[JSB 33]

In Aug/Sept 2001 I pre ordered the GT40 MKIV 1967 Le Mans winner for $169.
The years went by and as we know, the car kept being promised but never was released.

Fast forward to early dec 2005 and the mention that the car was "Shipping soon" and in the middle of the month the arrival of my CC statement showing that on the 20th of November Exoto charged my CC for $252!!

When I called I was assured that it was for the MKIV and that the correct price was $169 and that my account would be credited and at the latest the car would ship before New years.

Well, no car and no credit and nothing but lies so its not even worth calling them anymore.
My CC company will only go to bat for me within 60 days of the charge so I am giving up on the car and getting my money back.
I have no idea what is going on but it doesn't sound too good.
I don't trust them and I surely don't trust them with my money.
I also believe it is against Visa's rules to charge a customer for something they don't have in stock unless that was pre arranged and it might even be against consumer laws.
I will be sending letters to the CA state attorney general and to Visa and my bank.

I just hope that Exoto isn't bankrolling thenselves on mine and other collectors money but I feel very cheated.
I am not alone in this, there are others that have the same thing happening.

If you have done any business with them, I would check your CC account very closely and protect yourself. I can only go by what is happening to me and others I have talked to but I have a bad feeling about this.

In all of this I have had no communication from them except when I called them and they offer no explanation for the early billing or the late/non arrival of the merchandise.

 

[LUW]

Jeff, this is happening to you and a LOT of people! Exoto charged everyone that had pre-ordered the model, and everytime somebody asks them they say "the car is shipping", but no friggin car. :rant

I would NOT let this issue slide, and would immediately ask for a refund. What Exoto is doing is criminal and nothing less. If 60 days go by all cc companies won't do anything about it, so you better move.

And as a side note, remember my "2005 1:18 Editorial"? Looks like I was right about them; something is really wrong over there. :shipwrecked

 

[Guest]

Jeff,
i'm really sorry to hear that,i know how much you wanted this car.
you are doing the right thing in contacting your cc company to get your money back....unless Exoto can stump up your car pretty darn quick.
it's such a shame you have to go to these lengths for something you paid for in good faith expecting to receive goods for your hard earnt dollar :my2cents

you've put me off ever dealing with Exoto direct :badidea

i'm sure you'll find the car another way Jeff.

 

[gundam40]

Disregarding the "charging and no car" issue, what's with the price gouging? They've promised a preorder price, and when the model comes out (let's assume it's out), they charge you 252 instead of the 169? WTF?

It has to be against some type of law to charge someone's CC when the item isn't even close to shipping. However, I've noticed on ebay that there are sellers selling "preorders" on models, but the winning bidder has to pay immeidately after winning auction.

Calling Exoto is useless, as I believe another DXer has called them about another problem with his Exoto preorder, and all they basically said was: "sorry, can't help you." Not only that, the multiple times he called, he got the same person over the phone... how many people in the contact center do they have? :confused

 

[Ronan]

That is just terrible Jeff, such poor business practice. Exoto once again have proven they don't give a stuff about customer service or playing fair with their loyal customers.

The only other company that comes close in my mind is Ryanair (most European guys here will know about them) who are a highly successful budget airline (an Irish company as it happens, but one which few Irish people are proud of) who's motto might as well be "you are getting a cheap seat on our plane so don't expect courtesy or customer service as well"! The only way to deal with that is not to fly with them, and I haven't for years.

Hence I don't know why people still buy from Exoto direct. Ok, for US and Canadian customers their special offers hold alot of attraction, some in fairness are keenly priced, but outside the US their shipping costs eliminate the savings.

But to date apart from the Ferrari 312T2s (which seemed to come and go in a flash) I have not failed to find any Exoto for sale online from non-Exoto retailers, and I'd say the '67 LM winner will be no exception. So hopefully you can get your refund pronto and pick this model up quickly somewhere else :cheers

 

[acisne]

Sorry to hear that Jeff! ullhair I know you have been looking forward to that one for a loooong time!

They burned my wife one time. She had ordered a special car from them to give me on my 35th birthday FOUR months before. My bd came and went and all she got was excuses! They wanted to give us credit and not a refund! Yeah right!

I have not bought a single diecast directly from them since. All of my Exotos have been bought in the secondary market, at great savings to boot!

I wonder what make a company have such contempt for their customers? :confused

 

[mattdesign]

I'm sorry to hear you are having issues with them. I hope you can resolve this soon and either get your model or your money back.

