Futastic

iTrader: (1)

I had a very bad experience with this company. I had a custom retrofit headlights with halos, LED strips, and new ballasts done by them. My headlights arrived damaged, had black tape all around the edges of the headlights, and dust inside of the headlights. Very poor craftsmanship and quality and it was not plug and play. There was more splicing then I thought there would be.

The projector on the driver side came loose during shipping due the amount of putty/clay that was holding the projector onto the headlights. The passenger projector had way more putty/clay around it, so it wasn't damaged in the shipping. I guess this was the only thing that held the projectors onto the headlight, I thought there was supposed to be bolts and brackets holding this thing together? I decided to fix this myself because I was not going to ship this back due to the shipping cost, I already paid $1100 for it. So by epoxying the putty/clay back together, the projector did not move at all and worked.

After the a few days of using the headlights on my car, the HID system on the passenger started to flicker and would not turn on at all unless I flicked the headlight switch back on and off 5-8 time before it came back on. Now it won't even turn on at all. Soon after that, the led strip and Halo wire on the passenger side, which was very thin, was damaged and blew my parking light fuse, due to the heat from the power steering pump.

So the I contacted JB at BFC and asked for a refund after dealing with all these problems, he said no and told me to send the headlights back so he can take a look at it and fix the problem. I decided to go against that because I wasn't going to pay for shipping to send the headlights back to him. Paying $1100 for these headlights was a waste of money, the quality and craftsmanship was very poor and the headlights had black tape around them. I never seen other custom retrofit headlights that had black tape around the edges.

I tried to open a PayPal case and was denied. Now I am out of $1100. Overall this was a horrible company to deal with, there should have been more quality control but they like to cut corners, to save themselves money, and do not care about their customers. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY!

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Post pictures of the abomination

combat mediC

iTrader: (1)

^+1... yeah I'd love to see the automotive abomination

I still would've bitten the bullet and either sent them back, or even take them to a local autoshop to see if they could tweak them for ya.

1100 is steep for modded headlights.. whats another 80 in shipping?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

One has to ask, Why did you chose this company over the other various other companies? not to mention that they have been praised by countless members .

fsttyms1

I would also say that you may not have had to eat the 1100 if you had just paid the small bit for shipping and send them back to see if they would have made it right.

dan lazer

wow thats fucked up man

i actually used the site called BING and found these guys in new york

its funny cuz all the pics on there website seem to be flawless and then this happend to ya

sorry to hear that man

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

holy crap that really sucks. they seem to be a very professional company. i actually live about 20 minutes from them and contacted them about black housing my headlights and halo's. they seemed knowledgeable about the TL's lights.

Futastic

iTrader: (1)

I went with them because I did a search and saw dan lazer's post about BFC and check out their website and seemed legit. I mean after spending $1100 on these headlights, don't you think there should be better quality, craftsmanship, and plug and play? I had to splice the low beam power and the parking lights for everything to work.





LED Strip and HID is out...







More pictures of the back when I take them off this weekend.

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

what did they say when you contacted them about this? did you send them the pictures?

Futastic

iTrader: (1)

They said the black tape was normal, as for the the projector on the driver side headlight being loose and HID system going out, they said to send the headlights back to them so they can fix the problem. I am not paying to ship these headlights back to them to fix it.

kbye

black electric tape to seal the headlight is NOT normal, shame on them for even defending that notion.
when you pay more than 1k for a retro, you'd expect:
- the projectors to be held in place with metal brackets and bolts
- relatively decent alignment
- shrouds to be held on tightly
- inside of the headlight to be dust-free and clean
- headlight sealed properly
maybe it wasn't the usual person that did the retro, but all it takes is one person to ruin the name of the entire company. thanks for the heads up, i know i won't be going to them for my retrofit.

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

Sorry to hear bout the shitty experience.

First of all retros are not supposed to be held with putty. mounting with brackets allows pivot for cutoff adjustment.

as for the ballasts always use OEM electronics, even tho they look rusty they are built to last on the inside. what ballasts did they give you?

if the headlights are sealed properly with OEM butyl they do not need electrical tape, that black tape is nothing but trouble if moisture decides to seep into it.

