Hi all - Helping my stepson out here - If anyone can give us some insight, see photos and his description below:
"I had gotten home & I was backing up into my spot when I suddenly started hearing a scraping noise under me, so I parked in, checked to see the problem and I found a rusted latch in the mid-front section of the car. I have no idea how it broke or what it is, I just noticed when I parked. I have no idea whether it's an important piece or not, but now I can’t back up or drive without worrying it might break and break the car further"

It's under the front right-ish side of the car.
My questions for you all:
- What is it?
- Can it be driven as is for short trips? for the time being?
- Can it be fixed (relatively inexpensively)?
Many thanks in advance

 

That's an exhaust support bracket that has rusted off the catalytic converter - holds up the front half of the exhaust system. Hopefully an exhaust shop might be able to weld that back on. (with a little additional metal) The converter has a flexible part that is being stressed right now - with no support from those 2 rubber mounts. Drive-able but will get considerably more expensive if the converter breaks.