I brought my car to Kmart Tyre and Auto Service in Croydon and asked them to investigate an obvious knocking noise coming from the gearbox. After a day they called me and said that they have diagnosed the knocking noise as a problem with the thrust bearing and asked if I approved the replacement of this bearing. They also stated that as the clutch assembly needs to be removed to replace the thrust bearing, they recommend also replacing the clutch. I agreed with what they proposed. They said I could collect the car the following morning.
I returned to the store to collect the car and the store manager said that there was still a 'whirring' noise coming from the gearbox, but 'not to worry about it as it is drowned out at high speeds'. I payed the cost for the work ($790) and noted that on the invoice they provided me, the cause of the noise was noted to be the input shaft bearing. I drove the car a short distance from the store and could hear exactly the same knocking noise coming from the gearbox. I then called the store and spoke to the manager to complain that they had not fixed the problem that had been clearly outlined on the invoice. He said that there were other noises and that his mechanics had fixed these other noises by replacing the thrust bearing and clutch. I disagreed and said there were no other noises from the gearbox that I have heard in 8 years of driving this car and that the knocking noise was still clearly audible. He then said that it was going to cost me a further $650 minimum to replace the input shaft bearing and that they would not charge me labour for the extra work, although they would need to send the gearbox to another mechanic as they cannot do these works in house. I then called another two mechanics to get quotes on similar work and they said that material costs for replacing the input shaft bearing amounted to approximately $50 and all the other cost was labour. I then spoke to the Kmart Tyre and Auto Service manager again and stated that he was proposing to shift the labour cost to a third party mechanic, but claim that the quote he provided me to fix the input shaft bearing was exclusive of any labour. He also stated that 'we're not obligated to fix your car' and 'call the customer service number on your invoice' I asked him to have the regional manager for Kmart Tyre and Auto contact me.
I spoke to the regional manager the following morning who said that the offer stands. I then contacted the Kmart Tyre and Auto customer service number and lodged a formal complaint that the work done on my car did not fix the issue identified by the mechanic. The regional manager called me back later in the day and said that the state manager for Kmart Tyre and Auto had instructed him to fully refund the cost of work done to replace the clutch and thrust bearing. I collected the car the following morning and the money was refunded.
Overall, not a good experience and the manager at the store did not help to resolve the problem. I will not be taking my car to any Kmart Tyre and Auto Service store again.

Approximate cost: $790

PNJ Partners were continually difficult to deal with throughout our tenancy. Whenever we contacted PNJ Partners they were not helpful in resolving rent payment queries and negotiations about fixing damaged fittings in the house. They also made an invalid claim on our bond after we ended our tenancy by referring to lease agreement conditions that did not exist. In other words they lied to try and recoup more of our bond. I would not recommend renting or buying through PNJ Partners at all.