Great local family owned mechanic. Matt leads the charge and made the process very easy. He helped lay out the issues and potential solutions. Wound up finding a good middle ground on the scope of work and he threw in some free labor when we hit a snag and needed a new part. Would highly recommend if you're in the unfortunate situation of needing a mechanic! read more

I cannot thank Matt and his team at Fulton-Desplaines Garage enough for taking such incredible care of me after my car was stolen and recovered in terrible shape. They turned a nightmare scenario into a stress-free experience, handling the extensive damages with expert care, honesty, and speed. They thoroughly explained all repairs needed to fix the broken ignition and cosmetic damage, working seamlessly with my insurance. Key highlights: Expert Care: They fixed everything, making it feel brand new again. Honest & Fair: Transparent pricing and thorough explanations. Exceptional Service: Kind, professional, and attentive to a very stressed customer. If you need honest, reliable auto repair, especially in a crisis, go see Matt and his team of professionals!! read more

After dealing with multiple places that couldn't fix my front end issues, I was referred to Fulton Desplaines Garage, and I am happy to report my car is fixed properly. No bulls**. Matt took care of it without trying to sell me something I didn't need. Thanks! read more

Stop looking for a shop and and just go to Fulton-Desplaines Garage. It doesn't get better than Matt and his team. I had my A/C go out during the hottest week of the summer (so far) and it was brutal. I looked around and called a bunch of shops -- felt like I was just getting punted to one person or another. I then found Fulton-Desplaines Garage (which I pass all the time, living in the neighborhood) and figured I'd give them a shot. I called, spoke to Matt who was SO helpful, and brought my car in the next morning right when they opened. It was back to me -- A/C working beautifully -- by the same afternoon. It was a huge win in my book, and only got better when Matt quoted me a price that was completely reasonable for the work I needed done. Special shoutout to the Fulton-Desplaines team for speaking to me (a young woman who can get very overwhelmed with car stuff because it is so foreign to her) like an adult and with respect. That is *not* the case at every garage and really really appreciated that. They made me feel completely taken care of and confident in their work -- I can't recommend them enough! read more

Staff are pleasant, knowledgeable and very reasonably priced. I totally recommend this facility to others.

drive a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara, and I began experiencing issues with my vehicle in November 2023. After researching mechanics online, I came across several positive reviews about Matt. One review stood out in particular--the customer mentioned that although they ultimately chose a different mechanic, Matt was still willing to offer guidance and advice. That level of professionalism and integrity spoke volumes to me. When I contacted Mike, he was extremely pleasant, professional, and transparent. He provided exactly the type of service I was looking for: an opportunity to describe the issue, have a mechanic assess the problem based on previous repairs, and receive an honest diagnosis. Matt did just that. When I asked if I should bring my car in for further inspection, he responded candidly, saying, "Sure, if you just want to spend money--but I'm more than certain that's the issue." Fast-forward two months, I finally brought my Jeep to Matt. Over the course of two weeks, he diligently worked through the problem, troubleshooting multiple times before successfully resolving the issue. Due to several failed repairs and thousands of dollars spent. I have my PTS when it comes to mechanics; hence, I waited to ensure my car was truly REPAIRED and running properly before leaving a review (sawry Matt :-). Since then, I have recommended Matt to several of my fellow Jeep owners, and moving forward, he is the only mechanic I will trust with my vehicle. Matt is the real deal! read more

Let me start off by saying I was so happy I didn't have to deal with Audi dealership for our repairs. Unlike the dealership, Matt was responsive and has the patience to deal with insurance companies. I was relieved to not have to deal with them, instead Matt took over communication with our insurance company after they provided an estimate for repairs. Matt was honest about timeline & repairs needed and updated us often about progress. Highly recommend this shop if you want someone to get the job done without any drama! Thank you so much! Glad you are in the neighborhood. read more

It might be strange to leave a review for a mechanic that has never actually seen or touched my car, so apologies to anyone who feels I have no business leaving this review, but I'm going to do it anyway so bear with me. I failed an omissions test for the first time today, and I called maybe a dozen places to try and get a sense of what it might cost me just to diagnose the problem. Out of nothing but laziness and a desire to make something easier for myself. I ended up going to a mechanic across the street from my condo instead of here. Having said that, I called Matt several times with follow-up questions. Despite the fact that I told him I had taken my car somewhere else, he did not hesitate to answer my questions, look up some information for me, and talk me through what he guessed this other mechanic was telling me. I wanted to give the mechanic across the street the benefit of the doubt, but I was a little skeptical about some of what he was telling me. Obviously, Matt cannot diagnose my car over the phone or fully get into the mind of another mechanic that he has never met. Nonetheless, he was completely gracious and helpful, and I know without a doubt when this car or my next car needs something done, or if anyone asks me for a recommendation for a mechanic, am absolutely going to send them to Matt. If the customer service is that excellent for someone who's not even a customer yet, then I can only imagine how good it will be once I finally need to bring my car there, even if it's just for my next oil change. read more

