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Posted on November 16, 2008 by Eric Dawson | Posted under Automotive
Oxygen sensors revealed - what buyers should know and sellers won't tell
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Before the onset of internet, the brick and motor auto parts stores where the place you would go to buy an oxygen sensor. But the advent of internet has changed they way buyers and sellers interact with one another. Today we have online market places like eBay and Amazon were we can find many hard to find auto parts which are not available in your local auto parts warehouse. Not just that, many comparison web sites provide a common place were sellers and buyers can interact with each other. While on one hand it provides buyers with the capability to compare prices and find incredible bargains on various auto parts like O2 sensors, it also provides sellers the opportunity to post their products for sale and maximize their reach to find customers globally. No longer you have to drive to the auto parts store to buy an O2 sensor. You can buy it on internet just at the click of a button. While comparison-shopping web sites helps keeping the prices of oxygen sensor down, based on the availability and demand of the oxygen sensors available online. But not all the oxygen sensors sold on internet are great in quality, nor are they “brand new" as claimed by the sellers. So, as a buyer you need to check for possible clues which might provide you indications about the sensor to make sure that you are not ripped off. Here are the possible things you can look into when you receive the oxygen sensor from the seller: 1] Make sure that the oxygen sensor is of the same manufacturer what you had bought from the internet. If its Bosch, Denso, Walker etc. Make sure you see the logo or name of the manufacturer on the sensor barrel. Bosch, Denso and NTK oxygen sensors come with logo and / or company name imprinted on the label. But Standard and Walker oxygen sensors doesn't. If the sensor comes in original packaging, that's great because it will have the part # and manufacturer's name printed on the packaging. But if the sensor comes without the box, you can either look for logos on the sensor barrel or look into the manufacturer's catalog which will have photographs of the specific sensor printed and it will give you confidence that you received the same part # and you ordered from the online seller. Sometimes the photographs of the sensor posted online may be incorrect. Make sure you do your homework before you buy online. 2] If the oxygen sensor is without the original packaging, in order to ascertain that you have received the correct part #, you can look into the part # mentioned on the barrel for clues. For example: Bosch oxygen sensor has 10 digit part # starting with 0258... or F00H... etc. imprinted on the barrel. This can be mapped to the 5 digit Bosch part number imprinted on the original package (should the original package have been provided). Toyota oxygen sensors has part # starting with 89465-xxxxx which can provide clues about its application. 3] How will you know if the oxygen sensor is really brand new as claimed by the seller? There are clues you can look for. If it's a Bosch oxygen sensor, it will come with the anti-seize on threads. Absence of anti-seize on Bosch sensor will indicate that the sensor might have been installed before. Also look for possible wear & tear on the hex screws. Are they're chipping or minor dents on the edges of the hex screw? Those marking might have come from the screwdriver during installation. Look at the screw threads. Do they look clear and smooth? Feel it with your fingertips. Do they feel rough? That could be another indication that the sensor might have been installed and the roughness might have been due to friction on the screw threads during installation. 4] Another problem which you might experience is that the seller might ship you the oxygen sensor in an incorrect packaging. Say you have bought a Bosch O2 sensor for your Toyota. The seller ships a Toyota oxygen sensor (made by Toyota) in a Bosch packaging. Just because you received a Toyota oxygen sensor doesn't mean it will work with all Toyota make and models. So, what can you do to make sure that the oxygen sensor is the right one for your car? Every oxygen sensor has a specific lead wire length, which makes it suitable for the application. This wire length is also mentioned explicitly in the manufacturer's oxygen sensor catalog. So, measure the length of the lead wire from the sensor tip to the connector end. Compare the length to that of your old oxygen sensor. Do they match? If not, this can indicate that you have been supplied with an oxygen sensor that is not intended for your car. 5] Another test you can do is to rub the sensor tip with your hand. Do you see carbon deposit? A brand new oxygen sensor shouldn't have any carbon deposit on the sensor tip. This could be another indication that the sensor might have been used before. 6] Another factor you need to consider is the emission laws in the place you live in. If you are in USA, we would recommend that you buy oxygen sensors from US sellers rather than European sellers because the emission laws of US might be more strict that Europe and vice versa. After all you don't want to fail the emission test after changing your oxygen sensor. Also with in USA, different states may have different emission standards. For example, emission laws of California are one of the most stringent in USA. Hence the oxygen sensor manufacturer's have created specific part # of California based cars. So, please make sure that you buy the proper part # based on where you live. At OxygenSensor4Less, each oxygen sensor is checked manually before they are listed on our web site and auction listings. This helps us to ensure that the description of the oxygen sensor is accurate. Also we take the photographs of oxygen sensor ourselves. So, what you will receive from us is the same oxygen sensor as the photograph indicates. This prevents confusion in the mind of the buyers. So, at OxygenSensor4Less, you can buy oxygen sensors with peace of mind knowing that we make sure that each of these issues mentioned above are checked by us. When we say it's brand new, we mean it. About The Author: Eric Dawson To find other helpful tips and information on oxygen sensor please visit Oxygen Sensor Resource page Buy cheap oxygen sensor - Discount O2 sensors for Honda Toyota Ford - Bosch Denso NTK |
Tags: OXYGEN SENSOR, O2 SENSOR, REPLACING OXYGEN SENSOR, REPLACE OXYGEN SENSOR, REPLACE O2 SENSOR, INSTALLING OXYGEN SENSOR, INSTALLING O2 SENSOR, BOSCH OXY