The way they mounted the CCFL looks wack because it throws off the look of the chrome bezel. they should of gotten a CCFL that fits right into the edge of the bezel and lense.

As for splicing the parking lights to power the CCFL and LED strip, this is normal becuase its the only place to get power from within the headlights.

dan lazer

i guess sorry for posting what i did about them man !!!!! saying they did good work---it looked like they did

i mean you obviously seen the work they did on there website in the pics----i know i wud be fuckin pissed man

i just cant believe this happend

SOOOO then the pics on there website of the 99-01 headlights are false advertisment if this bullshit happened

combat mediC

iTrader: (1)

After seeing the pictures I understand your frustration. Electrical tape... really?
I feel like I could've done a better job w/ some silicon, lock-tite, and maglite projectors... sorry dude.

At least no member that reads this thread will ever go w/ them.

JterrorC

iTrader: (1)

wow...the first time i read eleven hundred, i thought it was a typo...but he did type it more then once...thats crazy... bmw headlights are around 500...i would buy them and do it myself..
that sucks meng...goodluck with it...cant they pay for shipping ..it is their fault..

drnguyen86

send them a 1 star on yelp

fsttyms1

I still dont know why if they did such a bad job and with the amount you paid you arent willing to send them back to have them fix them. To me you not sending them back to look at and fix is as bad as their job You arent teaching them a lesson by not sending them back.

Futastic

iTrader: (1)

The ballast that they provided for me was Morimoto All Digital 35w AMP HID Ballasts.

I paid $1100 for them and to pay another $60-$70 just for them to fix my HID ballast system and the driver side headlight...the quality will NOT change as you can see with the black tape around the edges, which is normal by BFC standards. As you can see with their site, http://blackflamecustoms.com/gallery...9-01-acura-tl/ The pictures on there are very misleading. It's just not worth it for me. More pics when I take the headlights off this weekend.

kbye

true, but you can also teach them a lesson by not sending any more business their way.
i guess if they were willing to cover two-way shipping i'd give them a second chance, no way in hell would i dish out for shipping costs.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

You may have to make an ID to post but post the experience in the following section at HIDplanet. BFC is one of the sponsored retro-fitters there, posting in the following section will help you solve your case very quickly.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/foru...k-Retrofitters

fsttyms1

But are you really teaching them a lesson that way? I think you are the one that is loosing out.

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

the headlights themselves look good to me.. but the plastic/rubber part is pretty shitty looking.. their pictures are misleading.

kbye

lol true enough. but what i'm trying to say is, they should be the ones to pay for their mistakes.

B.F.C.

I'm disappointed to say this will be our first post on this forum, but it seems necessary given the information and
accusations regarding my company's work.

To address the OP's statements -- our first and foremost response (as stated in our emails) was apologetic. We never want anyone to be dissatisfied with any product or custom work we do. We stand behind all of our work and guarantee
satisfaction -- it's publicly stated on our website.

A very important fact not mentioned in this thread is that the lights were delivered via UPS on 4-5-2011. The absolute
first correspondence received was on Sunday 4-10-11 -- 5 days later and after the customer had further modified the
light. The email stated that the light in question was damaged because of shipping and/or a lack of "putty" holding the projector in place. As noted in our immediate email response, the putty was not solely holding the projector in. The Mini MH1 projectors, which is what is used in the setup, have a large threaded sleeve and nut holding them in place -- the additional putty is simply a "lock tight", to keep things in place or from vibrating loose.

(To address one of the commentators, no photo documentation of damage was ever provided)

So, if one of the projectors was loose it was due to shipping damage. Most carriers can be rough with boxes and do things to headlights that you can never replicate on a vehicle. It's unfortunate. Shipping damage is something we are not responsible for and is the main reason we insure each box with UPS. However -- we were unable to file a claim as the issue was not brought to our attention until 5 days later and the customer had already tried to modify the product, voiding any shipping claim that would have been able to be put into place.

The initial email also demanded a $300 refund and new parts. The new replacement parts would have been no problem, we simply needed to diagnose things with the customer (or on our end if the setup was sent back) and they would have been replaced under warranty. If our store policy was read, it clearly and explicitly states, we do not give refunds on any custom built projects. Furthermore, it states that we do NOT warranty any projects that are modified by anyone other than us.

