Things went bad with FBO

[john.thompson068]

I had run an orange ECU for seven or eight years and put tens of thousands of miles on it with a Holley coil, electronic voltage regulator, and ballast all of which never failed once. When I upgraded my motor I wanted the distributor re-curved and Don talked me into upgrading my ecu, coil, and ballast resistor with his FBO products as well as having him re-curve my distributor. The first FBO box lasted 500 miles, and I got a free replacement. The second one lasted 1500 miles and this time all I received was rude treatment.

I wasn't rude with him and only stated the facts as politely as possible. I had a hard time even getting a chance to explain that the car ran flawlessly before and only began to have problems when I switched to his ECU. He swore I must have a mechanical points voltage regulator because he is the only one who even makes an electronic voltage regulator. He requested that I take a picture of the inside of my electronic voltage regulator to prove to him that it was an electronic regulator so I did and emailed it to him.

The ECU I have now is no longer made and now I would have to pay almost 200 dollars for his newest ECU. It is for motors that spin over 2500 rpm more than mine although it does eliminate the ballast resistor. I guess I should not have mentioned that I did not want to pay that much for an ECU that might only last 1500 miles (which would just be out of warranty by the time it might fail because I only drive the car for fun now-it used to be my only car). All I heard was that he doesn't care what I do and that I am talking out of my ### before I had to hang up the phone because of the foul language and rudeness.

Now I will run a chrome ECU or possibly a Standard Motor Products LX101.

 

[Propwash]

Good to know! Sorry to hear your misfortune

 

[Meep-Meep]

I have no idea who this FBO is but I think I'll just stick to my crummy orange box or equivalent. Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

 

[RonP]

very good to know as I was looking at that stuff for a build I am doing now. Probably just run factory stuff as well. Just a cruiser anyway. Good luck.

 

[Don Gould]

Dear John,
Maybe you should try telling the truth on occasion
Here's your invoice from 2005 Over 6 Years Ago!

John Thompson
*** Maplewood XX
XXXXX XX

August 3, 2005

A688 kit $129.00
Resto regulator $25.00
Recurve distributor $69.00
Stage 2 conversion $10.00
Coil Bracket $10.00

Freight ….. $15.00

Total $258.00
Less Military discount 10% $25.00

Net Total $233.00

ECU Defective replaced 8/06

The facts are you want warranty on a 6 year old part, which we are not going to give you. The replacement HR688 Box is $179.00 and will work flawlessly with the A688 coil and eliminate your ballast resistor. It will also bring the max voltage under full load from 38KV to 50KV and it also comes with our 2 year warranty.

The paints peeling on my 1986 shop truck, the dam Dodge dealer here won’t repaint it for me, claims it’s out of warranty even though it obviously a factory defect. Same thing on the front u-joints on my 04 Diesel, dealer claims they’re out of warranty, I had to replace them myself. My 2001 Durango battery went bad last week after only 32,000 miles and they charged me $119.00 to replace it, it’s only 10 years old! I think I’ll go to their website and flame them for the poor products and lack of warranty service.

For your information the LX101 is made by SMP the same people who previously made our A688 ECU's for us. As of late 2010 they have sent all their manufacturing on these products to China or Mexico and can no longer produce this ECU in the USA to our spec. The old SMP LX101 was made in Kansas, when SMP bought out Borg Warner years ago the LX101 was superseded to the B/W unit which was built from low end imported components and the performance proved it.

We are not obligated to maintain your car for life, our 2 year warranty on electronic components is the best in this industry and it’s because we know the quality and specs of our custom made products. Maybe you need to have one of those 90 day Chinese units on your car and good luck.

We gave you a Military discount, as a veteran you of all people should know how important it is to keep jobs in America. Did you serve to create the freedoms for corporate America to send all our jobs to foreign countries? SMP is one of the top automotive violators on my list for cutting American jobs and sending them offshore and you want to support them?

Read this: http://www.workingamerica.org/upload/OutsourcingReport.pdf

“SMP “All other products- 90 day/3,000 miles”

“Mopar Performance Parts products are sold "as is" without any warranty whatsoever.”

“Standard Motor Products, a New York-based auto replacement parts manufacturer and distributor, will be closing its Wilson facility and laying off all its 36 employees. Plants work to be outsourced to Asia.”

