A Gqeberha mechanic is facing a growing backlash from customers who allege they paid tens of thousands of rand for repairs, waited months or even years for their vehicles and were still left without functioning cars.
The dispute turned physical in one case, with mechanic Robbie Breakspear admitting that he punched a customer’s friend during a confrontation at RBS Gearbox and Diff in Newton Park.
Breakspear is no stranger to the headlines, as it was reported in 2019 that there had been a dispute involving a customer who alleged his vehicle had been stuck with the mechanic for about two years.
A separate legal battle centred on a rental dispute in which Breakspear was ordered to vacate a Lovemore Heights property after a magistrate found he was more than R65,000 in arrears.
The latest dispute erupted last week after salon owner Lorinne Smit published a Facebook post about her experience with Breakspear.
The post attracted more than 100 comments, with other people also claiming to have had problems.
The Herald spoke to three people who described their experiences, with claims involving amounts up to R40,000 and vehicles allegedly remaining out of service for extended periods.
Breakspear has disputed their accounts.
Smit said she had spent about R35,000 on her vehicle and had been without transport for nine months in 2024.
She claimed Breakspear had initially quoted her R8,000 for what she described as minor repairs but that the work had subsequently extended to other issues including the diesel pump and the vehicle’s injectors.
Smit claimed her van had been in good working order before the problems arose, but that she had subsequently needed three other mechanics to work on it.
She also alleged that Breakspear had used the vehicle for a personal trip while it was in his possession.
“He is a smooth talker ... He is the most dishonest mechanic that I ever met,” she claimed.
“He quoted me R8,000 for minor repairs, which I had to pay immediately.
“I had just come back from a Kalahari trip that was 2,300km with no problems, but a boost pipe had to be refitted and a diagnostic test was done at a Kalahari garage showing the bus was in perfect condition.
“He took my bus with his family for a pizza as a test drive and then told me how awesome it drove and the incredible power it had.
“But four months later, I had to tow it out of his so-called workshop.
“Three other mechanics have tried to fix what he [allegedly] broke.”
Breakspear disputed her version, saying the job ultimately required about R35,000 worth of work and that Smit had only wanted to pay R8,000.
“I spent R15,000 on parts and labour to repair her vehicle and she couldn’t pay anything more, so I kept her vehicle and waited for payment,” he said.
Smit said she eventually took a friend with her to the workshop in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
“I am a woman and I felt he was treating me unfairly, so I hoped he would be more realistic with a man,” she said.
She alleged that Breakspear punched her friend when they arrived.
Smit said she had not gone to the police for fear of retaliation.
“We decided not to report him to the police as nothing will happen anyway.”
Breakspear admitted hitting the man.
“He came into my yard and I said to him, ‘You believe I’m a crook, tell me that to my face.’ And I lost it and I did smack him but not hard,” he said.
Breakspear said the dispute was an example of the difficulties he faced when dealing with customers who brought him older vehicles with multiple troubles.
“The bottom line is, yes, I can work on a car,” he said.
“But I don’t have a magic wand and I’m not God who can perform miracles.”
He said quotations were often estimates because additional problems could only be identified once a vehicle was being dismantled and repaired.
“How do I work on a car according to someone’s budget?” he said.
“The motor trade is hardcore because how do you quote something when you’re in the process of working?”
Business owner Hannes Marais claimed his experience with Breakspear had left his vehicle at the workshop for more than two years.
Marais said he had spent about R43,000 on repairs in 2024 but the vehicle was still not running when he eventually collected it on a rollback and took it to another mechanic.
He said the mechanic who had subsequently worked on the vehicle had arranged a replacement gearbox for R21,000.
“This whole ordeal took longer than two years, multiple excuses, never being available to meet, always on an emergency call-out ...”
Marais said he was also questioned about whether Breakspear had actually removed and dismantled the original gearbox because the replacement mechanic allegedly found no signs that this had happened.
He said an employee went to report a case to the police on November 29 2024 but was turned away by a constable who told him it was a civil matter.
Breakspear said he had initially overquoted on the vehicle because he did not want the job after it arrived at his workshop in poor condition.
He said the gearbox casing was damaged and water had entered it.
However, he said the gearbox was subsequently repaired.
Breakspear also alleged that Marais had threatened him.
“I said to him, listen, you’re big enough, just come and stand in front of me and say it to my face,” Breakspear said.
“But he didn’t come.
“These guys are big but when it comes to the crunch they are a bunch of soft-belly bastards.”
Another customer, Luke Biller, said his experiences with the mechanic had left him without a proper running vehicle for his business.
“I run a little shuttle service between PE and East London airports,” Biller said.
“At the time [in 2005], I was living in Grahamstown (Makhanda), and I had a problem with one of my vehicles and was referred to Robbie.
“We know each other and I thought he could do something decent for me.”
Biller said he had dropped his vehicle off with Breakspear to repair his gearbox.
“When I got the vehicle back, it was p...ing oil everywhere so I refused to pay for his work.
“He was threatening me, telling me that he wanted to collect my car to remove the gearbox.”
Biller said that after the 2005 incident he reported a case to the police.
However, he could not find a case number to check on the progress.
Breakspear said that without payment he had been forced to take action.
“I drove to Grahamstown and saw the car parked outside a Steers, so I jacked it up to remove the gearbox,” Breakspear said.
“He didn’t pay me, so the gearbox belonged to me.
“While I was jacking the car up, Luke’s wife appeared and begged me not to remove the gearbox.
“I gave in.”
Breakspear maintained that his customers often brought old cars with multiple problems and he did his best to fix them.
“You can’t bring me a 15-year-old vehicle and expect me to know what is wrong with it.
“I’m going to find problems.”
Attorney Alwyn Griebenow said there were certainly grounds for a fraud case.
He said if the allegations came from multiple people the courts would be able to determine the intent to commit fraud.
“If it was a one-off and there was only one complainant, we would battle to prove a criminal case at the end of the day.
“But if you’ve got numerous complaints, there’s the same modus operandi right through and it’s not that difficult to prove a case against this guy.
“The matter should definitely go further.”
Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
The Herald