I brought my 2008 VW Jetta in for an oil change and a MA state inspection sticker. After a multi-point inspection, I was told that my rear coil was cracked and needed to be replaced in order to pass the state inspection. Just asking for some feedback.
I would surely hope it fails inspection. That is NOT something you want broken and still keep driving.
Where did you have it done, dealer or independent? At the very least get a second opinion.
Thanks for the replies. I brought it to a dealer. I’d rather be safe, but curious at the same time.
Cracked spring = unsafe, it could come loose and puncture your tire. I can’t tell for sure from the picture, you should have the shop that’ll do the work inspect it first. I’d replace both rear springs, and have a careful look at the front springs. If the rear shocks are worn out, this would be a convenient time to replace them, they’ll probably have to be removed to replace the springs.
Oh no. They haven’t mentioned replacing the rear shocks. 
$$$
Thanks for the heads-up.
So let me get this straight. You take your car to an MA inspection place. They tell you a cracked spring fails, yet you still question it. Do I have this right? Other than that I agree with it is unsafe and should fail. So to answer the title question my answer is, they said it fails so it does. DUH.
Without question, a broken spring is a safety hazard. While the OP might want to question whether the diagnosis is correct, he should not be questioning whether this defect should lead to failure.
Yes, it should cause you to fail the inspection–if it is actually cracked.
Yes, you should replace springs in pairs, so the other rear spring needs to be replaced also if the one in question is indeed cracked.
And, as was said, this would be a good time to replace the shocks if they are worn out–as I suspect that they are.
Just get a second opinion, and–if it concurs with the inspection–then have the repairs done before this defect leads to an accident.
Forget about whether it will or will not pas state inspection. Get it fixed if it’s broken; your life may depend on it. As others mention, a lot of nasty things can happen at speed if the spring becomes dislodged somehow.
The scariest spring breakage I experienced was on a rear leaf spring car and heading downhill towards a T junction. The broken spring severed the brake line and this car did not have dual braking. The pedal went to the floor.
I stopped the car with the hand brake which barely held since it was a step downhill street.
Good enough, thanks. You can close this discussion.