You were lucky enough to find out how extremely customer-unfriendly GM is before you bought the vehicle and you still want to pursue it? Just because you have a part number doesn't mean you can actually buy the part. GM likes to sell assemblies instead of parts to repair them, but in the case of anti-lock brake systems, small parts other than pressure switches are often not available from any manufacturer. They don't want do-it-yourselfers or untrained / inexperienced mechanics working on critical parts on safety systems.
You also have to ask why someone would sell the vehicle needing "just this one part". If that's all that was needed to restore the system to proper operation, they would have done it. It's more likely they found out the hydraulic controller or computer needs to be sent out to a rebuilder, and the cost was going to be another typical $800.00 repair bill.
GM makes about 80 percent of their own parts. If this anti-lock brake system is made by another manufacturer like Bosch, Bendix, or Teves, other suppliers might be able to buy parts to resell under a different name, but if GM makes the part, it will cost about the same amount to buy it from any aftermarket source. There are a lot of aftermarket parts manufacturers that do a real good job of making improvements on factory parts, and they sell them at a lower cost, but when it comes to anti-lock brake systems, you are much less likely to find anything available thanks to lawyers and politicians. A lawyer will convince a jury that you were partly at fault for the crash when the other guy ran the red light because you were less able to avoid it. An insurance investigator will find evidence of parts being replaced or altered, and the aftermarket parts suppliers know they will become party to a lawsuit. That's why they aren't too excited about making or selling them.
The people at the dealer's parts department can tell you by the part number what it is, and what it will cost if it's available. They can also tell you if the computer has to be reprogrammed, which, of course, they don't do for free. You might also try the Rock Auto web site. They don't list parts by part number though. Parts that are available are on a list under "Brake / Wheel Hub". You have to look up each part by name, then you'll get a list of from one to dozens of suppliers for that part, and many of them will include the original part number with their description.
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Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 AT 12:20 PM