OK- Stop all your huffing and puffing. No one is impressed.
Read this very carefully: These springs break in such a way that it is often all but impossible to detect the break unless you remove the spring/strut assembly from the vehicle and/or find a broken piece of spring.
Did you understand that time? If not, go back to the top and read it again. Repeat until you get it.
On the driver's side rear spring on my 95 SE, the break was near the top of the spring. If I had not found the broken piece
(see: http://home.att.net/~owstuck/Piece_from_D_Rear.JPG )
I would never have known my springs were broken. I put the car on jackstands, removed the rear wheels, and CAREFULLY inspeced the coils. I already KNEW the coil was broken, because I found the piece above inside the remaining coils still attached to the strut. I still could not see the break in the coil, even with a strong shop light and daylight outside. The spring was slightly loose with the strut fully extended, but seemed to be firmly attached at the top. I just saw the old springs after they were removed from the car today. The break on that side was at the top of the spring. The passenger side spring was also very rusty in the same area, and would most likely have broken there very soon. These breaks/rust CANNOT be seen with the strut/spring installed on the vehicle. It doesn't matter what kind of background you have. It doesn't matter how careful or meticulous you are with your car. This is not your fault. I also worked as a mechanic for a number of years before taking my current job. I am far from inexperienced in automotive repair.
Now, I have a few questions for you: Again, did you remove the strut/spring assembly before the sale of the cars you mentioned to verify the springs were not broken?
Does the PA inspection include the removal of the rear spring/strut assembly to verify that the springs are not broken?
My guess is that the answer to both questions is no, in which case your statements mean exactly jack.
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95 Contour SE automatic, 37,000 miles
