This is a fine bank. My dad banked here, I had my mom's estate account here, and my husband banks here as well. My main issue is that they are no longer open on weekends. They never announced it. I found out that it's been over a year. On the last Saturday that we showed up, three other cars arrived expecting to do business. No good Mechanics. It also doesn't help that you aren't open late nor do you open early. We're working people with a tax refund check and you need two signatures. It's not fair that you treat us like this. This is so off putting. And please tell your customers about not having Saturday hours. That many people should not have shown up to do business and find you closed. And also, correct this online, because everything I read said that you were open. If you don't have Saturday hours, people need to know! read more

Mechanics Bank was recently bought out by Bank First Capital Corp. located in Mississippi. Don't know how safe your money is, so if I had a savings or checking account I would run for the hills from this place. Seems to me on shaky ground!! read more

After a "clerical error" cause $1,100 of someone else's money to be deposited in my account a week ago, they finally corrected the error on Friday. In fact, they corrected in twice, leaving me $1,100 short. I made it clear that it was crucial that the error be corrected before the weekend. Multiple calls to their help line were useless so I visited my branch. The teller promised I would be covered, but it did not happen. All this after an error they made 14 years ago that crashed my credit rating just long enough for all my credit card accounts to be closed (it was during the recession). That mistake changed my life for years. I returned in 2019 and now know what a bad decision it was. They still, after all these years, do not have a handle on their accounting systems. Time to leave this bank behind again (for good this time). read more

Manager Michelle Lilla is so unprofessional and had her employee charge me a check cashing fee of $5 per check for 7 checks although the check is from mechanics bank. At one point she thanked me for cashing with them and using them but unless I cash all checks with her she would only waive two of the 7 fees but then retracted that offer because the amounts were too large. Don't make an offer unless you can stick to it. She is a liar and i am forever done with mechanics bank. I have worked as a customer service manager for Verizon and I know that this is not the way to handle business matters. After a back and forth she still charged me all of the fees. read more

Let's not talk about bank fees or the rules and regulations. They all have them and they all stink. But they're there for a reason (sometimes government mandated) and sometimes the fees can be skirted around. Free checking is not an endangered species. What I like about my branch of Mechanics Bank is that they are customer service oriented. Yeah, the lines get a little long, but that's because of all the customers standing in them. Lots of customers translates into people who would rather not do business with big banks and do business where you get to talk to someone and not get charged for it. I moved a checking account over to Mechanics from Chase. I should have a long time ago, but I was lazy and that's all there is to that. Turns out that if you ask Chase for a Recipient Payee account, they want to see Conservatorship papers and if the Conservatorship doesn't include an estate, well, you're chopped liver! Mechanics Bank was so simple to work with. A letter from Social Security, identification staples (drivers license, SS#) and viola! A new checking account with the right vesting and no headaches. The checking is free with direct deposit, too. Sweet! read more

Excellent customer service! Very helpful and efficient staff. Super friendly. Michelle is awesome and knows how to get things done!

I own 2 properties Free & Clear, the property in El Cerrito I found out has had problems with the roof leaking for years & or wasn't until my daughter texted pics of mushrooms growing out of the Sheetrock in Dec 2016 that I knew its worse than I knew. In April I got an estimate from Peterson Dean for a new roof & solar, was approved for a loan thru a credit union immediately, but opted to decline because I needed to take care of the Black Mold in the wall & possible dry rot, so I went in to the San Pablo branch of Mechanics bank to ask for $100,000 loan knowing I probably won't need all of that but I'd rather just have 1 lien on my house for everything than 2 different people. It's been over 2 months & they still are jerking me around! Their underwriter even had the nerve to ask for a Drs note saying I'm retuned back to work full duty(like my current pay stubs showing my pay rate of$30 hr & my hours of working 49-50hrs every week for the last 4 months isn't enough?) I'm on a time restraint & they've known this from the day I applied, you can't roof a house during the rainy season without causing more problems. They never explained the different types of loans available to me or suggested that a different type of loan would Benefit me better & would be fixed rate as opposed to variable, I've never applied for a loan before & didn't understand that there are all kinds of options till I spoke with another bank & a credit union & explained my situation. They both told me with around $650,000 in real estate free & clear I should have had the loan approved & finalised in 4 weeks tops. If you ask me don't ask Mechanics bank for any type of loan! Don't get me wrong their free checking is great but I will never trust them for anything else! Also I was told by them they would call me b4 the end of the work day Mon or Tues morning to let me know how thing are moving since I gave them the newest of the last things needed to complete this loan & of course they didn't call as promised so when I called 10:50AM I was told she's with some clients can I get ur name & # & have her call you when she's done, 2:45PM I called back (cause she never called me back) & got the same response,"she's with a client can I have her call you back" I said she never called me back from 4 hrs ago! Obviously she doesn't want my business so never mind! I went back to work & she finally called & left a message that the reason she didn't call me was cause she hasn't heard anything so there was nothing to tell me. WHAT? Communication is everything in a business relationship, way to go! It really gives me confidence that you're the best fit for my loan & have my best interest in mind, also lets me know that your word doesn't mean a thing! Also she said in the message last night that she would find out today & call me to let me knowing she's heard anything. Still waiting, "way to go @ least I know not to ever believe anything that comes out of their mouths", if their lips are moving it's probably to tell you what they think you want to hear, not what they're really going to do! 12-15-17 I'm updating to say that while I feel I was jerked around by their underwriter on getting the loan approved, it finally went through. While I was put thru unnecessary stress in the process I'm willing to put that behind me. Now that I'm able to start on fixing my house & pay my contractors things are starting to move. I have updated my rating from 1 star to a 3 star & am sad I was put thru the stress they allowed the underwriter to put me thru before saying something to the underwriters supervisor. It never should have been allowed to go on as long as it did before intervention for that reason I can't give any higher rating for HELOC loan from the bank. I will say that for all other banking needs I would give 5 star, but would not recommend for home improvement loans(as soon as I can close this loan out, I will go thru my credit union that can cut my interest rate at least 2%). read more

Patty Gross is knowledgeable, bends over backwards for her clients, and is available when you need her. Her team at Mechanics Bank is stellar, professional, and courteous. read more