Black Forest Industries

Black Forest Industries


Don't take your car to BFI.

At first sight, in person and on there web page, you would think that these "guys" run a reputable business and are on par. Like me, you are greatly mistaken if you believe this to be true. Sit back, relax and grab some popcorn as tell you about my nightmare of events with these bunch of clowns.

My first encounter with BFI was for a simple gas cap. I was referred to them by a salesperson from Leith Auto in Cary. I was in need of a gas cap for my 2005 BMW M5 and did not want to drive all the way to North Raleigh to Leith BMW. When I first walked into BFI, I was pretty impressed with the office/garage. They had a nice waiting area, all sorts of cool parts on display, complimentary coffee/tea, water access to WiFi and even an arcade machine for your entertainment as you wait. They had all the makings of a good service shop and seemed like a good candidate as the go to shop for all my M5 needs. I ordered the gas cap and it arrived 2 days later. On my second visit to pick-up my gas cap, I saw an Audi R8 in there parking lot. I inquired about the cars status and the sale tech told me that the owner brought it in for an ECI firmware upgrade. I was sold at this point because if this place was good enough for an R8 then it's good enough for my M5. But that's where I was wrong. The gas cap they ordered was not for an M5 but a regular 5 series. No big deal I thought, popped it on and shortly after the warning light on the dash went off. As the saying goes, it was all down hill from there.

My first really horrible encounter with BFI was when I bought my car in to get the oil cooler replaced. They replaced the cooler but, my bumper was not re-installed properly and they shorted the auto leveling chip on one of my headlight when they power washed the engine bay. Since I did ask them to give the engine bay and under carriage a good wash, I accepted the responsibility for the headlight.

I decided to give them another chance and took my car back for two persisting issues. One was a throttle body failure on one of the banks and passenger side mirror that would not pitch down when shifted into reverse. They ordered the mirror from Leith BMW, but it failed to work. BFI said that the part was faulty/DOA and requested a replacement from Leith. Leith's policy on defective parts is that they will test the part and install the part. If the part is indeed bad, then they would replace it. However, if the part is fine or the problem is with the car then "someone" owes Leith for labor and diagnostics. Long story short, Leith was able to install the mirror in less time then it takes to do this write up. They determined that the mechanics at BFI "didn't know what they where doing". BFI management was extremely upset that BMW fixed it and didn't call to tell them what was wrong or that it was fixed until I arrived to pick up my car. Basically, they where upset that they got stuck with this bill from Leith BMW.


Now for the straw that broke the camels back. At the same time BFI "replaced the mirror", they also "fixed" my throttle body issue with a replacement throttle body. This part was covered by my warranty company so they shipped the part to BFI. On there first attempt, they said they "fixed" it but after a week of driving, the same symptom and errors came up. At this point I was tired of paying for rentals as they don't have a loaner. I was tired of missing or arriving to work late because there "shop" does not open until 10AM and everyone clear out by 5pm and they're not open on the weekends. I had them pick the car up from my job and I took a cab to pick it up around 4PM. At first look/drive everything seemed fine. I was happy that my car was finally fixed and all my problems where behind me.....so I thought. I drove home and made sure to drive it hard just to see if any lights/errors would show. Once I got home and parked, I opened the hood and did a visual inspection of my engine. This is where I flipped my lid and drove back to BFI faster then I left. These POS clowns failed to clip/secure several parts back into place and even broke a few plastic pieces. When I got back to there office, I gave them a piece of my mind and even stood over them as they fixed there screw up. They asked me to leave the garage several times but that wasn't happening. These clowns even went as far to say that I bought my car in with the broken pieces. Needless to say, I wouldn't even take a broken clock to these clowns. You have been warned, take your car to them at your own risk. These guys strike me as they type that would fix one issue and break something else on purpose just to keep you coming back. Beware, Beware, Beware!!! You have been warned!!!! If you think I'm fabricating this story, look at the pictures and judge for yourself.

