14-Month Nightmare: Vehicle Left Stripped, Damaged, and Unresolved

Honest review: Trust these guys at your own peril.

I am sharing my awful experience over the last 14 months. As of July 2026, I am paying R6k a month for a car that has been stripped and sitting dead for nearly a year. I am already well over R100k down the drain between credit card debt for failed repairs, rentals, and Uber costs.

The Timeline of Misdiagnoses & Failures:

March 2025: Took the car to Vag Spec for a post-purchase inspection and a vibration issue. They assured me the car was fine and sent me on a road trip to Cape Town. The engine failed to retain all its oil on the trip.

Cape Town Branch: Diagnosed and replaced the front/rear main seals, flywheel, clutch, and tappet cover (R38k). The leak returned immediately that day, attempted multiple fixes, none worked.

Menlyn Branch: Replaced the front main seal roughly 10 more times, repeatedly claiming it was just a "faulty part, the engine is fine"?

July 2025 Took car back for diagnostics and returned leak, waited weeks for feedback.

August 2025: They finally found the crank had play. Quoted R76k for a rebuild (6-week estimate). Approved the work, paid R35k via warranty, 10k deposit and balance was credited due to previous work.

June 2026: 11 Months Later: The engine work has rendered the block uneconomical to repair.

The Shocking Customer Service:

Communication is non-existent unless I hunt them down. I have been passed between Travis (left), Leon (never called), André Louw (won't take calls), and now Toni. When the case gets heavy the manager disappears.

Since November, I’ve been fed false promises that the car is "almost ready," yet engine parts were only ordered 4 months after starting the build.

In April 2026, André offered me a loan car to keep me quiet. That loan car has ruined my driveway with oil leaks and requires a jump-start twice a week. They fetched it for repairs on 09/07/2026.

Involving the RMI (Pieter Niemand) in April yielded little progress. I was recently told the team has "given up on the rebuild" and will look for a used engine. After a whole year of back and forth.

My car is currently sitting with a flat battery and cracking, flat tyres. It hasn't moved in months. I visited the shop with tears in my eyes to explain the financial and emotional toll this is taking, and nothing changed.

If you value your sanity, your money, and your vehicle, avoid this establishment at all costs. I believe I have little alternatives other than pursuing compensation in the legal system.

#poorservice #multiplecomebacks #enginerebuild #delays #delays #bankruptcustomer #warning #poorexperience #promises #servicefailure #stayfaraway #stayaway #avoidatallcosts #avoid"