I would have passed on it as well, IMO anything made by Hesse (or whatever they call them selves now) should be avoided at all costs!
It's remarkable that this company has continued to survive but I think the only reason they have is due to their constant name changing and sneaking up on customers who buy without doing research first.
Years ago before I was frequenting online gun forums and knew anything about Hesse (or Vulcan) I made the huge mistake of buying a Vulcan MP-5 clone and it was complete and utter garbage. Couldn't make the damn thing feed one full mag without issues. Sent it back and dealt with their horrible customer service for a couple months. At one point I was actually able to talk with someone on the phone and he was a complete jerk and said that the malfunctioning was my fault. Worst customer service I have ever dealt with in my life. Finally got the gun back after a couple months and it still malfunctioned. I ended up selling for a couple hundred bucks to someone who wanted it for parts and took about a $1,000 loss on it.
I think you made a wise decision walking away from this deal, seriously Hesse products make Century Arms look high quality.