Sourcing aftermarket auto parts from China is a professional RFQ task, not a retail checkout. The quality of the first message usually decides how much later reinterpretation is required. This guide answers: what information should a buyer prepare when sourcing aftermarket auto parts from China?
DEAUTO works as a China-based aftermarket sourcing and supply partner around eight locked Japanese pickup and LCV platforms: Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-MAX, Isuzu NPR, Isuzu NKR, Toyota Hiace, Toyota Fortuner, Mazda BT-50, and Mitsubishi L200 / Triton. This page is not an About article and not a catalog. It is the working list of fields that keep a requirement identifiable.
1. Vehicle and application
Write the vehicle the buyer actually intends to supply. A product name such as “control arm” does not identify the application. Platform, year or generation when known, and configuration notes when relevant should sit on the line.
If the customer runs more than one platform, do not merge them into “Japanese pickup.” Hilux, D-MAX, NPR, and NKR are different applications even when a warehouse uses one nickname.
Practical implication: application is the context that makes every later field usable.
2. OEM or other reference numbers when available
An OEM number is the original-equipment identity for that application. Preserve exact formatting. If you also have an aftermarket reference, keep it labelled as aftermarket. An aftermarket number is not genuine OEM, and two similar-looking references should not be treated as interchangeable.
If no number is available, say so and strengthen the other fields instead of inventing a code.
3. Quantity
Quantity tells the counterpart whether the line is a check, a replenishment, or part of a larger mixed requirement. Use real quantities. An empty field is clearer than a placeholder of one piece.
Keep quantity on each row of a mixed list. Do not put all demand into a covering paragraph.
4. Photos when identification is uncertain
Photos help when numbers are worn, packing is mixed, or the part is a used sample. Photograph markings, mounting points, and the part itself. Photos support identification; they do not replace vehicle and reference information, and they do not prove interchange.
5. Market or application information when relevant
Destination market, LHD / RHD, cab, or other local notes belong on the requirement when they change the part. They are not a claim about worldwide availability. Send them when they are known and skip them when they are not.
6. Mixed-part requirements
Professional buyers often send several categories together: brake, engine, Transmission & Clutch, suspension. That is normal. What must not mix is identity. Each line should keep its vehicle, reference, quantity, and any application note that belongs to that line.
Use Submit Your Parts List when the requirement has many rows. Use Request a Quote when the inquiry is already focused.
7. What happens next
After a usable list arrives, the usual sequence is review, then source from Chinese aftermarket supply, then verify when the application or sample still needs checking, then coordinate categories and quantities, then prepare confirmed lines for export according to the order.
That sequence is an operating outline, not a proprietary matching method and not a manufacturing claim. DEAUTO does not present aftermarket parts as genuine OEM parts, and a quotation is not a guarantee of fitment, stock, or a specific factory process.
If you are still assembling identity, read the OEM identification guide before sending the list. If you already know the platform, open that Vehicle Hub. When the rows are ready, send the parts list or request a quote with the fields above still attached to each line.