Customers interested in buying a Chrysler in Santa Barbara may have to wait until later this month, as sales have been halted and talks may be near complete to sell the South Coast dealership.

“We are in the process of selling the dealership,” Santa Barbara Chrysler Jeep Dodge owner Jim Crook told Noozhawk on Monday afternoon. “We’ve determined it’s time to sell the store.”

He did not disclose who is buying the franchise.

Earlier this year, Crook, who has run the dealership for 31 years, expressed concern about the tight credit lines, and said the past two years have proven extremely difficult.

“It’s been a struggle,” Crook said at a meeting of business owners.

Customers who want to purchase cars often can’t get loans even if their credit is adequate, said Crook, adding that his business also has had difficulty getting loans.

On Monday, the parts and service departments at Chrysler Jeep Dodge Hyundai, 6290 Hollister Ave., were still open, but employees said no Chrysler sales were being conducted.

No layoffs of the nearly 20 employees at the dealership were planned, Crook told Noozhawk, contradicting weekend media reports.

Employees at the business said Chrysler and Hyundai vehicles will be for sale on an order basis until the deal is finalized, possibly by later this week. The Santa Barbara Airport leases the property to the dealership.

— Noozhawk contributor Ray Estrada can be reached at news@noozhawk.com.