Can anyone tell me what this means on an MOT?

Grumpy_chap

That photo looks like the underside of the car has suffered some kind of impact.
Is it also a crack in the photo to the left hand side on the same part with the torn hole?

StacFace

I didn't own it at last MOT. Previous owner did all MOTs with servicing through the dealership, last one was a few weeks before I bought the car. Haven't noticed any issues with it not driving straight in the 11 months I've had it. Did one of those online checks to look at the history of the car at the time, but guess that wouldn't show up if they'd had a minor collision that went unreported in the few weeks between the dealership MOT and me buying it.

I'm assuming it would just be a minor collision with there being no accident history showing for it and no other signs of damage picked up? Are there any other checks I should be doing now or is it safe to just get the issues raised in the MOT fixed?

facade

It looks like someone has put a jack (or axle stand) under it in the wrong place, bent the mounting slightly and caused a teenie tiny split to run from a hole that was there when the part was made. (or a jack slipped off the main subframe.)

It should weld up in a few seconds, plus preparation time.

If you look at the other side, there will be an identical hole, without the distortion and split.

I wouldn't worry, I don't think it is crash damage, the distorted wheel could be from going over a pothole or up a kerb, and could well have been when it was fitted to the front.

If you are worried, ask the garage who is welding it to check for crash damage and to check the wheel alignment (it will cost, but put your mind at rest)

Goudy

It does look like a misplaced jack or more likely an arm on a two post lift has punctured the part.
The mark on the lower edge looks rather semi circular, like from the edge of the "cup" on the top of a jack. 

It's likely some idiot has lifted the car up in the wrong place.
The bare metal doesn't look that flaky with rust, so I doubt it was done that long ago.

It shouldn't be too hard to warm up the split, tease it out and weld it up, but the wheel being distored, is it the wheel or the wheel alignment?
Damage to a suspension parts or suspension mounts can cause problems with the wheel alignment which you'll never correct unless the damaged part is replaced. So it's worth clearing that up.