Found a broken coil outside, what does this mean for my car?

[Ijustneed]

My car is a 16 year old Vauxhall. When I got home today I found a broken metal coil on the street where I park my car. Black, probably about 4 or 5 inches across. Is this likely to have come off my car? It is possible that other cars were there, but more likely to be mine.

I've not lived here long, so no idea where to take it at the moment, and don't have money to spare, just enough for MOT in April.

Just wondered if anyone has an idea what it could be, can I still drive? Likely cost of repair?

Thanks in advance. I wouldn't ask if I could afford to take it in for diagnostics, but don't want to waste money if its going to prove too expensive to repair.

Photo of coil attached.

My first thought was 'oh no, morning after pill?'
Second thought 'wouldn't you notice if your coil fell out, down your trouser leg on to the street'

Sorry, cant help with your car!

Your car needs a condom

Sorry that's so unhelpful

Looks like a suspension spring thing.
Might not be from your car though.
Does it look lopsided?

Car mechanic husband says it's a broken coil spring from suspension.

Yes it is, I had a new one a few weeks ago, the part cost about £30 and the mechanic fitted in in about fifteen minutes (he didn't charge me as he was doing the mot anyway)

You need to replace it. Ideally, at the same time, you should replace the one on the other side too.

If it is from your car, I don’t think it’s a massively expensive job.
My car is also a 16-yr-old vauxhall & needed a new spring in the last couple of years. (Can’t remember how much it was though & I don’t know where the bill is)

If you get on your hands and knees and look in the arch, you should be able to see if it's one of yours (use a torch, have a feel round).

Alternatively/as well, give your car a strong push down on each corner. You should be able to feel it and probably hear it.

It's a bit odd to be just lying there though. It wouldn't just fall out of a stationary car. You'd know if it snapped while driving because the noise is very loud and alarming (I know!)

One of your coil springs has snapped. Part of the suspension system of the car. It's really quite common. Coil springs (especially aftermarket ones) are a high carbon composite metal and during colder weather become increasingly brittle and prone to snapping. If you run your finger across the snapped edge craze fully you'll notice a grainy shards surface not dissimilar to the graphite of pencil lead.

The photo you've posted is the top or bottom section of a spring, the car will still ride on it's shock absorber (assuming this is a front spring! Corsa's don't have rear shocks) but the biggest danger here is the broken segment of spring still in situ damaging the vehicle tyre as you drive. You may notice a noise on turning or going up/down a kerb etc. I would proceed carefully to your nearest garage and expect a bill in the region of £50.

It would be an mot fail.

Husband also says get it checked by mechanic. It may not be from your car, if it is, the remaining broken end could cause further damage, including damaging brake pipes.

Yup broken suspension spring says my dh who sells suspension for sports cars. You need to get it checked at a garage and replaced with new across the axle as a set so if back right one gone replace back left as well. Although dh says if u are desperate u could just replace the one.

Yes you can still drive, but I wouldn't go belting down any motorways. Local pootles will be ok, but your suspension won't be working as well. And obviously I don't mean forever, just while you organise repairs.

Thanks everyone. I'll look into local garages. Looks like it shouldn't be too expensive. It's a Corsa, so presumably front.

Could you gently bounce each corner of the car in the morning?
If it bounces identically in each corner, chance are it's someone else who will get a big bill and not you.
Be careful driving it, you don't want to cause further damage.

I'd expect £100 for that even here in not London, but otherwise everyone is spot on., and if you can get it cheaper then great stuff. It goes with quite a bang but can do so when parked so you would not have necessarily heard it.

you may even be able to see the problem if you look behind the wheel, although not necessarily. A mechanic will pop it on the ramp and spot it in seconds.

ask around for banger friendly garages. you want somewhere with no reception staff and indeed only the most basic of customer areas. Absolutely not a main dealer.

Echoing what everyone else has said. I had mine done just before Christmas, was about £70-80. They advised me to get both done - apparently they should be done in pairs. But I declined as it would've been £130+

I sell coil springs for a living. I'd estimate tops £25-30 for a corsa spring plus an hour's labour. I'm in NW.

That said, sometimes garages will add 20% on car parts bought in.

My hyundai has lost a spring chunk like this, twice recently due to pot holes. If it's yours I'm surprised you didn't notice when it went as it made a godawful thump in my car when I went over a speedbump and it sheered off.

With the labour it cost me about £200 for it to be fitted, but I'm not sure the difference in price of the part between my car and a corsa.

I genuinely didn't hear anything. I'll have a look in daylight, see if I can spot anything missing. No one else parks there, so it must be mine.

Just a tip (although you didnt ask) but for the M.O.T, I advise you using the local Council testing station.

Martin Lewis recommends us public, doing this. I have been doing it for about 5 years now and they have been great & I trust them.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot/#hidden

More info on using the Council testing station.

No point using the council testing service as they don't do repairs so won’t solve the OPs problem and it probably won't save any money and involve a lot of pissing about going backwards and forwards if you try to use different garages for the MOT and the repair. Could even end up being more expensive due to retest fees instead of getting it all done in one go.

OP are you sure it's from your car? Could it have been dumped by someone else or fallen off another car? I think springs are visible under the wheel arches so I suppose that you can go look under both tomorrow to see if they look different?

I'm not sure it's from my car, I didn't hear anything snap. I'll try and look when I'm dressed. But no one else parks where I found it, just outside my house. It's a cul de sac, so no reason for anyone to park there, and my house is tucked in a bit.

Are you sure it is not a large dead millipede?