Despite all of those facts, we still offered to have the lights shipped back to us for a full repair and go-through to ensure things were in proper working order. If the customer was willing to communicate with us, then he would have known
that we would have gladly provided return shipping labels, given this situation's special circumstances, free of charge.

However, we received no response from the customer regarding our offer to fix the problem. Six days went by and the customer simply opened a PayPal dispute. There was no communication from the customer that would have allowed us to try and resolve the issues at hand.

PayPal realized that the lights were further modified before any communication was attempted, that our store policy
states we do not offer refunds and chose not to refund any money.

With regards to the black tape, it was noted that it covers an extra small layer of butyl rubber to keep moisture out.
The black tape is done as neatly as possible and is not visible with the lights installed and hood closed. The splicing
involved was mainly due to the added options (LED strips and HALO's) -- we are unable to wire those in on our end because the wiring harness going to the headlights is on the vehicle, not attached to the lights like on some models. All of these things were noted and discussed in emails before the lights were shipped.

To note the dust on the inside of the headlight, that was never mentioned in any email correspondence. It may have been due to shipping damage or perhaps the further modification that was done to the lights without our knowledge. We do not send lights out with dirt or dust.

It was noted that the wiring for the LED's and HALO's were very thin and ended up blowing a fuse because they were too close to the heated power steering pump -- it should also be noted that our store policy recommends all products or custom projects should be installed by professionals. If the wiring was run that close to a heated engine component, it would fail no matter what.

We stand behind our products and apologize for any issues and inconveniences this setup may have caused.


This is disheartening to see. As another retrofitter I would think you could appreciate the fact that custom projects may
have issues that need to be addressed, which is why I was willing to try and work with the customer.

Aman

This should be interesting. Sounds like OP skimped on a few things.

kidduce

iTrader: (1)

JterrorC

iTrader: (1)

Futastic

iTrader: (1)

The reason I didn't email you until Sunday was because I did not have the time to install the headlights during the week. After opening the package on Sunday, seeing that the driver's side projector was loose, I did not feel like sending it back, so I improvised and fixed it myself. After driving around for a couple hours, the passenger side HID system was having problems turning on and then died during the week. The Halo and passenger LED strip wire also was damaged due to the heat from the power steering pump, there should have been protection on these wires, since they were extremely thin.

Yes I asked for a $300 refund for the quality and a replacement for the passenger side HID system, but you said you don't give refunds and to ship these headlights back to you so you can have a look, I was not going to pay for the shipping to send them back to you. I felt the quality and craftsmanship was so bad for $1100, so sending them back on my cost would do me no good after seeing these headlights. If I had known there were black tape around the headlights I would not have went to you guys for the retrofits.

Money isn't the issue here, it's the quality and craftsmanship that I am looking for and you guys do NOT have it. It seem like this was a rush job, and the lack of putty on the driver side SHOWS it. I have another set of headlights that was done by another retrofitter on it's way to me, I will do a comparison the quality between them and will post FULL pictures this weekend, if the weather allows me.

B.F.C.

With regards to the issues that keep being circled back to, we have addressed them in our initial response. We stand by everything we said.

To address what you have said now, you stated that you didn't "feel" like shipping the light(s) back to us.

You then also claim that the return shipping money is both an issue and not an issue here.

Furthermore, you state you've already purchased another set of retrofits from somewhere else that presumably cost a large sum of money. Simply sending the lights back for repairs, any warranty parts and to address issues you had with them would have been a no cost option had there been communication on your part.

We wish you luck with the new setup.

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

moral of the story...

open your headlights yourself, paint the housings black... stick some retrofits in there for a few bucks... and call it a day..

you have quality control and save $700

killahtl

Dam!!!! I was gone F### wit this company but now I guess um back to the drawing board sorry that happend bro!!

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

They said to send them back and you decided not to do that. You probably didn't even inquire further and ask for return shipping labels that I am sure they would have provided. I can understand being upset if they were damaged in shipping, but you didn't even give them a chance to rectify it.

I see this all the time where people blame a company and make it seem so 1 sided. Then you hear the other side and realize it was bs. Bet you never expected them to come on this forum and get their side heard.

