I've shifted to Shimanos over the years except I still use Ambassadeurs for salmon fishing......river and salt. My partner and I have talked often about quality control on the newer ambassadeurs (we've fished together over 25 years) and agree they are NOT like the older ones, both in parts and longevity.

That's not to say the newer ones don't work. I have a C3 6501 going on 7 years of hard saltwater use (with normal maintenance) but then my partner has a couple newer C3 5501's bought for river salmon that were both lemons right out of the box. Needless to say, they are permanently shelved.

So it's a crap shoot with the newer ones. By comparison, I have an "old version" 5001C that works as good as the day I bought it in 1982, though, it is semi-retired as a plug rod reel now.

At the least, if your that disgusted, take the reel back for a refund.