“Standard Motor Products Inc. plans to shut down its manufacturing operations at its 301,100-square-foot property at 37-18 Northern Blvd. in Long Island City, NY”

We continually strive to buy and distribute only the best American Made products whenever possible. We spend at least ½ our 10-12 hour long days trying to problem solve and offer tech advice to the best of our ability. Over ½ of that time is trying to help enthusiasts solve issues with products that we didn’t or don’t even sell. Over the years we have given away thousands of man hours to help people without any personal gain. Then we get an inconsiderate person like this with no clue as to what we actually do come on a board like this expressing a totally unsubstantiated “Opinion” who’s only purpose is to purposely flame us for his own personal greedy satisfaction and get something for free.

75% of our customer base is repeat business, people who depend on us to help them with their parts buying decisions. Many times we may not offer the parts they require but we are always willing to help steer them in the right direction or refer them to someone who can help them. We have customers in 32 countries, over 300 machine shops nationally that depend on us to supply their Cometic gaskets, distributors, ignition products and many other hard parts. Our phone starts ringing with International calls most days at 4am and continues until 5-6PM and we’re mostly here to respond.

There are nearly 10,000 of our A688 kits in service worldwide, with a documented 1.2% warranty rate after 8 years.

The skilled American labor content of each of the new HR688 Ignition box is 55 minutes. If we can be successful enough to distribute 10,000 of these units we will have created 5 years of work for someone in the American labor force. While the rest of corporate America is trying to send YOUR job to Asia we’re trying to make one for you or your neighbor by supporting our American manufactures.

Of the $1M in parts we sell each year 90% or more are Made in the USA and many designed by us. We are a very supplier loyal company we sell only Cometic Gaskets, Harland Sharp rocker arms, Aerospace Fuel Systems & Brakes, BLP Carbs and parts, Diamond Pistons, DL Valve Covers and Pans, PRP waters pumps and accessories, SM Lifters, Racer Brown Cams, K&N Air Filters, Wix oil filters, Smith Bros pushrods and many other American made products. Unlike many of our competitors who buy OFFSHORE knock offs and repackage them into deceiving American appearing boxes. All our FBO Products are Made in the USA like our carb gaskets, carb spacers, Ignition boxes, MSD Bushings and other products. C of O certificates are available on every product we sell, we will not deceive you, don’t deceive us.

 

[Don Gould]

2 Year Warranty Not 6!

Dear John,
Maybe you should try telling the truth on occasion, you were rude, demanding and obnoxious, one more time Your WARRANTY is Over.
Here's your invoice from 2005 Over 6 Years Ago!

John Thompson
*** Maplewood XX

August 3, 2005

A688 kit $129.00
Resto regulator $25.00
Recurve distributor $69.00
Stage 2 conversion $10.00
Coil Bracket $10.00

Less Military discount 10% $25.00

Net Total $233.00

ECU replaced 8/06

The facts are you want warranty on a 6 year old part, which we are not going to give you. The replacement HR688 Box is $179.00 and will work flawlessly with the A688 coil and eliminate your ballast resistor. It will also bring the max voltage under full load from 38KV to 50KV and it also comes with our 2 year warranty.

There's several things in a 30-40 year old car that can cause problems with the electronics, high resistance wiring, poor battery and or connections, bad key switches, bad or inadequate grounds, corroded bulkhead connections, moisture, corroded battery cables and the list goes on. Voltage spikes and or low voltage will kill any electronic component. We can build them bullet proof but we can't make them stupid proof. Like the customer who beat on the ECU with a hammer then manned up and admitted the battery cable was loose, tightened it and it still ran fine. We warranted it because he was honest.

The paints peeling on my 1986 truck, the dam dealer here won’t repaint it for me, claims it’s out of warranty even though it obviously a factory defect. Same thing on the front u-jts on my 04 Diesel, dealer claims they’re out of warranty, I had to replace them myself. My 2001 Durango battery went bad after only 32,000 miles and they charged me $119.00 to replace it, it’s only 10 yrs old! I think I’ll go to their website and flame them for the poor products & lack of warranty service.