I've ordered directly from Exoto 4 times, and (luckly?)I have been treated good. Too bad their pre-order sales have this sort of problems.

 

[Guest]

That is so sad to hear, Jeff. From a premium brand like Exoto you would expect much better customer service but it's like they know that people will buy their models anyway, just becuase we love the quality of them.

As you probably know by now I came into the same situation with Modellautohaus and I didn't have the strength to resolve that issue, but that was "only" 50 bucks. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and your case and let's hope Exoto will learn a lesson. Just because they have a dedicated fan base doesn't mean they may stomp on us and leave us in the trashcan. ullhair

We have to let them know that we're :mob

Good luck, man!

 

[guitardave_1]

That's too bad Jeff. For the price Exoto charge you expect to be dealing with a top company in all respects, not just the models.

It seems a lot of you have had your problems too.

I'm beginning to wonder whether I should have waited to order my 1966 GT40 Le Mans winner elsewhere. I was worried I wouldnt get one given the supposedly limited production runs though.

While we're on the topic, is there really any need to include the 'free' rolling chassis with cars such as the GT40 in question. It seems that in actual fact you pay a premium, and I don't personally have space to display half a car. Are people in agreement? :what

 

[MustangSVT]

Where am I supposed to look for Exoto models for sale then?

I'd like to know more about their online dealing directly through them and their "special offers". I was hoping to save up enough money this summer after I get a part-time job to buy a Ferrari 312T4 Gilles Villeneuve from them, even though it's $250, but it's the only Gilles Villeneuve model in 1:18 that I know of.

Can you buy a model like this one or the Sauber C9 from a retailer instead of directly from them?

 

[gundam40]

from what i've heard from local retailers here, none of them carry Exotos anymore because Exoto undercuts the retailers.

So even if the stores do stock Exotos, the prices are higher than the Exoto online prices...

 

[JSB 33]

I would look at Replicarz or ebay and i think Legacy handles them as well.

 

[MustangSVT]

Replicarz huh? They have a nice site. Looks like they have a Gilles Villeneuve one. Well thanks a lot. Maybe in 5 or 6 months I'll have enough money saved up to buy one of these. :giggle

 

[JSB 33]

Just talked with my CC company and the claim is in action.
They are also looking into how/why this has happened as it is a definate no-no

There will be plenty of other places to buy this car from, just a shame that I will have to pay more than I wanted to.

I have bought tons of cars direct from Exoto and the only problems I have ever had was when buying Le Mans winners from them :confused

If I ever buy from them again, will someone please give me this> :kick

 

[gundam40]

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go to hear the claim is in action.

Don't worry, if u do buy from them again, I think the collective kick from ALL of us will be more than sufficient to remind you :giggle

 

[Guest]

Jeff,

Its good to know that you didn't sit on your fingers about this as we have seen numerous claims of folks having similar problems but no talk of actually doing anything.

Glad to know something is finally taking form on matters like these.

I don't reckon you will be getting many more late night phone calls :lol :wink :lol

 

[guitardave_1]

Need some help here. As mentioned above I pre-ordered a GT40 direct from Exoto. However, they have emailed to say that firstly I have to fax a credit card statement to confirm the card I used, even though I used a debit card, and that secondly I used a 'Discover' card which they do not accept even though my card is a VISA which they do.

Has anyone experienced the same as a first time buyer from exoto?
Also, can anyone confirm how much it costs to call their number. I assume its not free ouside the USA.

Maybe direct ordering was a mistake for yet another of us.

 

[LUW]

Dave, want some advice? Drop the order. If this car comes out, you WILL find it somewhere for sale, and I doubt you will pay much more then what Exoto would charge you. Besides, overseas shipping charges from Exoto are outrageous; they'll easily charge you 3 or 4 times what it should cost.
:my2cents

 

[Thorst13]

Exoto is heading towards the gutter, overpriced models and poor customer service. The last two models I bought from them had dust and fingermarks on them! And something is ALWAYS broken when I get them, some small part always creating problems...........I recently bought my plain C9 Mercedes from a dealer in Germany instead.

 

[Guest]

One thing I have noticed is that the secondary market(meaning=collectors selling their Exoto's) often/actually sell more than the retail prices.

I guess everyone is bypassing the retail pit stop and going straight to the secondary market.

Strange how this hobby works :confused