KieranM37

sucks man but if I were you I would've at least let them try to fix it, especially if they were offering.

Futastic

iTrader: (1)

As promised, here are the pictures. I took the Black Flame Customs headlights off today and installed my new retrofits from Lightwerkz using my old headlights and the difference in quality is amazing, I just wish Black Flame Customs will make things right and just refund my money but I guess this is the only way to show their poor quality and craftsmanship. I am very disappointed about this. I will be doing a comparison in another thread.

Here are the Lightwerkz retrofitted headlights just to show what these guys are capable of.







Now here are the Black Flame Customs retrofitted headlights:


Here is the passenger's front, as you can see there is black tape all around the headlight and the wires are NOT protected at all and are very thin. Unlike the Lightwerkz headlights, these wire did not come with heat shields and are not pre spliced that can be very easily installed to make everything simple on the user's end. I had to go out to Home Depot and buy the splicing kit for the headlights.




Here is the passenger's front, close up on the projector and angel eyes, here you can see the alignment of the angel eyes and projector, it is slanted and not and aligned like the Lightwerkz retrofitted headlights.




Here is the passenger's front side.




Here are the passenger side wires, the wire on the left side is the LED strip wire, which should have been protected since it was extremely thin, the heat from power steering pump melted the wires and blew my parking light / turn signals fuse. The HID wire seem to also have melted, I don't know how that could've happen but that explains why my HID system on my passenger went out.




Here is the passenger's back, I could not find any mounting screws for the projector, so I believe that the only thing holding the projector onto the headlights is the putty/clay.




Here is the passenger's back, close up on the projector.




Here is the passenger's bottom, I wasn't expecting this but the headlight is partially opened! I believed this was probably due to it not sealing correctly because of a rush job, very disappointing.




Here is the passenger's bottom again close up on the opening.




Here is the passenger's HID system.




Here is the driver's front, as you can see there is a piece of putty inside of the headlight, again with the black tape around the headlight and the wires are NOT protected at all and are very thin.




Here is the driver's front close up, you can see the putty/clay piece right beside the projector and you can also see the alignment of the angel eyes and projector, it is slanted and not and aligned.




Here is the driver front side.




Here is the driver back, again as you can see the wires are not protected from the heat inside the engine bay at all!




Here is the driver back close up on the projector where I did my epoxy repair, this is how much putty/clay they put on this thing compared to the passenger side.




Here is the driver side bottom.

TLin401

After reading and seeing everything, that setup is garbage. Why wouldn't you get a better projector or shroud for that price?

OP, you were stubborn and didn't send it back and you lost.

B.F.C. I'm going to keep my comments to myself about you ..

Futastic

iTrader: (1)

Apparently I did a search around here and found that this company did retrofits and look at their site and everything checked out. After I received the headlights from B.F.C and installed them, I started to look around google more and found another site that did retrofits, which was Lightwerkz and got them to do a retrofit that worked for me.

Would you send them back and get them to fix the projector and and HID system after seeing the quality?

TLin401

I would of inquired about their materials and quality of products before I even gave them my business. After I had received that information, then I would of researched those materials to see if it was of good quality or not.

DarkSithCL

iTrader: (1)

...does the second set you bought have the LEDs installed like the 1st set?

Interested to see them installed and turned on...

IMVHO... when a car is customized, an open hood showing of the engine, trunk and doors should be considered when purchasing or building any custom component... A tight, clean look is just priceless when showing off the goods!

Futastic

iTrader: (1)

No it does not because Caesar@LWZ said that they do not carry them and were junk and don't last very long or else I would've got them. I will post pictures of both set on the car when I do a comparison.

Yes it should have been clean, if I had known that they had black tape around the headlights I would've never considered buying from them. The final pictures that they sent to me before they had shipped out, had no black tape on them, but when I received them I had a letter in the box with the instructions on how to install and saying that they were normal and it's to keep the moisture out, very misleading.

DOHC TL

Wow it is VERY SAD to read about your experience.... I was really thinking about getting a pair myself.
But thats ok I will or rather do it myself
the ones they have pictured look really nice, BUT the car will not pass a SafetyCheck Inspection here in Hawaii with out the Amber Reflectors.. and tho think i was saving up some money for those