J.H. Barkau & Sons in
Cedarville (IL)

LOVED my experience buying a nice car for my family! Tim was SO helpful with everything. I love the kitty cats too! Such a friendly environment, very fast too. Will be coming back in the future ?

Great priced truck in really good condition. Exactly what I was looking for. Sales and finance team moved quickly.

I went in on a Saturday morning with a pretty good idea of what I wanted and the vehicles I was interested in. I was greeted by a salesman, Joe Baker, quickly and told him what I was interested in. He went and got the keys to the vehicles I was interested in and let me take them for a test drive. We went from the Freeport dealership to the Cedarville one so I could drive another vehicle and came back to the Freeport dealership. Joe wasn't ever pushy or trying to get me to decide on any particular vehicle. He just let me process and talked about the benefits of each vehicle that we looked at. Once we got back to the dealership I told him which one I was interested in purchasing and we started the process. The owner of the dealership came by while we were waiting and introduced himself, thanks me for my purchase and made small talk. I got the vehicle I wanted at a fair price all while getting the customer service I want while at a dealership. No pushy salesman, no pressure, no problems. Great place to buy a used vehicle!!!

Hands down, the best dealership we've ever had the pleasure of working with. Tim Border was our sales legend for our transaction. From the moment we called the dealer and he picked up, to the moment we got home, Tim made it a seemless transaction and an awesome experience. We will definitely be buying our future fleet from this amazing team of people. Highly recommend!!

High regards to Nils Sandstrom. I was in the market for a used 2012 chevy malibu and their we 2 to choose from. I really liked the sand colored brown one I drove it was much better than my old one that was totaled by my insurance company In Good or excelant condition a 2012 chevy malibu as well Nils is a friend of my aunt and uncle and highly recommended him and Nils went from his Freeport IL office to meet me in Cedarville Il all though I didn't purchase the vehicle mentioned due to price negotiations and final price I just wanted to say that I appreciate Nils and felt like he was a real stand up guy and person regarding him in trying to help me out but had to decide that malibu wasn't the car for me as other dealerships had a few too I needed to look at as well again highest of respect for Nils Sandstrom

I went there to look at a 2021 SUV. The sales person I was working with was very pleasant and easy going. It was awesome working with him but right away I noticed the price of this used vehicle matched the price a newer vehicle of the sale model and trim which was concerning. Even more concerning when speaking with the sales manager they weren’t open to negotiating which was unfortunate as I really liked the vehicle and was hoping to get a deal done. If you’re looking at more recent used vehicles I would recommend comparing them to new ones as their prices almost match those of newer vehicles and a dealership not willing to negotiate is usually a red flag for the rest of the experience. One plus outside of the great salesman was they are fair with their trade in values.

I generally deal with Jim Mullarkey and have for over 20 yrs. Last vehicle I bought there was a 2013 GMC Terrain with low miles in great shape. Still have it and it's done a fantastic job for us. Jimmy can find a good car for you.

We dealt with Tim. He was great, not typical "car sales man". He took time to show my Mom all the buttons, bells and whistles and what they did. He takes Questions any time. It was a great experience.

I recently worked with Tim Border. He is an excellent salesman, he walked us through the whole process of purchasing our first car. We are very happy with our car and very grateful to have work with Mr.Border and recommend him to anyone looking to buy their first or their 50th car.

So far my experience has been extremely frustrating and an ongoing issue for 8 months. We purchased a Dodge Caravan in February of this year. The day we purchased the vehicle, there were 3 issues that we noticed that needed to be fixed. There is a storage compartment system on the headliner of the rear area and a storage container part is missing and was missing when they had it on lot. We were assured one was on order for the vehicle and if we purchased the vehicle they would install once it was in. The driver side rear seat that should fold into stow and go has a broken cable that won’t release to be stowed. The final issue is the passenger side seat button housing for the motorized seat has a clip broken so it sort of free hangs. All 3 issues were discussed and we were told they would order the parts. Shortly after the purchase went through, we stopped at the service center to show the issues, they took pictures and we were told parts were ordered. Fast forward 5 months, no update. I call into the service center to be told I have to come back in so they can see it, and order parts. I call my sales rep Nils who calls the service center who tells me I have to go back in. So I take the vehicle back to cedarville where we go through the same process as before with a meager apology for the inconvenience. Flash forward now to this week. We call the service center to check for an update. We get told that the proper person will call us back. Well 3 calls for 3 days resulted in 100% failure to receive a call back. I call my sales rep to be told he was driving and would need to call me back when he was back in the office. I called at 1:52 pm but that also went unreturned. I’m beyond fed up at this point. I would like these issues corrected. Barkau’s sure were quick in cashing the check from my bank. I’ve held up to my end of the bargain, now they need hold up their end. I would recommend to anyone willing to listen, do NOT go to cedarville to purchase your next used vehicle.