I brought in my Jeep last week because the car died & I was unsure what the problem is. As a young woman that doesn't know a lot about cars taking it to a mechanic can be a bit stressful. Matt & his team were extremely honest & prices were fair. I didn't feel at all like they were trying to rip me off or get me to pay for some unnecessary repairs. On top of that, I had mentioned to Matt that I was interested in selling my car. He gave me great advice that I actually went with & was able to sell my car very easily & get the highest offer. I highly recommend taking your car here! Thanks again Matt! read more

Matt was very professional. Brought my daughter's VW Passat to get check engine light dealt with because it would not pass emissions test. Had several shops work on it before and was just becoming a game of seeing how many parts to replace and never got fixed. Matt was able to diagnose it and got it quickly to pass emissions test. Very pleased with the outcome. Great job guys. read more

Amazing, high quality shop that does real troubleshooting and diagnosis. Not simply replacing parts.

I brought my car into this garage recently to replace my rotors and brake pads. So far so good! They were very responsive. Conversations were direct and to the point; never was I left feeling like there was some catch or some hidden motive. I was encouraged to get some other things done, not in a salesman sort of way but more as a heads up. The cost is more or less what I expected from shops in the area. The one thing I wish was different here is the scheduling. They seem to have a fantastic model for folks who work in area - drop off the car in the morning, go to work, pick it up afterwards. For those of us who don't work in the area, the drop off in the morning / pick up in the afternoon is less convenient. I ended up waiting in the area, from 7:30am until around 12:40. Plenty of restaurants and cafes in the area to work from though. read more

Definitely not recommend this one. I try to avoid services from dealer to save money. But I got this place working with the dealership to get money out of your pocket. One wheel on my Honda cracked and need to be replaced. My car use 18 inches wheel. The mechanic insisted to install a 16 inches wheel instead of a 18 inches wheel because he claimed that Honda dealer told him to do so. He also tried to fool me that 18 inch wheel I ordered online will not work. I spent more than 500 bucks including installation to buy a 16 inches wheel. After this fix, one can clearly spot that the one wheel and I have to change it back to a 18 inches wheel in the future. After switching back to 18 inches wheel, the current 16 inches wheel and tire set would only serve as a full size spare tire. I think this is a big waste of money to buy a spare tire I rarely use at this price. I ends up getting something overpriced and doesn't solve the problem. Update: The shop owner showed us the invoice from Honda. However, he does not explained what exact product was installed on my car when we visited. By the time we knew it was a 16 inch wheel, it was already installed. I would suggest future customers communicating clearly with the owner on parts. read more

My car was dying and they've been very informative about troubleshooting my car and fixing it. I'm glad I found them! Thank you so much!

Decided at last minute to get an oil change before a road trip- called Fulton-Desplaines garage because it's located near my home, and they had great ratings on Yelp. I was delighted to schedule the oil change within an hour of when I called, and waited another hour while they completed. Price was much better than Dealership, my normal go-to, and friendly service without pressure to "add more" services. read more

Be very very careful going to this garage. I took my 2010 Nissan Sentra in because the 'service engine soon' light came on. He said he would check the codes and call me back with what needed to be done (105 for the diagnostic test, not 90 as previously stated in another review). So, after a couple hours he calls and says a sensor went out and needed to be replaced. So, I gave the OK for him to move forward and change the sensor. Matt, then calls me back and says I need my brake fluid replaced and coolant system flushed. I oblige, being ignorant and not knowing much about cars, I figured it may need done. I go to pick my car up and the bill is 900 dollars for a 'simple fix and fluid replacement'. I pay the bill and go on my way. Then, not more than a week later, my check engine light comes on again.. so I take the car back to Matt and he runs a test to get the service code, only to say "oh yeah we got this code last time and hoped fixing the sensor would help". He wanted me to leave my car again so he could "fix" the problem. I, however, was heading out of town and did not need to spend another 900 dollars only to have the problem reoccur again. So I take my car to another mechanic and he stated that I clearly got ripped off by Matt (screen shot of his report attached along with original invoice). He said that the sensor more than likely did not need replaced and that Matt misdiagnosed the problem. The issue involved a broken intake tube which caused the sensor to read the error it did.. He also stated that the brake fluid and coolant fluid had not been flushed as previously stated in the invoice, but rather just been siphoned out and replaced (the brake fluid cap is literally right next to the broken tube that Matt 'failed' to see). To say I am angry is an understatement, I do not know a lot about cars, as most car owners do not. So, for a 'trusted' mechanic to take advantage of a car owner as Matt did absolutely blows my mind. I would be VERY cautious if you take your car to this auto shop. read more

Fulton-Desplaines Garage - 2nd mechanics report/invoice - Auto Repair Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Half the price of the Honda dealership, run by a nice guy. I will definitely go back.

