Coil springs MOT advisory

westwood68

I friend had a front spring go on his Fiat Stilo but as mentioned earlier, it had a 'spring catcher' fitted to prevent it from causing any damage.

Strider590

Ectophile wrote: »

I had my 4-year old Fiat Panda serviced and MOT'd yesterday.

It came back with an MOT advisory "Rear coil springs corroded". They also gave me a "visual health check" form with the rear springs listed under the section "Red Items: These items require your urgent attention".

I've owned much older cars over the years, and have never had any mention of the state of the coil springs. I was therefore rather surprised to be told that I needed two springs replacing on a car that's only 4 years old.

Does this sound reasonable to you all? I have never thought of springs as a consumable part, and would expect them to last a lot longer.

Basically it comes down to cost cutting, manufacturers aren't making springs as hard wearing as they once did (metal is expensive) and the paint or powder coating isn't as tough as it used to be.
Then add the road factors (such as road dressing and speed bumps and road salt).
It's also another source of income for the dealerships.

I replaced my springs with aftermarket anodised springs, they'll never rust AND they were cheaper than the genuine parts from a Vauxhall dealer.