Black Forest Industries
Don't take your car to BFI.
At first sight, in person and on there web page, you would think that these "guys" run a reputable business and are on par. Like me, you are greatly mistaken if you believe this to be true. Sit back, relax and grab some popcorn as tell you about my nightmare of events with these bunch of clowns.
My first encounter with BFI was for a simple gas cap. I was referred to them by a salesperson from Leith Auto in Cary. I was in need of a gas cap for my 2005 BMW M5 and did not want to drive all the way to North Raleigh to Leith BMW. When I first walked into BFI, I was pretty impressed with the office/garage. They had a nice waiting area, all sorts of cool parts on display, complimentary coffee/tea, water access to WiFi and even an arcade machine for your entertainment as you wait. They had all the makings of a good service shop and seemed like a good candidate as the go to shop for all my M5 needs. I ordered the gas cap and it arrived 2 days later. On my second visit to pick-up my gas cap, I saw an Audi R8 in there parking lot. I inquired about the cars status and the sale tech told me that the owner brought it in for an ECI firmware upgrade. I was sold at this point because if this place was good enough for an R8 then it's good enough for my M5. But that's where I was wrong. The gas cap they ordered was not for an M5 but a regular 5 series. No big deal I thought, popped it on and shortly after the warning light on the dash went off. As the saying goes, it was all down hill from there.
My first really horrible encounter with BFI was when I bought my car in to get the oil cooler replaced. They replaced the cooler but, my bumper was not re-installed properly and they shorted the auto leveling chip on one of my headlight when they power washed the engine bay. Since I did ask them to give the engine bay and under carriage a good wash, I accepted the responsibility for the headlight.
I decided to give them another chance and took my car back for two persisting issues. One was a throttle body failure on one of the banks and passenger side mirror that would not pitch down when shifted into reverse. They ordered the mirror from Leith BMW, but it failed to work. BFI said that the part was faulty/DOA and requested a replacement from Leith. Leith's policy on defective parts is that they will test the part and install the part. If the part is indeed bad, then they would replace it. However, if the part is fine or the problem is with the car then "someone" owes Leith for labor and diagnostics. Long story short, Leith was able to install the mirror in less time then it takes to do this write up. They determined that the mechanics at BFI "didn't know what they where doing". BFI management was extremely upset that BMW fixed it and didn't call to tell them what was wrong or that it was fixed until I arrived to pick up my car. Basically, they where upset that they got stuck with this bill from Leith BMW.
Now for the straw that broke the camels back. At the same time BFI "replaced the mirror", they also "fixed" my throttle body issue with a replacement throttle body. This part was covered by my warranty company so they shipped the part to BFI. On there first attempt, they said they "fixed" it but after a week of driving, the same symptom and errors came up. At this point I was tired of paying for rentals as they don't have a loaner. I was tired of missing or arriving to work late because there "shop" does not open until 10AM and everyone clear out by 5pm and they're not open on the weekends. I had them pick the car up from my job and I took a cab to pick it up around 4PM. At first look/drive everything seemed fine. I was happy that my car was finally fixed and all my problems where behind me.....so I thought. I drove home and made sure to drive it hard just to see if any lights/errors would show. Once I got home and parked, I opened the hood and did a visual inspection of my engine. This is where I flipped my lid and drove back to BFI faster then I left. These POS clowns failed to clip/secure several parts back into place and even broke a few plastic pieces. When I got back to there office, I gave them a piece of my mind and even stood over them as they fixed there screw up. They asked me to leave the garage several times but that wasn't happening. These clowns even went as far to say that I bought my car in with the broken pieces. Needless to say, I wouldn't even take a broken clock to these clowns. You have been warned, take your car to them at your own risk. These guys strike me as they type that would fix one issue and break something else on purpose just to keep you coming back. Beware, Beware, Beware!!! You have been warned!!!! If you think I'm fabricating this story, look at the pictures and judge for yourself.","neg-1