Review on 🔧 GM 12655421 Camshaft Position Actuator Solenoid Valve - Authentic Upgrade for Enhanced Performance by Sean Webb

This exact part (literally right down to the part number) is $59.99 plus tax from Advance Auto and Autozone. While there were some OEM's here that cost $40.00 (still $20.00 cheaper than the parts store), I originally used an aftermarket "kit" that included both the variable valve timing solenoid and the exhaust included (parts look exactly the same except they have different electrical connections). which cost me about $23 a pair (which I found amazing considering a new kit was supposed to cost me over $120 at the parts store since they didn't have spares). After installing them I had to quickly remove them after only a few hours as they were causing my car to shake and stall which was 10 times worse than what I was dealing with the old ones. Luckily I still had the defective original filters that I could use again. Important note: The oil and filter were changed just prior to installation, so dirty oil wasn't to blame. So apparently I was dealing with a P0013 trouble code again and a very low idle that almost stalled while sitting at a red light. I quickly started the part return process and decided the same day that I would be OEM this time. As I mentioned, there were a few here for $40 each, but after a bit of searching I found "used". "Used" means the packaging was damaged and there were minor blemishes. Not that anyone else used them. This particular example has been heavily discounted to 15.40 SGD due to minor cosmetic damage that happened to stock. I wasn't afraid of scratches as the parts screw straight into the motor and then are hidden under a plastic cover so I bought this one. Note: This part is an exhaust valve, but I rated the intake valve a little over S22.84 (also claiming minor cosmetic damage), so I bought an OEM kit for less than $40. Return to "minor cosmetic damage". Although I ordered each part separately they were both sold by Revain and ordered from the same cart and both arrived in the same package in 2 days. I pulled them out of the box not knowing what to expect as this was the first time I've ordered cosmetically damaged items. I was positively surprised. As stated in the description, both of the original boxes the parts were sold in were badly damaged. They were broken, torn, taped over, and one box didn't even have a lid. This worried me, but the concern quickly dissipated when I looked at the real details. I literally couldn't find a single scratch on any of the parts. All cosmetic damage was in the small factory boxes they are sold in. I installed both the same day I received them (11/12/19) and it has now been 6 weeks with no problems. By the way. If you're pulling both intake and exhaust valves and have no idea which goes where, don't panic (at least on the Equinox). The parts have different forms of electrical connections. The outlet does not match the inlet and vice versa. Each wire is only long enough to reach a specific part, so just match the connectors and you're done. Also, if you are using an OEM, the parts are color coded to match the connector (grey and black). Gray is the intake and goes to the front, and the exhaust is black and goes to the rear. Please learn from my mistake and just go to OEM from the beginning. The biggest complaint I've seen about cheap aftermarket parts is that their internals are nowhere near as heat resistant as the OEM. Since these parts are located directly on the engine, they are exposed to a high temperature environment for a long time. Some comments said that the Chinese aftermarket models didn't even last two days before the heat from the engine destroyed them. So finally. You get what you pay for, but that doesn't always mean you have to pay full price as there are minor cosmetically damaged OEM parts.