For your information the LX101 is made by SMP the same people who previously made our A688 ECU's for us. As of 2010 they have sent all their manufacturing on these products to China or Mexico and can no longer produce this ECU in the USA to our spec. The old SMP LX101 was made in Kansas, when SMP bought out Borg Warner years ago the LX101 was superseded to the B/W unit which was built from low end imported components and the performance proved it.

We are not obligated to maintain your car for life, our 2 yr. warranty on electronic components is the best in this industry and it’s because we know the quality and specs of our custom made products. Maybe you need to have one of those 90 day Chinese units on your car and good luck.

We gave you a Military discount, as a veteran you of all people should know how important it is to keep jobs in America. Did you serve to create the freedoms for corporate America to send all our jobs to foreign countries? SMP is one of the top automotive violators on my list for cutting American jobs and sending them offshore and you want to support them?

Read this: http://www.workingamerica.org/upload/OutsourcingReport.pdf

“SMP “All other products- 90 day/3,000 miles”

“Mopar Performance Parts products are sold "as is" without any warranty whatsoever.”

“Standard Motor Products, a New York-based auto replacement parts manufacturer and distributor, will be closing its Wilson facility and laying off all its 36 employees. Plants work to be outsourced to Asia.”

“Standard Motor Products Inc. plans to shut down its manufacturing operations at its 301,100-square-foot property at 37-18 Northern Blvd. in Long Island City, NY”

We continually strive to buy and distribute only the best American Made products whenever possible. We spend at least ½ our 10-12 hour long days trying to problem solve and offer tech advice to the best of our ability. Over ½ of that time is trying to help enthusiasts solve issues with products that we didn’t or don’t even sell. Over the years we have given away thousands of man hours to help people without any personal gain. Then we get an inconsiderate person like this with no clue as to what we actually do come on a board like this expressing a totally unsubstantiated “Opinion” who’s only purpose is to purposely flame us for his own personal greedy satisfaction and get something for free.

75% of our customer base is repeat business, people who depend on us to help them with their parts buying decisions. Many times we may not offer the parts they require but we are always willing to help steer them in the right direction or refer them to someone who can help them. We have customers in 32 countries, over 300 machine shops nationally that depend on us to supply their Cometic gaskets, distributors, ignition products and many other hard parts. Our phone starts ringing with International calls most days at 4am and continues until 5-6PM and we’re mostly here to respond.

There are nearly 10,000 of our A688 kits in service worldwide, with a documented 1.2% warranty rate after 8 years.

The skilled American labor content of each of the new HR688 Ignition box is 55 minutes. If we can be successful enough to distribute 10,000 of these units we will have created 5 years of work for someone in the American labor force. While the rest of corporate America is trying to send YOUR job to Asia we’re trying to make one for you or your neighbor by supporting our American manufactures.

Of the $1M in parts we sell each year 90% or more are Made in the USA and many designed by us. We are a very supplier loyal company we sell only Cometic Gaskets, Harland Sharp rocker arms, Aerospace Fuel Systems & Brakes, BLP Carbs and parts, Diamond Pistons, DL Valve Covers and Pans, PRP waters pumps and accessories, SM Lifters, Racer Brown Cams, K&N Air Filters, Wix oil filters, Smith Bros pushrods and many other American made products. Unlike many of our competitors who buy OFFSHORE knock offs and repackage them into deceiving American appearing boxes. All our FBO Products are Made in the USA like our carb gaskets, carb spacers, Ignition boxes, MSD Bushings and other products. C of O certificates are available on every product we sell, we will not deceive you, don’t deceive us.

 

[Meep-Meep]

I guess that's one way of finding out who FBO is.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Wow, now that's a come back! lol Welcome to reality

 

[Cranky]

What I don't understand is why change away from something that works? Years back I was racing a mid 10 second car with Mopar Performance ignition system and a buddy kept after me about upgrading to an MSD. Why when the car was running well and very consistent. He on the other hand went through 3 MSD boxes during the season....

 

[Slantsixdan]

Me, I have excellent, cost-effective results with the HEI upgrade .

 

[eagleone1983]

Very well said Don. Unfortunately in the retail business it's the ones dissatified that talk the most. Also I just wanted to point out that the 1.2% warranty rate is better than some OEMs for F-16 parts, what is our military coming to when I can purchase more reliable parts for my car than I can for the aircraft I manage

 

[Jonnyuma]

There's two sides to every story blah, blah, blah...
Even so, HUGELY unprofessional to come back on a customer like that.
I also use an HEI setup and furthermore, MSD boxes ain't worth the powder it'd take to blow 'em to HELL.

figuratively speaking, of course.

