what could be wrong with my car?

worried123

I have an 11 year old corsa sxi - had it from new and it has been a nightmare....never again will I buy a vauxhall.....I am trying to just keep it going until finances allow a new car.

I use the same garage for repairs and I am sure they wouldnt rip me off but I get good help from this site before approaching them...it helps to bring the car in with a little knowledge of what might be wrong and roughly how much it is going to cost me to put right (i still think that garages tend to rip of women more as we dont have the first clue about cars usually).

Whatever has gone wrong with it this time has been building up to it for a long time i feel.........The other day whilst driving home from work i noticed every single bump in the road....the most uncomfortable drive......today i checked my tyre pressure...they were a little bit down but after correcting the situation is the same.......i can literally feel every single bump in the road - it feels as though it is coming more from the back and it feels almost as though the car is pulling a bumpy carriage.....i know that sounds strange (i even checked my boot to make sure that something wasnt banging around in there)........suspension comes to mind and also lots of money.......

Can anybody have a stab at what might be wrong and roughly cost please....

Many thanks.

forgotmyname

Been on a diet and your bottom isnt as padded as it once was?

Springs, Shocks, Lots of suspension parts to test, Tyres even the seat?

TrickyWicky

Quite possible the wishbone bushes. We had them fail on a ford ka and it had the symptoms you describe. That said though it could be any other part of the suspension system - snapped spring, failed shock absorber etc.

Strider590

Keeping a car gets expensive if you ignore warning signs/sounds.

I recently got my exhaust fixed, cost me about £100, I knew something was wrong as it started to blow one morning, it was SOOOO slight that most people would have ignored it until it got really bad and then they'd turn the radio on to drown it out until it fell off.

Had I left it to get to that stage, it'd probably have cost me a full exhaust system and quite possibly legal action for the large lump of metal that flew off and killed a motorcyclist, the exhaust alone leaving me very little change from £500.

If you don't look after a car, then it simply costs you more to fix.

Your issue sounds to me like the shocks have failed (probably a very long time ago) and now one of the springs has snapped due to corrosion, age and failed shocks.

BTW, my motor is a Vauxhall Vectra, 10 years old, hasn't failed an MOT in the 6 years i've owned it.

Muscle750

Broken spring about £35 each side or shock absorber about £65 a pair both easy to fit in less than a hour

worried123

Thanks everyone - taking it into the garage on friday...and strider, what you said has encouraged me to get a couple of other niggly things that i have left fixed as well.....

hopefully it wont cost a fortune to get fixed....