How an Automotive Part Shortage Has Impacted This Illinois Army Veteran
Working on older vehicles is far from out of the ordinary for a repair shop—but a vehicle nearly 30 years old with a part no longer produced has left an Illinois veteran in dire straits as he battles cancer, CBS News Chicago reports.
Robert Kersting is a 75-year-old Vietnam veteran from Carol Stream, Illinois. When his 1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Z34 failed an emissions test, he was told it needed its pump replaced. The trouble came when the auto shop attempted to locate a replacement part.
A Chevrolet dealership and several parts stores came back with no luck, all saying the part Kersting needed was no longer available.
In order for Kersting to register his vehicle, he needs to be able to pass the state’s emission test.
“I've got a car I love. It runs good. Just can't get this part,” said Kersting.
In a last effort, he submitted a repair waiver application to the Illinois Air Team emissions testing program—through fax, mail, and online. He received an email informing him it was being reviewed, just to be denied only a minute later.
Kersting got on the phone with an Illinois Air Team representative, who asked him why he couldn’t scavenge the part from a local scrapyard.
“I said, ‘I'm 75 years old. I'm lucky I get up and move around every day,’” told Kersting.
The tiresome chase of figuring out how to obtain this part has left Kersting in the vulnerable position of not having reliable transportation, all while he is battling stage four pancreatic cancer.
“Here I am, a combat Vietnam veteran, and I can't get any leniency, any compassion,” shared Kersting.
