Check engine light is on
It's been on for a week and you've been ignoring it. Let's find out what it actually means.
Terrence Blake has been fixing vehicles in the Decatur area since 1997. He'll tell you what's actually wrong, give you a straight quote, and get it fixed right. No franchise, no service writers, no runaround.
I'm Terrence Blake. I started turning wrenches the year Tupac's greatest hits dropped. I spent years at a fleet company keeping box trucks and semis on the road. I've done engine swaps in parking lots and transmission rebuilds on a lift at 11pm. I've seen what shortcuts cost people, and I built Big Tee so my neighbors in Decatur would have somewhere to go that wasn't a franchise.
When you call Big Tee, you're talking to the mechanic. No service writer in the middle. No "I'll have to check with the tech and get back to you." If your car is in my bay, I'm the one under the hood.
I diagnose first. Then I tell you what it really needs. Then I quote it. In that order. If you've ever been told you need something you didn't, you'll feel the difference.
"When you call Big Tee, you're talking to the mechanic. Every time."
If any of these sound familiar, you're in the right place. Tell me what's happening and I'll tell you whether it's a five-minute fix or something worth a closer look.
It's been on for a week and you've been ignoring it. Let's find out what it actually means.
Squealing, grinding, that little tick. Brakes talk before they fail.
Georgia summer is not the time to wing it. We'll get it cold again.
Vibration above 60? Probably a small fix. Probably. Let me look.
Battery, starter, fuel? I'll come to your driveway and figure it out.
Don't panic. Sometimes it's a sensor. Sometimes it's the trans. Either way, I'll tell you straight.
Could be a belt, an oil leak, brake pads. Worth a same-day look.
Bring me the quote. Nine times out of ten there's a better answer.
From diagnostics to drivetrains, here's the work I take on every week. The one thing I don't do? Guess. Every repair starts with an honest diagnosis first.
I come to your house, your job, or wherever you broke down.
Full-service repairs in the Decatur shop. Cars, trucks, everything in between.
Real diagnostics first. Not a guess. Not a parts-cannon.
Code pulled, story explained, fix quoted. In that order.
Struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, bushings. Ride right again.
Recharge, compressor, condenser, evaporator. Cold air, fast.
Timing, head gaskets, oil leaks, sensors. Done at the shop, done right.
29 years of swaps. Big jobs done with care, on a real timeline.
Solenoids, valve bodies, fluid service, full rebuilds when needed.
When a rebuild won't do it, I'll source the trans and put it in.
Axles, CV joints, U-joints, differentials. Power gets to the wheels.
Pickups, work trucks, daily drivers. Same diagnostic-first approach.
Keep your business moving. I'll come to the lot if I have to.
Owner-operators welcome. I keep semis on the road around metro Atlanta.
Service contracts for small fleets across Decatur, Lithonia, and Stone Mountain.
Before you buy that used car, let me look at it. Saves people thousands.
A lot of shops play the parts cannon: throw new parts at the car until something sticks, charge you for everything they tried. That's not how Big Tee works.
I diagnose first. I pull the codes, drive the car, listen to what it's telling me, and confirm the actual cause before touching a wrench. Then we talk about what it needs — in English, on the phone, with a written quote you can keep.
You'll spend less. You'll know what's happening. And you won't get surprised at pickup.
Big Tee runs out of a real shop in Decatur, and I also load up the van for mobile calls across metro Atlanta. The right answer depends on the job.
I'll come to your driveway, your office lot, or wherever you broke down. Great for batteries, starters, alternators, brake work, AC recharges, diagnostics, and most everyday fixes.
Bigger jobs — engine swaps, transmission swaps, deep diagnostics, suspension overhauls — happen in the Decatur shop on a real lift, with the right tools.
Three real customers. Three real stories. This is the kind of work I'd want done on my own mom's car.
I've been bringing my truck to Terrence for three years now. He's the only mechanic I trust to give me a straight answer. My wife takes her car to him too — that's how much we trust the man.
My van died in a Publix parking lot on a Wednesday afternoon. Terrence drove out, diagnosed a fuel pump in fifteen minutes, and had it running before my groceries melted. Who does that anymore?
Two dealerships told me I needed a new transmission. Quote was almost six thousand dollars. Terrence pulled it out, found a stuck solenoid, charged me a fraction of that. He found what two dealers missed.
None of these are slogans. They're the rules I built the shop around so it would still feel right twenty years from now.
No service writers, no middlemen. The person fixing your car is the person on the phone.
I don't throw parts at a problem and bill you for the misses. I find the actual cause.
Cars, pickups, box trucks, semis, fleets. I have seen the problem you have. Probably twice.
No vehicle is too small or too big. From a Civic to a Peterbilt.
I'll come to you when it's a roadside fix. Bring it in when it's a deeper job.
You'll know what it costs before I touch it. And what it doesn't cost.
Decatur is home. From the shop on the east side I cover the whole eastern arc of metro Atlanta — from Stone Mountain down to East Atlanta and out to Lithonia. Mobile calls take a little longer the further out you are, so it's worth a quick text first.
Not on the list and only a few minutes away? Call anyway. We'll figure it out.
Tell me what's going on. I'll tell you whether it's a quick fix or something we need to look at. Either way, you'll get a straight answer and a real human voice on the other end of the line.
"Do you work on my year?" — Probably, yes. "Can you come to me?" — In Decatur and most nearby areas, yes. "How fast?" — Often same week, sometimes same day.