The car was so low the exhaust pipe was practically scraping the ground

17:03, 13 Nov 2025Updated 17:52, 13 Nov 2025

The suspension was lowered to the point where the exhaust pipe was practically scraping on the ground(Image: AGS)

It was a bad day out for the driver of this souped-up motor, as Gardaí seized the vehicle in West Cork earlier today for ‘suspected dangerous defects.’

The Cork West Roads Policing Unit were on patrol in Bandon when they spotted the VW Passat with a suspension so low the exhaust pipe was practically scraping the tarmac. On inspection, the vanity custom job to lower the car had left the fancy bumper lipkit and sideskirts barely off the ground.

You can legally lower a car’s suspension if it ‘doesn’t adversely affect the vehicle’s safety'(Image: AGS)

Gardaí stopped the motorist and seized the vehicle for a range of reasons, including the lowered suspension. Drivers looking to give their vehicle a sporty look can legally lower their car by a couple of centimetres without any trouble. However, Gardaí warn against it and urge would-be motor-modders to reconsider.

The suped-up Passat was seized by Gardaí in Bandon(Image: AGS)

Lowering or raising the suspension is only acceptable if it “doesn’t adversely affect the vehicle’s handling or safety,” advice on the Garda website reads. There are a few different methods to lowering a car, including using suspension lowering springs, coilovers or airbags.

After today’s vehicle seizure, a Garda officer took to social media to share photographs of the offending vehicle, saying: “When your suspension is lowered, your chances of keeping the car go down too. Seized today by Cork West Roads Policing Unit, Bandon, for suspected dangerous defects.”

Earlier this week, Gardaí in the city seized a car for multiple safety defects after a cheeky message scrawled in dirt on the back of the vehicle caught the attention of officers. The car, also a VW Passat, was pulled over on Sunday after the driver was spotted on their phone, as well as some eye-catching artwork – the words “I am a d***head* – written in thick black exhaust dirt on the boot.

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