Worked with a young man named Zack. Easy to work with no pressure 1st time I'd ever been in and out in less then 2 hrs buying a vehicle! Hope he's around when I'm in the market for another! Thank you J.H Barkau!

I bought a 1998 Dodge Ram Truck from Tim and I'm very pleased with the Service I've received and it the courtesy as well as the professionalism that was extended. They didn't beat around the Bush and told me the plus and minus of this vehicle. The vehicle has performed better than expected and runs great! Thanks to Tim and his team for a job well done!

I would give less than one star review if I could. NOT honest. They DO NOT stand behind their cars. The car we purchased was leaking power steering fluid immediately when we purchased it. Salesman wouldn't return my calls or texts. Had to call the General Manager Kevin. He told us to put Lucas power steering fluid in it and that would "fix" it. It didn't. Car needs a power steering rack and they want to charge me money to fix it. Every two weeks it is completely out of power steering fluid. I'm going to have to sue them to get them to fix what should have been done before they sold the car. The Service Manager even said that all they do is just put Lucas fluid in them. That they don't fix them. STAY AWAY!!!!!!

This review will be long winded, but I promise it's worth it! I really cannot say enough good things about my experience at Barkau. I was able to work with Tim Border and I gave him a challenge: to find myself and my husband cars with under 50k miles and to make sure our payments stayed under 500 a month TOTAL. Tim did it for us and he did it in a week. I got an awesome deal on my new Chevy Cruze with under 12k miles and my husband was able to get his Cruze in a hatchback with under 19k miles. Not only did we get awesome cars, but he worked so hard to get our 2013 Escape traded in for its maximum value. And the cherry on the entire experience was how kind he was to not only my husband and I but to my nephew. Tim allowed him to stay and watch cartoons while we test drove, took him to bring cars around for test drives, allowed him to be his "assistant" and even went as far as to offer him pizza while he waited (he even picked those pesky olives off of the pizza for him. Thanks Tim! He still talks about his day at work?). Tim is great about communication and I have his personal number to be in contact with him throughout the process. And when I say communication, I mean right away. I texted him Sunday to say my air conditioning was making a whiny sound, and he texted me on his day off to let me know he would be available the next day to get it worked out. I am actually sitting having my belt replaced as I type this within 24 hours of voicing my concerns. What a fantastic company and what a fantastic man to work with!

The dealership is in a nice location, and has a wide variety of great cars to choose from. The vehicle we were looking at was an awesome condition, and Nils Sandstrom (employee) was phenomenal. He was friendly, funny, and enthusiastic. Inside the building is well-kempt, decorated with pictures, a few paintings, and nice antique decorations. The atmosphere of the place was spectacular. It was very warm and welcoming; feels like you are in your own home. Overall, I would highly recommend this location for anyone who needs a vehicle. Great service fantastic employees in an awesome experience.

My husband and I had a wonderful experience working with Tim Border of J.H. Barkau. He helped us in determining what it was that we really wanted in a vehicle. He is very calm and well mannered and we did not feel pressured to make a purchase or a certain vehicle. We ended up with a great deal on our trade in and purchased a very nice minivan for our family! Tim was so thoughtful and sent us home with taffy for our children and I even received a birthday card from him. We highly recommend this dealership!!

I got my car about 2 years ago at the Cedarville location and my car has been wonderful. Great place to buy a vehicle if your in the market for one. My salesman wasn't pushy. They are very nice. I would recommend this dealership to anyone. I will be going back there fot future car purchases.

Tim Border and Joe Shore those 2 dealers done great job helping us out with finance. Tim Border is my dealer and Joe Shore is my interpreter to help me out to communicate because i am deaf. This place is define a big bang a best place where u want to be buying there the way u can fix the numbers . they will find a way to help u make the deal. they helped us lot with this deal and we got it is what we wanted so bad. we are very very happy with those dealer has helped us so much and we communicate great and respect even offer me some soda and restroom. nice people around. i really enjoy the all day with them . i suggestion u people go there.. i will come back next year for new truck define come back there again for another one . and in future i will come back because i trust those them as being honesty and fair reasonable . they done extremely good job helping u out with finance problem you have . they will help u and work it out to work with .. i am very happy driving new suv home surprised my wife had no idea she thought i didn't get it but i did and the deal went work out very good.. and it works for me . no problem . thank you Tim Border , Joe Shores and the owner of this place Kevin martin done great job helping us. i hugged my dealer with hand shake says big thanks went home with happy face made me happy. thank you for helping my family out. please u people consider go there u will find what u really want .. it there everything is right place for you . go there!!!trust me !!!!

The help and advice we received while looking for our car was both an enjoyable and comfortable experience. Nils knew so much about each of the vehicles that we test drove, the pros and the cons, and had the vehicles that we wanted to test drive running and cooling off so that when we drove them, we weren't distracted by being uncomfortable. Nils sold us with his knowledge of vehicles, never any pressure, and we left feeling relaxed knowing that we bought the vehicle we wanted. We would recommend buying from Barkau & Sons to all of our friends.

