I haven't heard of Gustard having bad reliability. I had an R-26 and now an X-30. No issues with either of them.
As mlsstl mentioned, every manufacturer will have some issues in some units. The problems could be a result of rough handling in shipment. I sent a conrad-johnson preamp back to a dealer and all of the large capacitors came loose. The shipper probably dropped it. I'm not saying that's what's happened here, but I've seen UPS, etc almost drop kick gear out of their truck.