It's really hard to know how to rate a mechanic. Car repairs are always pricey, so how do you know if you're getting exactly what you need or far, far more? I was having some major engine trouble and needed two of my cylinders replaced. Surely, this would be a big ticket. And it was. $975. Problem is, I'd approved a $900 estimate. And when I arrived the next day to pick up my car, the extra $75 tab was staring me in the face. It would have been nice to have gotten a call, alerting me to the nearly 10% bump. Yeah, the car runs fine now, but that $75 surprise kept bugging me for days afterward... *** Epilogue: Matt says the additional $75 was for an oil change and a belt. Great. When was I supposed to find out about this cost? When I dropped the car off, I wasn't told how much an oil change would be. The only call I got with a dollar amount was an estimate of $900. I assumed that covered everything. Why would I assume it didn't? When I arrived, I was told, "I should have called you about the belt." Yep. You should have. And it would have been nice to know roughly what dollar amount I was walking into. This is like ordering a pepperoni pizza over the phone, and the guy at the restaurant tells you it'll be $10. You show up to pick up your pie and the guy charges you $15. "You wanted pepperoni," he'll say. And you'll agree, because you did want pepperoni. But he only quoted you the price of a cheese pizza and kept the pepperoni price a secret. Oh, and he threw in some breadsticks because you'll need those but he wasn't going to tell you about it (or the additional cost) until you showed up to pick up your food. What are you going to do... walk away from your dinner? read more

Fulton-Desplaines Garage - Auto Repair Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Matt was great. I gave him pictures of what the dealership had recommended for my 13-year-old car. He checked everything and saved me from getting ripped off by the dealer. I ended up with a small bill and spare change in my pocket! Will be coming here only in the future. read more

A garage that left me feeling confident that the right work would be done for the best price. It felt like we were in a partnership in dealing with my car. I immediately trusted the analysis of the problem and the proposed solution was to try the cheapest option to see if it would suffice before taking on a bigger task. The cheaper option worked and I definitely appreciated them trying to make it easy. They also got the car in and out quickly. I couldn't recommend this garage more. read more

Popped in for an installation of a license plate. Easy to get in touch over the phone. It was only a 15 minute job so they knocked it out right away. The cost was a reasonable $20. I'd definitely be open to coming back for a more serious issue. read more

Don't recommend, fleeced me out of $300. Had an idling issue and he changed the oil, topped off coolant, and bled brake lines. Couldn't even get into back brake cylinders to properly drain and still charged full price. Granted coolant and oil needed to be addressed but that wasn't the core issue and didn't tell me from the jump that he didn't have the tools to diagnose my vehicle until the work he did don't solve the issue. Waste of time and money, felt robbed after. read more

Addison Auto Body and Glass provide excellent service at a competitive price. Their friendly, honest, and knowledgeable personal help me with the most cost effective solution for my car problem. I feel confident to bring my car to their shop because their job is warranty, and I trust that the best solution perform to my car. read more

This place is great. I recently had my car break down in front of my kid's school. I called Fulton-Desplaines first thing in the morning. Within hours the owner arranged a tow, diagnosed the issue, located the parts, and completed the repairs. The owner gave me a call before starting the repairs to make sure I was ok with everything. He explained everything really well, and after he completed the repairs he called again to explain everything he did. He also gave me some advise for future maintenance. In addition to doing a quality job, he was also very personable. His price included the tow, parts, and labor, and was very fair. read more

Fulton-Desplaines Garage is a well oiled machine when it comes to your auto repair needs. Affordable, quick, friendly, professional, knowledgeable...the list goes on. Hands down the go to place for auto needs in the city. This place goes above and beyond when it comes to auto repair and customer care. Matt and his crew did wonders for my truck when I had a week from hell that a bunch of things went wrong. A/C went out, grinding in my brakes and steering and got a flat tire. The communication and care for the customer of Matt and his team was absolutely incredible. Not to mention the quick work they did and had my truck running like new. You don't get service like this from any other shops these days. Thanks again to the team for a great experience! read more

Located conveniently in the heart of River North, I'm so glad I came across this garage owned by Matt. Our vehicle began making strange noises every time we took the foot off the accelerator, as if something was loose under the hood. I stopped in to speak with Matt and under short notice, he found the time to work on our car and figure out what the issue was. I've had some issues dealing with auto mechanics in the past, but Matt was super nice and just from speaking with him, could tell he was an honest guy. He was able to fix the control arm issue for us and we haven't had any issues or abnormal noises since. If you're looking for a reliable and knowledgeable auto mechanic in the Chicagoland area, Matt is highly recommended! Best, Charlie read more

Matt and everyone at the shop are great. Reliable and honest. I wouldn't bring my car anywhere else.

