I was hesitant to make this post on VAF. I'm relatively new here and seeing the caption under Product Reviews admonishing "no bashing allowed" I thought this forum might not appreciate this. But I was told differently so here it goes.
I own / run a small business and see a lot of things run by my desk. I run a high-end machine shop with all multi-axis machines making orthopedic implants, medical devices, aircraft parts, and the like. The success of my business is largely based on old fashioned principles: honesty, quality, and expertise.
The short story goes like this: I decided to go with Performance Engines for a ?hot rod? IO-540 for my Rocket. They asked for a $20,000 deposit and promised delivery in 90 days ? all in a written contract (by email and fax). The 90 days came and went, I wasn?t worried; another couple of months went by, I still wasn?t too worried. After 9 months went by and still no engine I was worried. We had been talking during this time and there were ?reasons? for the delay (for example, they were unable to secure a Barrett cold-air-induction sump - and this is no reflection on BPA). Then a friend of mine (based at my home airport) visited Performance Engines looking for another engine builder for his Reno racer; and found that while Performance advertises and talks up their dyno data and experience; they have no dyno. Given this and the fact that they were over 6 months late in delivering my engine I decided to pull the plug; I cancelled my order and asked for my deposit back. Ron agreed but asked for a little time to pull together the $20,000. Again I wasn?t too worried and agreed to 2 months. This time came and went with no money. Long story short, after 2 years, over 50 phone calls, many promises, many broken promises, and the involvement of an attorney; I had received around $8,000 of my deposit returned. During this time my secretary kept a phone log and the number of calls and emails that went un-returned is staggering; as well as the number of times we were promised ?$4,000 by the end of next week? only to receive $1500 2-1/2 weeks later. As a last resort I let a collections agency try; and after they had worked their normal process, they came back and said that Ron had shown himself to be fairly adept at circumventing debt; among the tactics are banking in Nevada while conducting operations in California and having his bookkeeper stonewall. These folks said the only way to go further would be for me to pay the up-front costs of a lawsuit. I?m taking this to mean ?more good money after bad? so I?m very reticent to make this investment (most likely not an investment at all). That?s pretty much the story.
It has been my experience that it is not that hard to ?do the right thing? and keep my nose clean. There is a very rare customer that is difficult to please, but they are rare. Even more rare (but do exist) is the ?impossible to please? customer. It happens. But even then, it is fairly easy to walk away clean. My dealings with Ron at Performance has been anything but clean.
If I read someone making a claim like this I would naturally ask myself what part this ?wronged person? had played to cause this breakdown. In throwing this mud it seems there is no escaping some of it sticking to me. And I didn?t like this prospect. But in the end I didn?t like the prospect of Ron Munson getting away with my (now) $12,000 even more. And in truth I cannot find myself carrying any fault ? the case is very simple and straight forward: I paid a deposit for an engine; the engine was never delivered; it was acknowledged the deposit was to be returned; the deposit was not returned; done; black and white. The only reasonable conclusion is that Performance Engines, Ron Munson, and Stuart Featherstone are crooks.
I have received some very nice and encouraging emails off-line from posts to other venues and my thanks go out to them. If anyone here on the VAF forum has ideas on how I can get my money back I?d love to hear from them. I am also happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
I own / run a small business and see a lot of things run by my desk. I run a high-end machine shop with all multi-axis machines making orthopedic implants, medical devices, aircraft parts, and the like. The success of my business is largely based on old fashioned principles: honesty, quality, and expertise.
The short story goes like this: I decided to go with Performance Engines for a ?hot rod? IO-540 for my Rocket. They asked for a $20,000 deposit and promised delivery in 90 days ? all in a written contract (by email and fax). The 90 days came and went, I wasn?t worried; another couple of months went by, I still wasn?t too worried. After 9 months went by and still no engine I was worried. We had been talking during this time and there were ?reasons? for the delay (for example, they were unable to secure a Barrett cold-air-induction sump - and this is no reflection on BPA). Then a friend of mine (based at my home airport) visited Performance Engines looking for another engine builder for his Reno racer; and found that while Performance advertises and talks up their dyno data and experience; they have no dyno. Given this and the fact that they were over 6 months late in delivering my engine I decided to pull the plug; I cancelled my order and asked for my deposit back. Ron agreed but asked for a little time to pull together the $20,000. Again I wasn?t too worried and agreed to 2 months. This time came and went with no money. Long story short, after 2 years, over 50 phone calls, many promises, many broken promises, and the involvement of an attorney; I had received around $8,000 of my deposit returned. During this time my secretary kept a phone log and the number of calls and emails that went un-returned is staggering; as well as the number of times we were promised ?$4,000 by the end of next week? only to receive $1500 2-1/2 weeks later. As a last resort I let a collections agency try; and after they had worked their normal process, they came back and said that Ron had shown himself to be fairly adept at circumventing debt; among the tactics are banking in Nevada while conducting operations in California and having his bookkeeper stonewall. These folks said the only way to go further would be for me to pay the up-front costs of a lawsuit. I?m taking this to mean ?more good money after bad? so I?m very reticent to make this investment (most likely not an investment at all). That?s pretty much the story.
It has been my experience that it is not that hard to ?do the right thing? and keep my nose clean. There is a very rare customer that is difficult to please, but they are rare. Even more rare (but do exist) is the ?impossible to please? customer. It happens. But even then, it is fairly easy to walk away clean. My dealings with Ron at Performance has been anything but clean.
If I read someone making a claim like this I would naturally ask myself what part this ?wronged person? had played to cause this breakdown. In throwing this mud it seems there is no escaping some of it sticking to me. And I didn?t like this prospect. But in the end I didn?t like the prospect of Ron Munson getting away with my (now) $12,000 even more. And in truth I cannot find myself carrying any fault ? the case is very simple and straight forward: I paid a deposit for an engine; the engine was never delivered; it was acknowledged the deposit was to be returned; the deposit was not returned; done; black and white. The only reasonable conclusion is that Performance Engines, Ron Munson, and Stuart Featherstone are crooks.
I have received some very nice and encouraging emails off-line from posts to other venues and my thanks go out to them. If anyone here on the VAF forum has ideas on how I can get my money back I?d love to hear from them. I am also happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