John Corrigan and Miles Anthony were extremely helpful and friendly, as was everyone that I came in contact with during my purchase; no pressure whatsoever. I will DEFINITELY return when it's time to purchase another vehicle and will be recommending them to anyone I know that is in search of a good vehicle and excellent customer service.

I helped my son get into a used Honda CR-V this weekend. I didn't think I would be able to co-sign for the loan but the dealer helped me to understand that I actually have a great credit rating, despite a bankruptcy in my history. The dealer also made good on an honest mistake when he misquoted the price as $700 less than listed. I was also impressed with how quick they cleaned up the car and got it ready for us to pick up. I was so pleased with the service that I intend to shop for my wife's next vehicle with Nils Sandstrom at Barkau.

Hands Down Top Notch From first contact via phone, my experience was top notch. Tim Border was quick to check on the availability of the particular vehicle I was interested in and promptly returned my call. Upon arrival at J.H. Barkau & Sons (which was a 65mile drive from my house) I was very pleased with the level of customer service. There were no games, no bait and switch or pressure tactics. I simply looked over the vehicle, went for a test drive and received a very attractive price without round after round of bartering. How refreshing to know that there are still dealerships that just operate in a courteous, honest and earnest fashion. They even made arrangements to get my car to my house! I'll be recommending J.H. Barkau & Sons to anyone I know in the market for a quality used car from quality people. Well done!!

We've purchased 4 vehicles from Jim Mullarkey at Barkau now. He always takes the time necessary to find what we're looking for, never hard sells anything or acts patronizing, and goes above and beyond to ensure that we're well taken care of. Great guy, great dealership. One less than positive point to make though: the new financing guy.....if I didn't respect Jim as much as I do, I'd have walked out. Pushing customers to purchase add-ons that they don't want or need and then quizzing them when they refuse to purchase is the height of obnoxious. Tone that guy down and you'll have the perfect staff. Also necessary to say, the service department is fabulous. We are invariably provided excellent service and repairs for a reasonable price. Kudos to Jamie and his staff for that.

Our family has returned here multiple times, we purchased our 4th vehicle here, and it is our 2nd from Brandon! He has always been very knowledgeable and straight forward with us. Answers the questions very positively, and if he doesn't know, he goes and asks! Much better than someone who makes up an answer to sell a car. The vehicle was not "on-site" so, instead of telling us to go to the other location, he went and got his personal vehicle and gave a us a "chauffeured" ride to the drivers door of the vehicle we ended up buying. We were on a time limit (with kids coming home from school) and he accommodated our limits by taking only the info we could supply, and scheduled a time for us to come back. When we came back, surprise! All the paperwork was neatly made up in a nice straightforward way so we could ask questions if needed before signing. So neat, there were no questions! From start to finish (including going to another location) we picked out, test drove, conversed and bought our new car in under 2 hours (financing included onsite!). Thank you for another easy transaction. We have never had a bad experience at your dealership, and see no reason to expect one! See you soon for another!

These guys are Great! This was the easiest car purchase I've made, they made it so easy! Usually I pay cash but I wanted a car loan on my credit, so they worked it all out for me and everything was fast and easy. Keven was so helpful, we had a situation where our primary car went into the shop at the last minute and we weren't going to be able to get down to the dealership to finalize the new vehicle, and I was going to rent a car. Our salesman offered to pick us up! I couldn't believe it. Once we made the decision to purchase the car, they new we were on a tight schedule, so when we got there everything was ready, final inspection, paperwork, disclosures,, all the loan paperwork, everything was ready for us. We got all the information we needed, all our questions were answered, and we were on the road in record time. I will be needing a car soon for my teen who is about to start driving, and I will definitely be back to see Keven (our salesman ) and Brandon ( the finance guy ) to purchase that car. Thanks so much Guys,, We will recommend you to anyone we know , who is looking for a vehicle. Great job,, our best car buying experience yet !

My wife and I were looking to trade in two vehicles for a one relatively new. I began searching local car dealer websites and found one on Barkau's site that looked promising. I sent an e-mail to the dealer and received a quick response from Tim Border. We set up a time to test drive the car. My wife and I received detailed information from Tim on the car's features. The new car had more features than our ten year old vehicles had and Tim explained how they worked. We were very satisfied with the vehicle after the test drive and made the purchase. We would like to thank Tim for making this car buying experience painless. We would certainly consider Barkau's in the future if the need arises.

My experience with the guys at J H Barkau & Sons Cedarville was great. They were all very personable, helpful, easy to deal with, and knew their stuff. Would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a good quality used car and great service! Thanks for the awesome 2010 Mazda 5. I love it!