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Parts shortage

anwat

anwat

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Can anyone shed some light on what this means:

"We regret to inform you that the part requested is on National Control by GM. The part is only available to purchase through a local dealer. Your order will be cancelled and refunded in full."

I already know no dealer anywhere near me has the part, or I wouldn't have had to order it from GMParts online. What does "national control" mean. That they can't ship the part? Kind of pisses me off that they have one but they won't sell it, especially since they are advertising it as for sale. Should I just buy an aftermarket one, since it sounds like they aren't going to be available for a while from GM?

In case you're wondering, its an ABS wheel sensor for a 2014 Caprice.
 
I have been waiting on a tcm for my fathers truck since before octobter. Gm can't and won't give any info as to when they will be releasing a new batch of them. The main problem is even the aftermarket doesnt have any.
 
It means GM will sell it to you in house, or install it for you. Aside from keeping themselves supplied with the part, sometimes items that get installed wrong routinely get Protected Stock status to stop bad part swappers from trying to warranty and exchange them without being held accountable
 
Bent77 said:
It means GM will sell it to you in house, or install it for you. Aside from keeping themselves supplied with the part, sometimes items that get installed wrong routinely get Protected Stock status to stop bad part swappers from trying to warranty and exchange them without being held accountable
Click to expand...
Never even thought of that scam...makes sense, though. So sooner or later there will be more, they haven't discontinued them or anything like that? I know I got the last Standard part off Rock Auto, no one else had any aftermarket ones, either.
 
I also own one, a 2012 caprice. Since they were used as police cars exclusively I wonder if they are trying to ensure service parts are at the dealer for law enforcement fleets. I know the city that had mine did all their own service, ( I got the service records) the car was only at the dealer for recall work. It would be strange to only have the part for dealer installation. With it being an Australian model it only complicates things further.
 
Bent77 said:
It means GM will sell it to you in house, or install it for you. Aside from keeping themselves supplied with the part, sometimes items that get installed wrong routinely get Protected Stock status to stop bad part swappers from trying to warranty and exchange them without being held accountable
Click to expand...

You are sorta on the right path with that, but it isn't the only reason they control access.

National control in one way, is GM speak for they don't have it. There's a little more to it than that but the gist is there are none to go around. They have limited access to some parts that are short in supply to fill orders for police/law enforcement. Since the last year they built Caprices was 2017 there's a reasonable probability there are some still in service with law enforcement.

I remember being stuck in one of those scenarios back in 1996 when the Stanadyne injection pump plant burned. 6.5's being what they were had a pretty good failure rate on them and the supply quickly dried up after the fire. They limited the sale of pumps to those that were first responder based, fire/EMT/tow trucks. Everybody else was SOL until the plant got back to full capacity. They were under national control then.

They can control access due to a high failure rate and they want to know why. They will restrict access to only allow a SPAC (GM for special order) case to proceed for a part order once a case has been started at Technical Assistance. They can catch parts swappers this way or merely find out that their own instructions have led techs down an incorrect path. This will usually generate a bulletin to change the procedure.

Another reason they would put a part on national control is vehicle specific. The 30th anniversary Camaro's that came in the distinct white with hugger orange SS stripes were one. The stripes were big decals and they did not want folks buying them to fake an anniversary car. So they would not complete the order without a vin with the correct option code for the package. They have done that since on certain special editions since to not let stuff be faked.


If a wheel speed sensor can be sourced outside of GM I'd go for it.


I agree though, the GM dealers that sell massive amounts of parts online should restrict access to order a part like that or at least stop it at checkout once it gets validated against the GM parts system for availability.
 
I've been looking for one in the local junkyards, but they are hard to find. When I do find one, I'm going to stock up on stuff like sensors and control modules, since it sounds like this will be a common thing with these cars. It is odd that the aftermarket companies haven't stepped in to fill this gap. Maybe not enough demand to warrant copying the part....
 
^^^^ This is why I have a carbureted sbc, extra dist and several modules stock piled.
 
We deal with this quite a bit. The OEM can’t ensure their determined minimum stock levels so they keep that filled first. If there are enough parts left they go to the 2nd tier, then 3rd and so on. Since its an electronic part which comes from China if its AC delco, they supply chain disruption will be for quite a while. Although China just announced they are changing their Zero Covid policy so that will get manufacturing turned back on.

Hoarding parts when you can find them further compounds the problem, this is the same issue with reloading components. Instead of a steady demand signal you get huge spikes and valleys and the plants can’t match the pace.
 
I am having the same issue at work. Subaru is no longer able to sell oil filters retail as they are in incredibly short supply. Pure magic.
 
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