Supply chain shortages causing problems for people looking to get cars fixed

ATLANTA — Supply chain problems aren’t just impacting car buyers, but also causing issues for people trying to get their cars repaired.

“It just keeps changing and I’m supposed to just continue to wait,” Pachon Donaldson said.

Her 2018 Honda Pilot has been sitting in the shop at the dealer for the past three months, waiting on a back-ordered part.

“I can’t be without a car. I’m a single parent with two kids,” Donaldson said.

Her car was constantly turning itself on and off and running while she slept, draining the battery.

It is the keyless control unit that needs to be replaced. In normal times, that is a quick fix.

But after being told the part would be available in a few days back in November, Donaldson is still waiting.

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“Everything can’t be blamed on the pandemic,” she said.

But Bill Rimmer, owner of Cooper Lake Automotive says he’s seeing these kinds of part shortages with all makes and models.

And it’s everything from computer parts to simple things like oil filters.

“Some of these modules are getting hard to find. They’ll tell us, we don’t know maybe a year. Never turns out to be that long, maybe a month or two, which is still insanely long,” Rimmer said.

Channel 2 consumer advisor Clark Howard says in a supply chain crunch, you need to be an advocate for yourself.

“You need to get a second opinion just like you would with something wrong in your own body,” Howard said.

Donaldson started searching for her delayed part herself. She finally tracked it down at a dealership in Arizona. It’s now being sent here to Georgia to be installed.

“Just don’t take no for an answer,” Donaldson said.

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