This came out of the bottom of my Vauxhall Astra 2003

>pic related

What is this?

Kinda looks like a piece of coil spring from the strut. But it seems kind of small.

something important

A piece of metal

i would guess this as well

Yep it's the tail end of a spring. They break on the ends like that all the time.

Budget lowering spring.

Is it something to worry about and get fixed or leave it?

Is from the coil

replace springs... or don't

>astra

who cares, get a proper car and then come back

I see ok so it broke off at the top bit.
How much would it cost in £ to replace both springs?

>How much would it cost in £ to replace both springs?
call around and ask

Get it fixed. I'd recommend at least both sides. That type of break is caused by fatigue and the other side is likely to go in the future.

They are dirt cheap, about 20-30 pounds the entire shock absorber

Since it is a front wheel drive it only has two doesn't it? Yeah it's an old car, it still has many of the original parts on it so something like this is expected.

Ok brilliant unfortunately I don't have the gear to do these myself so I will have to go to a garage and ask them to do it, what is the price for parts and labour for something like this?

Shouldn't be much. My first car was an Opel Astra G powered by an 1.2L of pure terror.

If you bring them the struts, maybe an hour labor total. If they have to remove them, expect to be charged 1.5 per side plus alignment.

£150 per side? Or £1500 per side?

I think he was talking about labour time, so 1 and a half hour per side, which looks a bit too much to me anyway.

You know, you would get a better estimate of the cost by picking up the phone and calling a bunch of workshops instead of asking this in a place where people can post from all over the world and most of them have no clue how expensive parts and labour are where you live.

Say "hello, I need to replace both my front (or rear, depending where that piece came from) springs, how much do you think it would it cost?" Then they will ask you what car you have, at which point you will say "it's a 2003 Astra" then they will either ask you to hang on while they check the prices or will ask for your number so they can call you later for a quote. Keep your car model, car year and phone number written close to you so you don't give them the wrong information, calling a workshop is a stressful job after all, so you want to be extra safe.
Once that's done, repeat the same process for at least a couple of other workshops so you can see who makes the best prices.
Go on, user, you can do it, I believe in you.

Ok brilliant thank you user, it's the first time I've owned a car in my life so this advice is great thanks again

Every time you will need to call a shop, always state make, model, year and engine of your car, have your licence plate and VIN number ready because a lot of times those are needed too in order to source the right parts for your car.

Seconding this, that looks like part of a coil spring.

Common problem with Astras of that generation. Replace them.
Or replace the car before the brakes rot and/or the head gasket blows.