All American overcharged me for parts and for labor that was never performed. He took advantage of my being a woman, a minority and a senior citizen.
My 2004 Mercedes Benz C230 car wouldn't start at all on 01/12/2016 after having dinner downtown. That night y car was towed to the SF Mercedes dealership—I thought that I just needed a new batter for my car key. On 01/13/16 Mercedes said that it wasn’t the key battery—I didn’t want them to check my car because the dealers are known for being too expensive. I called CSAA and my car was towed to All American Auto on 846 Harrison (based on the tow truck driver's recommendation—Larry’s Tow) on 01/14/2016. Later on 01/14 - The owner, Patrick Banta, informed me after diagnosing the problems that I needed a new car key and he would order through the Mercedes factory. He obtained all my info needed to order a new key: VIN Number, copy of current car registration, Cal Driver's license--everything needed to place the order.
On 01/18, Patrick texts me he needs me to sign a form before Mercedes will order the key. I signed the form on 01/19/2016 but it included an additional charge of $145 which I questioned. The $145 was a labor charge to check the problems I had with my front lights and a tail light. Patrick text me on 01/21/2014 that my key and car should be ready on 01/22/2014. Car wasn't ready on 01/22 - I stopped by the shop on 01/25 in the AM, was told key hadn't come in yet. Patrick told me that he had to spend time programming the new key. I went back to the shop afternoon of 01/25 after which Patrick tells me car is ready. I show up but he then tells me he doesn't take personal checks. I told him that it would have been nice to know this fact beforehand - there are no signs at his place of business stating "NO Checks". His response was "I don't have to tell or notify anyone of anything". At this same time he quoted me final charges of $667 instead of the estimate for $812 which was to include work on my vehicle lights. He said my lights were all working. I picked up my car on l 1/27 and as I started to drive away I saw that my car lights weren't working. He responded that I had told him NOT to fix the lights - something that I never said.
The next day on January 28, I started having problems with my car. On 01/29, I went to get an oil change and was told by Oil Changers on Skyline Blvd, Daly City, that my coolant tank was leaking—a problem that started ONLY after I picked up my car from All American. My car had been at All American from Jan 14 to January 27 – ALMOST 2 WEEKS. On January 29, 2016, around 12noon, my car overheated on northbound 101 at the 92 interchange. I was towed to Auto Tech in San Mateo where the shop had to replace my engine and coolant tank at a cost of ~$6000. I didn't go back to All American. When I picked up my car from Auto Tech on Feb 8, 2016, I told the shop owner about $667 that Patrick charged for the key. Sami Haddad, owner of AutoTech told me, my new car key should have cost me only about $300 and NO PROGRAMMING IS NEEDED BECAUSE THE NEW CARKEY WILL AUTOMATICALLY WORK WITH THE CAR. Sami has been in business for 20+ years in San Mateo. On Feb 9, 2016 I called the Mercedes Benz dealership both in Marin County and San Francisco Mercedes Benz to ask about the cost of a new car key. Roger at the MB in Marin and Wes of SF MB both verified that the cost of the key with Tax would be $278.50 and $337.00 respectively. All American Auto overcharged me by $330-$389. I texted Patrick that I wanted to get a copy of the receipt for the key he ordered from the SF MB dealer and he never responded. I told him that both Mercedes dealerships and my mechanic said no programming was necessary yet Patrick charge me $217.50 in Labor Charges. He charged me $414.16 for the key itself.
I filed a complaint with BAR and also with BBB. The BBB reported that Patrick Banta never responded to their attempted contacts