F Gude!!!
Here's my story:
1999 Mazda Miata - I wanted cams and a throttle body. Talked to Bill Gude (aka Roy Gude) about sponsorship (my car was green), I told him Id put a gude frog on my car, logos the whole 9 in exchange for a killer price.
I must mention I had a gude head pkg. on my 98 Eclipse GS (n/a) and lemme tell you...AWESOME...so I fgured Id hit em up again...BIG MISTAKE Roy/Bill agreed, said "I will sell you the TB for $150 and the cmas for $300...thats retail, but I wont charge you a core carge." I said "Ok, thats great..here's my card number."
Week goes by and my stuff arrives. That weekend, I tear my engine apart, to do the cams...wait a second...on the cam it says
NA B6...thats weird (for non miata/ mazda people, NA is the miata body style, NA = 90-97 while NB is 99+..I have NB...the B6 is engine. B6 is the 1.6 DOHC found in 90-93 Miatas, BP is a 1.8, then there are little differences between the 94-97 BP and the 99+ BP, one being..hydraulic lifter for 90-97 and solid in 99+.) I check around..sure enough..wrong cams, wrong engine. Then I check the Throttle body...looks NOTHING like mine. I dont have a throttle rotor plunger and a totally different TPS sensor. I go to a friends house...he has a 91 with the 1.6. What do ya know...looks just like my Gude TB. So, I make a call to Gude..."Hey Bill, this is Russ, with the Miata..dude, you sent me the wrong stuff, you sent me parts for a Gen 1 miata with a 1.6, I have a Gen 2 with a 1.8 and solid lifter cams."
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MO FO SAID TO ME!?!?
"We dont guarantee fitment"
W H A T !?!?
"You sent me the wrong stuff...can I send this back and get the right stuff at least? Its been sitting here, unistalled, I just opened the box?"
"Lemme check if I have the stuff for your car...I'll call you back in a few hours..."
"Ok" I said "Sounds good..."
So, I go online to check my AmEx card, see what purchases Ive made, etc....then it hit me...I was FURIOUS..."Purchase: GUDE Performance, $1100"
WHAT THE FUNK!?!?!?!!!
I was on the phone....FAST.
I said, dude, you take your sheist back, and you refund my card. "Cant do that..we dont guarantee fitment..maybe try selling it on ebay or something"
I was really mad at this point. I hung up on him and called AmEx..yada yada, we did a charge back, I got $1100 taken off my card, and they instructed me to send the parts back. I did.
Never spoke to gude again....til a year later...
American Express calls me..."We are going to sue you unless you pay $1100 that you have a balance on." I was like "HUH!?" Apparently that dumb 'parts dont fit *******' denied the charge back or omething, kept and probably resold my parts, and I go stuck for $1100.
So, dealing with/ trusting GUDE cost me $1100 and a dinger on my credit report.
PHUCK GUDE!!!
BBB couldnt do anything, but I filed a complaint...didnt go any further..parents said "Its not worth fighting, and unfortunately you have no proof of what happened, AMEX wont talk to you about it becuase you owe them the $...." They ended up paying 1/2 and I paid /2 (nice generous parents).
NO ONE DO BUSINESS WITH GUDE!!!
Just my TRUE story...
Russ