Fulton-Desplaines Garage

I ended up at Fulton-Desplains because my car broke down nearby. Engine overheated. I checked Google Reviews for nearby shops and chose Matt based on his previous work on my vehicle make, how he professionally responds to reviews, and someone saying he had “Mid-Western Dad energy.” I called him and told him my engine was blown. I had my car towed there and got a call from him the next day. He said the oil filter housing needed replacing. My car spilled oil all over his shop when the engine started the next day. Usually it’s a simple fix but mine was completely broken and I drove it to the point of overheating, which caused a cascade of problems. We got that fixed, then it turned to a gasket was blown. There was a slim chance he would have noticed seaming how the symptoms look identical to the oil filter housing symptoms. We had a situation where an engine needed replacing. I didn’t have the money. He explained the value of a vehicle is how much you can sell it for vs how much you’d pay to replace a new one. For my case, I ultimately didn’t need the car. I got the car to take care of my sick pet. Otherwise, I use public transit. He gave me a few days to think about it and I decided to proceed with the rationale being the cash value of having to call an Uber in an emergency or the time value of trekking to rent a car. Throughout that process, I was grateful for how much time he spent talking through the decision with me. He also took time to answer eight questions I had before deciding to move on with the engine replacement. I needed time to raise the money and he was patient with that as well. Matt even ate the cost of the oil filter housing labor due to the unique circumstance. I couldn’t do the full quoted price so we got an engine with more miles on it with the idea being lower priced engine, higher miles on it. Although, we both understood we couldn’t go below a certain threshold. He found an engine with a metal oil filter housing and asked if I wanted to keep the part on there or use the plastic from the work he did on my old engine. The metal one will last longer but it’s used while the plastic one is prone to leaking but it’s brand new. I appreciated his recommendation. There was a power steering fluid leak that he fixed without labor. I very much appreciated that. It was a big fix but Matt and his team are real surgeons at Fulton-Desplains Garage. Someone said he’s got “Mid-Western Dad energy.” I see it more as a passionate mechanic that does work he’s passionate about.