 

[69Coronetrt]

I 'thought' I had a problem with my FBO product. I called Don. He was patient and problem solved with me over the phone. Asked me to send back the product, no questions asked. Prompty shipped me a replacement part. I installed the replacement part and found out I was being the dumb ***. I sent the part back to FBO with letter of apology for wasting his time and thanking him for his prompt professional service.
.
Nothing but props to Don and FBO. No problems here.

 

[Drifter]

Gotta agree with Jonny

Much better ways to answer a discontented customer than going on 10,000 word tirade, calling them a liar, mocking them, and making an *** of yourself. I won't be picking up the phone to order anything. It seems to me you proved his case for :naka:him.

 

[70redbee]

I have never used FBO or know the OP, but I think it is perfectly ligit to answer and defend oneself in a situation. As someone else said, there are two sides to every story. Now we have heard both. Make up your own mind.

 

[brandon64]

I have never used FBO or know the OP, but I think it is perfectly ligit to answer and defend oneself in a situation. As someone else said, there are two sides to every story. Now we have heard both. Make up your own mind.

I agree.

 

[5.7 hemi]

I think the owner of a company has every right to defend his rep, and products especially when the customer has had the parts for years and they are out of the warranty period, regardless of the mileage of said vehicle.

 

[Southernman]

I certainly don't want to have any ill feelings with other members, but I've ordered parts from Don Gould in the past and I can tell you he's an top-notch stand-up kinda guy.

Don also has the capability to custom build you a set of Cometic gaskets (which he did for my hemi engine last year) and his service, customer support, and pricing is some of the best I've experienced. In fact, even after I ordered my custom gaskets, Don called me on several occassions just to ensure I received them as promised.

Additionally, there's virtually nothing about motorsports that Don doesn't have experience with. Whether it's a top fueler; Salt Flats; down to the simplest stocker, Don's got you covered. He is a great source of information no matter what you're building, and he willingly shares his knowledge.

Don, again, you're a stand up guy and it's been a pleasure (at least for me) to do business with you and I look forward to more.

Southernman, Raleigh, NC

 

[cr8crshr]

I certainly don't want to have any ill feelings with other members, but I've ordered parts from Don Gould in the past and I can tell you he's an top-notch stand-up kinda guy.

Don also has the capability to custom build you a set of Cometic gaskets (which he did for my hemi engine last year) and his service, customer support, and pricing is some of the best I've experienced. In fact, even after I ordered my custom gaskets, Don called me on several occassions just to ensure I received them as promised.

Additionally, there's virtually nothing about motorsports that Don doesn't have experience with. Whether it's a top fueler; Salt Flats; down to the simplest stocker, Don's got you covered. He is a great source of information no matter what you're building, and he willingly shares his knowledge.

Don, again, you're a stand up guy and it's been a pleasure (at least for me) to do business with you and I look forward to more.

Southernman, Raleigh, NC

WWWOOOOWWWW!!! Like what has been said above, I cannot fathom why the OP is dissatisfied with Don's customer service. I had FBO re-curve my distributor and purchased the coil and ECU from him. Excellent pieces and helped smooth out my rides engine. Now it has been sold and the new owner even commented as to how well it ran with Don's work. He is a stand up guy and one who probably has more experience with Mopars than most do. Only down side now is BG carbs are a thing of the past and Don's been one to advocate them for his FBO site. What will he use now I wonder but still a great guy and a quality product...IMHO:blob1::blob1::blob1::hello2::hello2::hello2:

 

[Jonnyuma]

Of course a person has a right to defend their reputation. In the case of a business I would say they have an obligation to their shareholders, employees, or even just their own personal livelihood to do so.
I said the WAY it was done was unprofessional.
If I ordered parts from, say Jeg's, and was rightly or wrongly dissatisfied with the parts and/or service and then came and posted it up here, then Jeg Coughlin showed up with with personal attacks and sarcasm, would you be surprised? Consider it odd? Unprofessional? He has the right, but I would expect more from him and his organization. They call it "Taking the high road".
Maybe I expect too much...