go. We are iced in and have not been able to get trucks into our facility(or forklift out to the road). The weather is still not cooperating , but I think we will get a break tomorrow or thursday. I will email the BOL and tracking as soon as possible
jim"

Nothing from him since. So the story seems to be that at least when he wrote that last message he was lying. And when he claimed he made them right there in his shop. And as he continues to market on eBay when he's admitting he can't deliver. And as his website is still up and running to take orders. And. . . . And. . . . AND????????

No, that little notice that he NEVER SENT TO ME is further comformation that he's a crook. I have not heard from him in a month, despite my inquiries. Made in his own shop. RIIIGGGGHHHTTTTT!!!!!! I did my research with the Postal Inspectors today, and they were anxious for me to make the report instead of giving him the few more days I'd said I would, hinting about possible OTHER CASES. I just thought he was guessing, but I guess the name "Coveland" pricked his ears. Literally, I was asked if I knew of them having any connections in Florida, no idea why, and was promised there would be a Fed at their door in a few days if I'd report. There must already be activity there.

This little ditty, basically word for word, appeared on a number of boards besides this one at the time. Do you guys know this "RebelGT" personally?

http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtop ... t=coveland

_________________
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

2000 Plymouth Neon
1999 Beetle
1999 Cherokee
1990 Eclipse
1989 Jaguar Vanden Plas

Doug,

So far all you have given us is a chopped up rant about SOME business transaction that you had with Coveland. In all seriousness, if you are going to come onto a public forum and accuse someone of fraud, then you really need to provide a little more supporting evidence. What specifically did you order from them? What is the timeline of all the conversations? What were the exact arrangements/dates promised? To me this info is vital to provide any credibility.

I am not trying to belittle your deal gone bad, but if you are going to make such a strong accusation, then there really needs to be some meat behind it.

FWIW, I have purchased parts from Jim in the recent past (Dec. 06). I spoke with him on the phone a couple of times, and he took the time to send me some pictures of the merchandise so that I could be exactly sure of what I was getting. The transaction went smooth as silk. When I was talking to him, he mentioned that they had been getting some parts from the UK. He thought that they were nice (and they were) but the price was not so locost. They were going to start tooling up to make their own parts that were at the right price point. There are some parts and frame kits that they have always made in house as well. I guess that somewhere along the way, Robin Hood went under and from the sound of it, the kind of threw a big wrench in the works.

There may be other commitments besides yours that he has to deal with as well. And locost parts are not Coveland's primay business. Quite frankly, because of the Robin Hood deal, the weather, and other factors that we may not even know about, this small shop could have a real crisis on their hands and are working as hard as they can to get out of it.

Again, I hope that you are able to get your issue resolved.

_________________
-Jeff

Project Seven
Instagram: @RexRacer19

I would agree that before we burn Coveland's house down, we need to see a more detailed proof of unfair or fraudulent practices. There are a good number of people who speak well of them, and it certainly doesn't appear that they're going the way of CMC, who picked the pockets of practically everyone who came past them near the end.

Right now Coveland appears to be picking up the pieces of a momentous blunder - associating themselves with Robin Hood. I had an e-mail conversation with them prior to their ordering the RH kits where I warned them of RH's lousy reputation in the UK. For whatever reason, they were sufficiently enamored of the monocoque design that it would appear that not only did my warnings fall on deaf ears, but they really didn't do their homework.

but it's a big step from ill-advised decision to fraud, so Doug - the responsible thing to do would be to lay everything on the table. Now that you've stirred up the nest, and let us come to our own conclusions.

Perhaps you guys could agree to just call things off. You could get your money back and Coveland could get through their situation.

On a semi unrelated note, there's some English guy selling one on Ebay.co.uk right now.

