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Family's Chrysler Minivan Has Been Sitting For Months At Dealership, Waiting For Replacement Part

CHICAGO (CBS) -- You expect a car repair to be measured in days or perhaps weeks, but when it dragged onto months, a Highland Park woman reached out to CBS 2.

Terri Chaseley said she and her family chose to purchase their Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid about a year ago for its size and because it's green.

They spent $47,500 on the minivan and had an electric vehicle charger installed in their garage for an additional $2,500.

But, Chaseley's been using a temporary vehicle because hers has been sitting at Fields Chrysler in Glenview since Feb. 19.

"We're beyond frustrated," she said.

Chaseley says it's tough to fit her three active kids and all their gear into their smaller rental car.

"It is extremely tight. We can't do carpools," she said.

The cost of gas has been adding up, too, with her electric minivan out of commission. Chaseley says she spends about $40 to fill her tank up every two to three days.

Besides not having her vehicle, Chaseley's also missing something else -- an answer from Chrysler.

"Absolutely nothing is happening right now," she said. "Every two weeks we would call and check in on it and they would push it back another two weeks."

As for the delay, Chaseley says Chrysler told her it's due to a larger issue.

"I was told that this problem is widespread and they are on an extreme back order and the cannot access this part," Chaseley said. "We feel like the little guy taking on Goliath and they don't care."

Chrysler apparently cared after CBS 2 reached out. After the part couldn't be found for months, the car giant all of a sudden managed to overnight it to the dealer. As for what took so long and whether there's a larger issue, Chrysler refused to answer our questions.

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