Guides / For Shops
Reading an Automotive RFQ Before You Spend an Hour on It
September 24, 2026
This one is for the shops, not the buyers.
Automotive one off work has a bad reputation in job shops, and some of it is earned. The requests arrive as photographs, the quantity is one, the customer has no idea what machining costs and half of them never order. The other half turn into repeat customers who send work for years.
Telling the two apart quickly is the whole skill.
Score the request in two minutes
Six checks. If a request passes four, it is worth an hour.
| Check | Good sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Geometry | STEP file, or a dimensioned sketch | One photo, no scale |
| Tolerances | A few features marked, general block on the rest | Everything boxed, or nothing marked |
| Material | Alloy and temper named, or a sensible question | “Metal”, or a material that makes no sense for the job |
| Quantity | A number, plus what happens next year | “Depends on price” |
| Date | A real date | “ASAP” |
| Person | Name, company, phone, a reason the part exists | Free email address and three words |
The single strongest signal is a customer who tells you what the part does. Somebody who explains that the bracket carries an alternator on a swapped engine has thought about the part and will answer the phone when you call about the fillet radius.
The gaps worth a phone call
Most incomplete requests are not time wasters. They are people who have never bought machining before, and they are the most loyal customers in the trade once someone helps them.
Two questions usually unlock a quotable job.
- “Which of these dimensions has to be exact, and what does it fit?” This turns a drawing with fifteen tight tolerances into a part with two.
- “How many will you want over the next year, including spares?” This decides whether you build a fixture or clamp it in a vise.
Ask those two, quote within a day, and you will win work at prices that a race to the bottom never produces.
Pricing one off automotive work
A few habits that keep small jobs profitable.
- Recover the setup in the first piece. Programming, fixturing and proving are real hours. Buyers accept this when it is explained as “the first one carries the setup, the next ten do not”.
- Set a minimum order value and say it early. It saves everybody the conversation about a 40 dollar bracket.
- Quote a small batch alongside the single piece. Nearly everyone takes the batch once they see the per part price, and you fill the machine for the same setup.
- Price the finish separately so the customer can drop it rather than drop the whole job.
- Put an expiry on the quote. Material prices move and automotive projects stall for months.
What to write back when the drawing is thin
A quote that names its assumptions is worth more than a fast number.
Based on: 6061-T651, general tolerance plus or minus
0.15 mm, two bores held at H7, as machined finish,
deburred, no inspection report, 2 pieces.
Price: X per piece. 10 pieces: Y per piece, same setup.
Lead time: 3 weeks from approved drawing.
Not included: anodizing, freight, material certificate.
Questions:
1. Is the 84 mm center distance critical?
2. Does the part have to stay flat after machining? 6061-T6
bar will move, T651 plate will not.
Two questions and a set of assumptions. The customer either confirms, which makes the order firm, or corrects you, which tells you what really matters. Either way you now know something the shops who quoted a bare number do not.
The requests to decline
- No drawing and no willingness to make one
- A drawing marked with a competitor’s title block
- A tolerance that your machines cannot hold, where the customer will not discuss changing it
- A date that was already impossible when it was written
- Anyone who asks for a price before telling you what the part is
Declining early, politely and with a reason is good business. Shops that say “not our work, and here is why” get remembered when the right job comes along.
Where the requests on this site come from
We match buyers with shops. Each request goes to three shops at most, chosen on machine envelope, material and quantity, and you see a preview of the part and the price of the lead before you decide whether to take it. You talk to the buyer directly, you quote your own price, and we take nothing from the order.
If you machine automotive parts and want requests that fit the machines you already own, register your shop. It takes about five minutes and we reply within 24 business hours.
See also: customer-specific requirements, the extra rules a vehicle maker or Tier 1 can attach to a request.
Frequently asked questions
Are one off automotive jobs worth quoting at all?
They are when the setup is recovered in the price and when the customer is the kind who comes back. Restorers, swap shops and small aftermarket brands repeat far more often than their first order suggests. The ones to decline are the requests with no drawing, no date and no name behind them.
How do you price a part when the drawing is incomplete?
Quote what you can see and name the assumptions in writing. A price that says which tolerance, which material and which finish it is based on protects you when the drawing changes, and it gives the customer something to correct.
How many shops is a typical request sent to?
On open marketplaces it can be dozens, which is why the hit rate there is low. A request that reaches you with a limit on how many shops see it is worth more of your time, and it is worth asking what that limit is before you quote.
Need a quote for this part?
Send the drawing or photos of the old part. We match you with up to 3 shops and reply within 24 business hours.
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