Pilson Auto Center of Charleston - Charleston, Illinois

Penny S.

If you’re looking for a good used vehicle and need an honest person to sell to you, I highly recommend Michael Howell! I co-signed on a truck for my son and he loved the truck! Unfortunately, he was in an accident and the vehicle was totaled but we will be back to get another vehicle! Michael will be our go to guy!

Terri O.

Horrible service! We buy a truck a little over a year ago along with the highest grade extended warranty they offer (and we weren't given any other options). We take it in because there is a transmission fluid alarm, and they charge us $170 to say there's nothing wrong? So what are we supposed to do when the alarm comes on again We definitely won't take it back and plan to cancel the warranties on both our vehicles as soon as we get the chance! Obviously useless!!

Regina L.

Bad experience with the service department. Very rude and inconsiderate. I have sent plenty of people here to buy cars. Randy is great but not so much in the service department. I will never do business here anymore. It's funny how I called the owner back as he asked, left a message, and still haven't received an answer. It has been 3 months. Terrible Business Practices

Deb

Brian Gunther and Kyle saved the day for us. My daughter and I stopped in while on a road trip when a low tire pressure light came on. We were concerned because we were far from home. Brian immediately took care of us and had Kyle inspect our vehicle. Kyle reassured us it was an easy air pressure fix. We were so grateful to have our minds at ease and felt safe traveling back home. Thank you both for caring and providing excellent customer service.

Keith G.

Purchased a truck from here 2 days ago. Check engine light came on already after taking a road trip. Also discovered that the horn and windshield washer doesn't work either.
The purchasing of the truck was very smooth with no issues. Michael was our sales person and highly recommend talking with him.
I'm leaving 1 star for now until my service appointment which will be day 6 of owning the truck.

10/31/ 23, went to the service department today. They gave me back my keys and said the managers had to talk about it. And they would call me. I asked if they was going to call me today, he said probably tomorrow. Then I had to ask why the check engine light was on. It's on for the catalytic converter. No mention of about the horn and washer pump not working. I will update again once I get a phone call.

11/2/23 so 10am comes and I decide to give them a call to see what's going on. Kyle looked up my information and told me parts have been ordered. I said ok and asked why no one has called me to let me know what was going on. He didn't have an answer for me so I asked to talk to the boss. I'll admit, I get hot headed at times especially when there's a failure to communicate so I was most likely rude on the phone. The service manager (Josh) got on the phone and proceeded to tell me that they have ordered all the parts needed for the truck. Great! Service manager was rude on the phone and I'm sure I was as well. But that doesn't give him the right to be rude to customers.

11/14/23
Received a text message this morning from Josh stating that the parts for my truck arrived and to call or text him back to set up an appointment. I texted back. A couple hours went by so I called and ended up getting voicemail and left a message, I also texted again. Around 4pm I get a call back from Kyle and we got an appointment set up for this coming Monday.

11/21/23
Went and picked my truck up today, I figured everything would be fixed. They got the new catalytic converter and windshield washer pump fixed, unfortunately the horn still isn't working. They informed me that there was something wrong with the fuse block for the horn and their looking for a replacement. So now I wait again for them to call me when they have the part.

12/13/23I called back on the 11th to find out about getting the last thing fixed on the truck, the horn. Talked to Dillon and he said Josh was as lunch and he'd have him call me. Never got a call back. On the 12th I called back and got to speak to Josh. He didn't know what was going on with the part for my truck. He told me he would check into it and call me back. Let's just say I never heard back. I guess I'll give them half the day to call me before I call them back. We're almost at 2 month now dealing with these issues.

1/10/2024 I dropped my truck off at the service department yesterday (1/9/2024) to get the horn fixed finally after I was told they was having issues getting the fuse block. I get a phone call from them saying that they had gotten the wrong part for my truck. It happens, they told me that they could get the correct part from Indiana. I just don't understand how all of the sudden they have the correct part in stock, when just a few weeks ago they was having issues getting the part because of the automotive workers strike.
Got a phone call at the end of the day today saying the part didn't fix my truck.

1/12/24Got a phone call today, they think it's a wiring issue. Hopefully it's figured out soon.

1/17/23 finally got my truck back. Everything seems to be working as it should. They inspected for a leak I was concerned about and an oil change for free. That was nice since I was expecting to pay for those. Thay made things right unfortunately it took several months but I'm happy. Remember to check everything when purchasing a used car, it's used don't expect new. Come if you need a vehicle ask for Michael Howell. He'll make sure everything gets taken care of.

ToRi C.

Any time someone brings up car shopping to me I always recommend going here first. About a year and a half ago I was in a bad position, bad credit, threw a rod in my engine & needed something quick to get to work to make ends meet. I shopped with Jeff Rutledge & he did an amazing job at getting me into an affordable vehicle, but he’s also gone above and beyond. He’s more than a car salesman. Anytime I have a question or concern he’s been there. If my battery has died before work he’s taken it upon himself to check my battery, jump my car and help me more than a friend ever would. Here I am a year n a half into my purchase and my car won’t start& Jeff STILL is willing to help me fix the issue. I could go on and on about the hospitality I’ve received from him& the others at Pilson. They’re an amazing team & as long as I live in Illinois I will never shop anywhere else. Highly recommend considering them for your next car🫶

Lora J.

Horrible customer service. My daughter's boyfriend went to purchase a vehicle from them. They set the appointment up for today. He showed up today with his certified check for his down payment. When he got there, they had sold the vehicle to someone else. Then they tried to get him to purchase a vehicle with 99k miles on it! Absolutely will not do business with them! He was not asked or told he had to put a deposit on it! The vehicle was still listed for sale days after he was there!

Erkmergerk

I looked at a 1994 Chevy K2500 that caught my eye. Mr. Jeff Rutledge helped me with all of my questions and was extremely professional and honest. I didn’t end up getting the truck because it ended up being more of a restoration project than a buy and drive out the door, but the professionalism and transparency shown by Mr. Rutledge and their technicians is extremely appreciated! Especially since I’m more than 2 hours away and let me know before hand which saved me a drive. I highly recommend this dealership and Mr. Rutledge, and I will be continuing to look at their website for more potential trucks.