Complaint Review: Jeff Thames

Just don't. I've read the other negative reviews and they mirror exactly what my experience with Select Transmission has been. My ordeal happened back in August and stretched through into October, so my condolences go out to whomever has been screwed by the shysters at Select in the meantime. I should have written this review sooner. If this review keeps just one person from losing time and money to Jeff Thames and his crew of lying imbeciles, it will have been time well spent.

8/14/16: My transmission broke down in downtown San Antonio. I was visiting from Las Cruces, NM. Needless to say, I was in a bind. It was Sunday and I had no wheels in a strange city far from home. I called a few places with 24/7 towing and Gary from Select Transmission was the first to get back to me. Beggars can't be choosers, so I had the truck towed to their shop.

8/15/16: The parking lot at Select is jammed with vehicles. This might be a sign of them being in high demand because of their excellent service, but it's really because they are slow and/or overbooked. I'd be fine with slow, IF the work is done properly, but that was not to be in my case. They were super nice and cool as they talked knowledgeably about automotive repair. I ended up ordering an upgraded 4L80E with a nationwide 3 year warranty and was able to get financing for the whole cost of the repair, approximately $3800. I told them it would be about 3 weeks before I could arrange to get back out to SA to pick up the truck. I caught a flight home for $350 since I had to work the next day.

8/29/16: I called Select to get an update. Gary said it would be ready by Wednesday, the 31st. I let them know I'd be coming out at the end of the week, which would be the start of Labor Day weekend.

9/2/16: I took an afternoon flight to SA (another $350) and got to Select at about 5pm to pick up the truck. They had apparently been rushed to put it back together...so much for being done by the 31st. Gary the lying rat told me there was a noise and they couldn't figure out the source. I knew of a noise coming from my front transfer case every now and then, so I told him that was probably it. He also told me that the transmission would make some noise for a few hundred miles as it broke in. Not knowing any better, I drove it for about 90 miles while there was this loud scraping sound. I ended up parking it at a friend's place. Underneath the truck there was evidence of fluid leakage and the skid plate that protected the transmission was missing. The shop was closed for the weekend so I couldn't take it back until Tuesday.

9/3/16: I called Select and got Gary the lying rat on the phone. He was at some Labor Day weekend tailgate party and the shop was closed. He told me to check the fluid level. No help there, the fluid level was fine.

9/5/16: I wasn't going to drive the truck 700 miles making that noise and I wasn't going to leave my truck there for another three weeks so I arranged to have it shipped back to a transmission shop in El Paso for $500 and rented a car to drive home ($120).

9/10/16: My truck arrived at the shop in El Paso. I owe the guy there $400 for the balance of having my truck shipped.

9/22/16: I make it into the El Paso shop and pay the $400. He had already inspected the truck and pulled the rear transfer case off the back of the transmission. It had not been filled with oil, the filler plug on top was missing and the drain plug was loose. The inside was full of metal shavings, FUBAR. Total cost to replace with a rebuilt unit: $1241. Thanks a lot, Select Transmission! To be fair, the transmission itself was fine and installed properly. But PROPER removal and replacement of the rear transfer case is an integral part of the job and this was not done.

10/6/16: I emailed Jeff Thames, owner of Select Transmission, about my ruined transfer case with pictures and invoiced. I requested that he pay for it. After the initial response, I've heard nothing back from him.

****,

I received your email and I ask that you give me a day or two to get to the bottom of the story here.  Unfortunately, I spent some time out of office due to emergency back surgery, but, I do not dismiss my customer's concerns for even one minute. 

I value your time, and I will get all of my research done tomorrow so that you and I can discuss the issues at hand as quickly as possible. 

Thanks!

Jeff Thames

President/General Manager

Select Transmission & Automotive Center

12112 O'Connor Rd.

San Antonio, TX 78233

210-599-9958 Office

210-568-6399 Fax

10/7/16: I called Nextep Funding and opened a complaint file.

10/8/16: Paid for the new transfer case and finally got my truck back in working order.

10/25/16: I talked to a rep at Nextep and emailed all the invoices and receipts I had. I requested a copy of the contract Select had allegedly stating I had signed off on the knowledge of the unspecified (front and rear on my truck, remember) transfer case being faulty.

To recap: My truck transmission broke down in SA. I was visiting from Las Cruces NM. I had my truck towed to Select. Left it there for 3 weeks to have a rebuilt transmission put it. They didn't fill my transfer case up with oil and it was ruined when I drove off. I had the truck shipped back to El Paso where I had to pay over $1200 to have a new transfer case put in. Jeff Thames, owner of Select Transmission, is a cowardly little turd who has no interest in making things right. And why should he? He got paid. He hides behind his sweet talking employees when they screw things up.

So I spent all of November 2016 talking to Nextep and getting nowhere. They had my case on hold pending review by the higher ups since this has never happened before?!?!?! I managed to get ahold of Nextep's direct representative to Select and told him the story. He pledged to see what he could do. After a few weeks of bugging this guy, he told me Select Transmission is not going to reimburse me for their negligence. Figures.

I put a stop payment on my bank account for the finance company's monthly withdrawal. Now they are hounding me with threats of legal action, blah, blah, blah. I'm going to see about getting a small claims attorney to represent me in SA against these dirtbags, but knowing lawyers I'm not going to be too hopeful.

So, Select Transmission gets 1 star for actually putting in the transmission correctly and it has lasted over 1000 miles, so far. Other than that, I really wish I'd never heard of these clowns. Next time I break down out of town, I'm having the vehicle shipped home before I get any work done.