Cam Sensor Price Gone Wild

[WLDWST]

Has anyone else become aware of the new price increase of a Cam Sensor from AutoZone. The price is now $322.99. G-force mentioned to me yesterday that they were $37.00 not that long ago.

 

[Aztlanahauc]

Kirbans has a limited supply for 179.95. I may have to pick up a spare just in case.

 

["Turbo-T"]

Someone on here was selling them for like $78 and they were supposidly the Wells brand carried by Vatozone.

 

[DIAZ 87]

i paid $89.00 dollars about 6 weeks ago from Kirbans.I would recommend to purchase all gn parts from our venders so they can stay in business.

 

[DIAZ 87]

im sorry i puchase two of them so i paid about $180 plus for both of them,and well worth it too

 

[Gary Wells]

Has anyone else become aware of the new price increase of a Cam Sensor from AutoZone. The price is now $322.99. G-force mentioned to me yesterday that they were $37.00 not that long ago.

Robert:
It's been quite a while since they have been $37.00. Their price goes up & down considerably due to their availability & / or unavailability. They are probably being manufactured in very small lots, and I think that there is only 1 manufacturer, but lots of re-packagers & re-sellers. After everybody is out of stock for a while, whoever makes them (Std Manufacturing, I believe) will make up another small batch, and then the price will drop down again. I did a post about this supply & demand effect about a year ago, but I can't get the search mode to go back far enough. HTH

 

[WLDWST]

For those of you that didn't get the latest Kirban Newsletter. I just read it and this is the latest from them.

CAM SENSOR UPDATE

We recently made a purchase of more brand new cam
sensors and can hold the $179.95 price on this current batch.
Keep in mind, as noted in an earlier Inner Circle, almost
every other source has them priced from $250 to as high as
$600 each. Simply call the office to be assured of getting one
at this price, if you need one. Supplies are limited
as we purchased the last ones this new source had available.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Every other source for 250 -600? Nice profit if you ask me. Right before bowling green there were 3 guys here selling cam sensors way below the 250.00 range. Feel free to check the parts for sale section to varify what everyone was and might still be selling them for.

Oh well, we all have to retire one day or another.


BW

 

[Just a Six??]

If Kirban & the boys didnt buy them all up, they wouldnt be that high in price. He likes to corner the market & make $100 on each he sells. Thats legal but sucks for us!

 

[HMBTurboT]

Holy crap...I bought 3 about 6 months ago @ 49.95 each from Autozone...I just looked and they are now $322.99!

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Hopefully everyone stocked up on them when they were cheap, i know ive got a few but i should have snagged up a few more.
Maybe the prices of used ones will go back up to 100.00 again

BW

 

[1000MileStylez]

lol wow you guys pay to much, call car quest auto parts

 

[Gary Wells]

If Kirban & the boys didnt buy them all up, they wouldnt be that high in price. He likes to corner the market & make $100 on each he sells. Thats legal but sucks for us!

The current price / value of cam sensors has so little to do with Dennis Kirban & the "boys" & so much more to do with supply & demand, a multitude of companies selling, re-selling, & marketing these but only a few or only 1 company actually manufacturing them, short run manufacturing principles / cycles, & speculation that it isn't even funny. HTH & sorry for the rant.

 

["Turbo-T"]

Wow high gas prices, now this. Won't be much longer before it will be out of the average working mans reach to purchase parts for their GN.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

The current price / value of cam sensors has so little to do with Dennis Kirban & the "boys" & so much more to do with supply & demand, a multitude of companies selling, re-selling, & marketing these but only a few or only 1 company actually manufacturing them, short run manufacturing principles / cycles, & speculation that it isn't even funny. HTH & sorry for the rant.

Hey bud

These pc-16's were for sale at rock auto . com for 40.00 for over a year while all the "boys" were still selling at the inflated price.

Im willing to make a bet since the price increase at the parts store are thru the roof, everyone will think 179.00 is a great deal and still gobble them up.

It sure was nice that PC-16 cam sensor assy was for sale so cheap that everyone and their brother took advantage of it, maybe the hoarders will be sitting on a few thousand of them for a long time. Thats great because we will have new cam sensors available for another 50 years!

Now lets see if they can screw up on some stage blocks for 900.00 and some steel cranks for 300.00.... I think i would start a early retirement and live the buick dream from here on out LOL

 

["Turbo-T"]

Just checked NAPA they have theirs priced at $424. Part # ECHCSS202A

 

[bison]

Glad i bought 6 when they were cheap.

 

[bison]

Wow high gas prices, now this. Won't be much longer before it will be out of the average working mans reach to purchase parts for their GN.

Thats too bad for them. The cam sensors were cheap for years. They should have stocked up. I did. They will be forced to work a little longer and harder or sell their cars to those that were a little smarter and stayed ahead of the loop. Driving a TR is a luxury. Its not a really practical car at all by todays standards. Therefore no one should be complaining about the extra fuel cost or the rapidly increasing cost of maintenance. I myself plan on spending $200-300 a month for parts replacement and normal wear and tear on my daily driver and toys. This is not including extra expense from broken parts and modification. I spend over $15k/year if thats the case . It cracks me up that so many have car payments and revolving lines of credit that never go away. As soon as a car is paid for its traded in and the cycle continues. People need to learn to live within their means. Its going to get much worse (especially for the poor middle class) before it gets better. By poor i mean those whos paycheck is spent before they receive it. Sorry bout my rant but i hear a lot of whining everyday. We need to worry bout things we have control over. The cost of fuel unfortunately isnt one of them.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

It cracks me up that so many have car payments and revolving lines of credit that never go away. As soon as a car is paid for its traded in and the cycle continues.

That is what i like to hear, someone that understands where everyone else is held accountable for their actions.

People just dont get it


BW

 

[jstahl]

Until we start preaching accountability and actually holding people accountable, the instant gratification society will continue. With societies emphasis on convenience I'm not sure it will happen any time soon. :frown:

It was inevitable that the cam sensor price would change. Not becuase of demand. The real reason for the price drop was that the manufacturer accidentally priced the entire assembly as if it were the cap only. Yes only one manufacturer as Wells mentioned. Guess which part of the cam sensor is the most expensive? It's not the plastic.

The pricing flaw was detected ~2 years ago after inventories were being drained and merchants were requesting restock. At that time vendors noticed they were selling a part for much less than the original stocking price. (Taking a loss) It has taken some time for prices to filter through the parts systems. Especially with the vast number of re-boxers and suppliers. From what I have learned those sensors have not been manufactured for some time. Under the GM part number is a date code. Notice most all sensors have a code of 31XX?
I'm fairly certain the 3 respresents the year. Be it 1993 or 2003 and the other three represent the day. 3177 = 177th day of 2003 or 1993. Best educated guess.

If I were a gambling man I'd say those that bought in the sub-$100 range did well. I'm sure the mfg did their research, probably a few Google searches too and will probably never make that piece again. Knowing its application, how many vehicles were produced, age of that application and the life expectancy of the vehicle.

I don't believe GM's price flinched. That should be a good indicator. Either that or they sold the least and never needed to restock.

Makes the most sense to me....