What should an overseas buyer include in an RFQ to a Chinese auto parts supplier?

1. The legal name, country and website of your buying entity — the entity that would place the order, not a trading alias.
2. What you are: importer, distributor, wholesaler, repair chain, e-commerce seller or end user. This changes MOQ, pricing tier and warranty expectations.
3. Whether you are asking for stock supply, an exclusive territory, a private-label or own-brand arrangement, or a one-off trial order.
4. Your expected annual volume, separate from the volume of the first order. State both, and say which one is an estimate.
5. One named contact with an email address on your company domain, and your preferred language for documents.

1. OE / OEM reference number, and any known aftermarket cross-references. A part number is the single most valuable field in the whole RFQ.
2. A photograph or scan of the actual part, including any casting marks, stamped numbers or labels. Photos of a catalogue page are not a substitute.
3. Key dimensions: critical diameters, thread sizes, length, thickness, port or connector geometry — whatever governs whether it fits.
4. Material and finish expectations (for example steel grade, surface treatment, coating), if your market or application requires them.
5. The variant you want, if the part exists in several: left/right hand, with or without sensor, standard or reinforced. Say which, or say you want options quoted separately.
6. Whether you will accept an equivalent part or require an exact match. This one sentence prevents most of the back-and-forth.

1. Make, model, generation or chassis code, model year range, and engine or powertrain variant.
2. If the part is used across several applications, the full fitment list you need it to cover — not just one example vehicle.
3. Whether the vehicle is a domestic-market, export-market or parallel-import version. Trim and emissions variants can change the part.
4. Any fitment constraints you already know about from returns or complaints, so the supplier can avoid repeating them.

1. The destination country or customs territory, and the port or delivery point.
2. Which approvals or documents your market requires for this product family, named specifically. Ask the supplier to confirm in writing which ones they can currently provide for this part and production site.
3. The HS code you intend to declare, or a request that the supplier state theirs. Disagreement here becomes a customs problem later.
4. Labelling requirements: language, country of origin, importer identity, batch or date marking.
5. Any restriction your market applies that the supplier may not expect — for example a substance restriction, a recycling or take-back obligation, or a packaging-waste registration.

Do not ask a supplier to confirm compliance in general terms. Ask for the specific document, for the specific part, from the specific production site, valid on a specific date — then check it yourself.

1. Quantity for the trial order, and quantity per repeat order.
2. MOQ and any price breaks, requested explicitly. Ask for the price at two or three quantity levels so you can see the curve.
3. Requested Incoterms rule and named place — for example FOB a named Chinese port, or DAP your warehouse. Ambiguous Incoterms are the most common reason two quotes cannot be compared.
4. Currency, and whether the price is fixed or adjustable, and for how long it is valid.
5. Payment terms you are proposing, and your willingness to use a letter of credit or escrow for a first order.
6. Tooling or mould cost, if the part is not an existing catalogue item, and who owns the tool.

1. The quality-management evidence you require, and whether it must cover this production site rather than a group headquarters.
2. Whether you require a pre-shipment inspection, and by whom. Say this before the order, not after production.
3. Batch traceability: can the supplier link a delivered carton back to a production batch and date?
4. Warranty period, what it covers, and how a claim is handled — replacement, credit or return, and who pays freight.
5. Your expected defect rate and the remedy if it is exceeded.
6. Sample arrangement: cost, lead time, and whether sample cost is credited against the first order.

1. Packaging format: individual box, carton, pallet; and the labelling you need on each level.
2. Carton quantity, carton dimensions and gross weight — you need these to estimate freight before you commit.
3. Any requirement for mixed cartons or drop-ship-ready packaging if you sell online.
4. Documents you expect with the shipment: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or airway bill, certificate of origin, and any conformity document your market requires.
5. Requested lead time from deposit, and the supplier's stated production capacity for your volume — including whether it is their own line or a subcontracted one.