Car Castle

​I went through the waukegan car castle. I paid $220 for a professional inspection on their 2010 RAV4. While the dashboard showed no warning lights, a computer scan revealed a Permanent P0301 Cylinder 1 Misfire code. A 'Permanent' code is a serious fault that remains in the computer's memory even if someone recently cleared the dashboard lights to hide the issue. ​ Key Findings: ​Engine: Permanent misfire code requiring significant diagnosis and repair. ​ Body: Visible 'wavy' paint and misaligned fenders, indicating a poorly repaired front-end collision. ​ Maintenance: Mismatched worn tire brands and a screw holding up the sun visor. ​ When I shared this report, the staff were extremely unprofessional. He said rude things and hung up on me after I refused to pay full price for a defective vehicle. ​Note to the Dealer: Under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, it is illegal to use deception or the 'concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact'—such as a known defective engine—with the intent that a buyer relies on that concealment. Selling a car while knowingly hiding a major mechanical fault is a violation of state law." ​Why that Law Matters ​In Illinois, even "As-Is" sales do not protect a dealer if they commit fraud or misrepresentation. ​ Material Facts: A permanent engine fault is considered a "material fact" because most buyers would not purchase the car (or would pay much less) if they knew about it. ​Deceptive Practices: By keeping the engine light off while a permanent code exists in the computer, they are arguably suppressing a material fact to induce a sale.

I can only speak for the Waukegan location, but based on my experience I would strongly caution anyone considering purchasing a car here unless you truly have no other options. I had an appointment scheduled, yet I still had to wander into a dirty office just to be acknowledged after spending about 10 minutes walking around the showroom. The employee who was preparing the car for my test drive didn’t seem to know who I was or that someone was even coming to see the vehicle. Overall, the experience felt disorganized and unprofessional from the start. The car ran perfectly during the test drive and even on the drive home. However, less than two hours later the check engine light came on, the car began idling rough, and it went into limp mode. When trying to diagnose the issue, it appeared the OBD port had been damaged, which made scanning the car extremely difficult. I cannot say when or how that happened, but the timing was concerning given how quickly the problems appeared after the purchase. Fortunately, my boyfriend knows how to work on Audis, so I’m only out the cost of parts. That said, I was still left dealing with a significant repair almost immediately after buying the car. When I called the dealership, they sounded surprised and said they were willing to help. However, after reading other reviews and seeing part of the shop myself, I personally did not feel comfortable having repairs done there. After the fact, I noticed that my experience seems similar to several other reviews posted here. I truly wish I had read them before purchasing. I would strongly encourage others to do their research first. Quick update. The issues only got worse upon each fix. Whoever worked on the car before I got it absolutely mangled the poor thing. So much was missing, wrong, or broken. If it was the dealership or a previous owner I don’t know but somebody tried to fix most of the things I had to replace and just broke everything in the process. Again it was sold to me as a running car in good condition, it was not either of those things and now on top of everything needs a new turbo. Very glad I did not end up getting work done there, seriously a mind boggling experience.

This review is specifically for the second location Car Castle 2. Apparently they have removed their info from google because of their poor reviews. Hopefully you will see this before buying anything from either location. I visited both. My son needed a vehicle for work transportation. He has 2 jobs. They have “bargain” vehicles. We used tax returns and some borrowed money to have a max budget of $5,000. We looked at approximately 30 vehicles between the two locations. He settled on a 2015 GMC Terrain. The salesman biggest selling point was they had just replaced the timing chain on this vehicle. We paid $5,100 cash. Within two weeks the timing chain came apart. I went back to the dealership and suddenly they claim they never told us about a timing chain. They said they could send us to a mechanic local to us but we have to pay for repairs. He said they are only required to help within 15 days of purchase. We were just outside that window. They would not take back or trade the vehicle. Buyer beware.

You need an appointment to visit this used car lot. La dee da. All the makes/ models I saw had over 100K miles plus. So you have to know what to look for with suspension, engine & transmission. Do your research before making any major purchase. An educated consumer is the best kind of client. Beware of your purchase power. They act like they are doing you a favor. Like you never heard of Drive Time or Car Gurus, just to name a few. Good luck & happy motoring.

Worst dealership ever! I drove 3 hours, wasting my whole day. There’s no parking, no greeting, and terrible customer service. I came to buy an Infiniti, and when I asked about any issues, they said nothing major. After a test drive and mechanic inspection, the car’s structure was completely rusted, and both exhausts were broken. The mechanic valued it at under $1000. When I confronted them, they got aggressive, rude, and kicked me out. Don’t let them scam you!!!