Finding a trustworthy garage is difficult. After the closure of both of my previous shops I went looking for something in my neighborhood. Partly based on the Yelp reviews I decided to give this garage a shot. I ended up having several thousand dollars of work done on two vehicles. Matt Tefka at Fulton-Desplaines (third generation owner) gave me a feeling of confidence and trust throughout, which is not easy when you are dealing with difficult, expensive, and subjective repairs. Furthermore, instead of referring me to a body shop, this garage has its own and can perform any type of repair. I really value having a one stop shop for my cars. I'm very happy with the work that was done, and a few small follow up issues were taken care of for free. I've been back since for other work and cannot recommend Matt and Fulton-Desplaines enough. Apparently there's a reason this place has been on this corner for more than 65 years. read more

My dependable Scion just hit the 100k mark, so I took it in for routine maintenance, along with a couple of the dealer recommendations, from a visit to my dealer's autoshop a while back. Matt let me know which of their recommendations needed to be done, and which ones were just money makers. He also looked up service recommendations on the Scion website, to make sure we weren't missing anything from the 90k and 100k milestones. Very dependable shop that won't fleece you! Oh, and they're closing the shop now around 5pm, so there's the added bonus of having to leave work early to pick up your car! Gotta go! read more

Matt is such a down to earth and nice guy. Brought my car in to fix an internal problem on my driver side door, they immediately got to work on it, and had it working the next day! (I didn't need it the day I dropped it off, so told him I would pick it up the day after.) Price very reasonable, especially for Chicago. Would've been so much more at the dealership, and it even cost me less at Fulton-Desplaines than even some of the online forums I read up on said it would cost. Will never take my Benz to anyone else in Chicago for automotive work. Thank you again Fulton-Desplaines Garage!! read more

A bit of a hustle here, got recommended unnecessary and expensive repairs. Mechanic is friendly and polite when I chose not to take their recommendations. read more

Went to FDG on the recommendation of a friend. The mechanics are professional, honest and timely. I'm so happy to have found a great mechanic! read more

Courteous and very professional staff. Ok a day to get the car in but they finished it within two days . They communicated with us the whole time they had the car there and nothing was added at the last second when you say "alright, add that and just finish it already"! Would highly recommend it to friends and family and go back for any other wrk that needs to be done. read more

I don't usually post reviews, but I truly appreciate Matt's efficiency and clear communication!

My windshield washer fluid stopped working so I was worried the motor might be broken. I checked reviews and had an appointment at the dealership later this week. The dealership was going to charge about $160 for diagnostics. I called Matt and he was able to diagnose and fix the problem within a few hours for less money than just the diagnosis charge at the dealership! Turns out it was just some clogged nozzles. Nice guy who called to let me know the status throughout the process. Trust this and other reviews and dont bother going anywhere else for repairs. read more

Matt was so super helpful in helping me and answering all my questions! Def will be recommending my friends in the west loop to him!

My car broke down along the Ike and I had it towed to Fulton & Desplaines Garage and I am glad I did. Matt and his team looked at my car right away in the morning and had it repaired and running again by 12:30. They are great to work with, honest reasonable and and do quality work. I will be a regular customer! read more

Fulton-Desplaines Garage - Fulton & DesPlaines Garage - Auto Repair Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great service, honesty, and integrity. Helped us as soon as we pulled into their location. Found the problem, fixed, and got us on the road home. Highly recommend! read more

Great Gentlemen. They answered promptly, advised me on a cheaper solution and offered to help. I haven't yet gone to see them as I am going out of town. They advised me to but an aftermarket part and come see them. Not mark up guys! When to Chicago I will start using them instead of my Infinity Dealer! read more

Great shop, great team. I have brought my beat up Ford Escape to this place maybe a dozen times over the last few years for everything from oil changes to serious front end damage after an accident, and every time I get my car back quickly and at a reasonable cost. Matt is an honest and fair mechanic who can fix almost anything, but will level with you when he can't figure something out. On one occasion I had a window stuck in the down position and Matt told me that the dealer would be my best bet to fix it (he was right.) This confirmed that he is trustworthy and not someone who will milk a bad situation for his own gain. I will continue to bring my car here even though I no longer work or live very close to the shop - it's worth the extra trouble for the high level of service. read more