Matt Kavgaci was the kid who took things apart to see how they worked — and engines were the things most worth taking apart. By the time most people his age were learning to drive, he was learning what made driving possible.
He started fixing cars for a living in 1996. Six years in other people's garages taught him the trade — and taught him exactly how he'd run a shop differently. In 2002, he opened Atlantic Auto Service on Fort Hill Road in Groton.
More than two decades later, not much has changed, and that's on purpose. Matt is still the one who diagnoses your vehicle and still the one under the hood. There's no service writer between you and the person doing the work, and no commission structure pushing repairs you don't need. When the shop calls with a quote, you're hearing from the person who actually looked at your car.
He doesn't run the place alone. Mark Addam, Matt's partner at the shop, works alongside him — and between the two of them, the phones get answered, the cars get fixed, and the shop runs the way a small shop should: personally.
A shop where they know your name
A lot of the vehicles in these bays belong to people who've been coming here for ten, fifteen, twenty years — and now to their kids. Customers are known by name here, and so are their cars. That kind of trust isn't built with advertising. It's built one honest repair at a time: a free quote before any work starts, OEM parts on every job, your old parts kept for you to see, and a full year's warranty behind the work.
If you're new to the area, or just tired of wondering whether your mechanic is being straight with you, stop by. We're on Fort Hill Road, connected to the Citgo station — walk-ins welcome, Monday through Friday, 8 to 5.