_________________
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

Thanks to the person letting me know about the post to this forum. Dougs kit was shipped via Old Dominium Trucklines this week BillOfLading 715XXX(X's for his protection) I emailed him about 10 days before it was shipped. To update everyone on our products , We have reworked our inventory of UK product so we can sell it. The lightweights have strengtheners included with the kits and now will be made up of a combination of UK parts and in house made parts along with domestic shocks etc. We have 2 Stainless kits left and that will be the last of them. These kits also will be sold with some domestic pieces. Good chance here for those that like the polished stainless steel body and longer wider car. Our efforts here forward are going to be with our own Miata Kit in 2 versions. All will be domestically made.
Look to my website next week for new contact information. Thanks to those that have supported me. FYI, we will be at Carlisle this year with 2 cars and display
jim
COVELAND MOTORSPORTS, INC

So do I give this a day or two or should I just lock it now since both parties had their say and it appears that whatever issue there was may be resolved.

_________________
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

In my humble opion...lock it after the parts arrive and the orignal poster has had a chance to inventory his purchase...and issue a report/update/ or apology. This maybe be a squeeky wheel issue or a genuine complaint.....I say let the shipment speak for itself.

_________________
I'll keep an eye out for you!

To err is human...
I am more human than most.

Some general comments about Robin Hood, since they were slagged pretty bad on this thread...

- Yes, they went into what the UK calls "administration". Some form of bankruptcy. The have emerged from it and are doing business again. They are focusing on a new model called the "hood", w/ double wishbones all the way around, inboard front suspension, and an innovative new chassis. Photos here ("lastest hood pictures" under news):

http://www.greatbritishsportscars.com/news.php

- RH took back the car from the Lightweigh builder that failed SVA, and have replaced it w/ a RH 2b kit, at no cost to the customer. Also, with moderate strengthening, a LightWeight has now passed SVA in the UK. You can see some photos of the one that passed SVA here (Dec 3rd 9:30 am post) :

http://community.rhocar.org/index.php?s ... 3873&st=80

And you can read about strengthening the L/W here:

http://community.rhocar.org/index.php?showtopic=10444

Also, the guy that passed the SVA, Graham (GDC on the above forum), will give anyone that asks his plans for how he did the strengthening.

Well before that L/W failed the SVA, i was also in the process of doing a good amount of strengthening of my L/W, most of which is detailed in the strengthening thread above. Anyone that wants more details, let me know.

Lastly, the RH L/W on UK Ebay right now is actually being sold by RH...it is supposedly their last one.

RH has had some problems, and the new owners have made some rookie mistakes, but it appears they may be moving in a better direction now.

-Scot

The original thread I posted here and on USA7s was intended as a "heads up" not as a slagfest. In the form presented I do believe the LW needed further reinforcement which seems to be born out. The owners at the time were trying to keep thier heads down and continue to do buisness as usual and not being responsive. The post was not directed at Coveland but rather asking Coveland, as a distributor to step up and prod RH (every appearance was that Coveland did). The final outcome was for RH to go into "administration" and ultimatly to get new owners who to the best of my knowledge are "Car Guys" and are attempting to improve the buisness. From what Ive seen, don't have, never seen a LW but discontinuing (would have needed further engineering) and focusing on the new model was a good decision. I was told that the original LW "mule" was fitted with a Jaguare V12 then SVAed and run for a year. All I can think about that is I bet that was a scary year.

Bottom line is that from what I can tell Coveland has had a good name for selling quality products and the RH period has been a bit of a speed bump but they have stepped up and are attempting to correct the problems. RH has had a less than stellar reputation in the past and the new owners are attempting to build one.

As with all products "Buyer Beware" know what you are buying, what it is realy worth, and get everything in writing (specs/delivery.

New website for the Robin Hood stuff. I was told (by the guy selling the RH kit on Ebay) that they have undergone a "management buyout" and they are now called "Great British Sportscars."

http://www.greatbritishsportscars.com/index.php

_________________
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

Note, the "RH going into administration" was not the result of the L/W SVA problems.

Yes, the L/W as originally presented needs strengthening. However, for the most part, that strenghtening has been largely sorted out by myself and Graham (RHOCAR's GDC) in the UK.

Yes, the new owners are attempting to move RH/GBS forward positively, and in that vein, the new "hood" does look like a nice car.

I strongly believe the L/W is a good *starting* platform for a aluminum monocoque. ie, combining the base product w/ what is very quickly becoming well understood strengthening, produces a very strong and lightweight final product. Coveland should market their LightWeights as such. ie, they should fully document that the kit is a starting point, and how to go about the strengthening to acheive the correct final product.

-Scot