My guess is someone tried to use that spot as a lifting point. When you got your alignment, did you have them change or take off your tires for any reason? If you have never noticed it until after the service, that is where I would start.

 

I think these guys are doing an excellent job of scaring the hell out of you. The first thing I thought was that looks like lifting point damage. Some goober tried to lift the car by the crumple zone skid, and it, well, crumpled. If you look at most cars they have two skids which run down the sides of the car. These are to protect the undercarraige in the event that you bottom out, im sure they also serve in some impact absorption too. But the fact of the matter is that your car is a unibody'd car like most modern cars and the entire body chassis supports the weight of the car, from the roof to the doors. Your car is not going to fold in half next time you drive through a pot hole. Now if it were an older car with a true chassis and a true frame, and the frame then looked like your picture; you might have a problem. But this is not the case, continue driving your car and have it looked at next time the car is serviced.

 

You just need to be careful when ur near your car with a axe.

 

1) You make it sound like everyone is a narrator for a scary movie. No one is trying to scare him, they are just giving their thoughts on possible causes, like they were asked to do.

2) Just because it is a unibody car, does not mean you should slide the handy jack under the car and use wherever the jack lands as a lift point. They have lift points for a reason.

 

good news...

i reexamined the hole today and i realized that the damage is only to the plastic portion, not the metal portion of the undercarriage.

i initially thought that the metal part, the frame, was damaged. i guess when i saw it for the first time i was kinda fearing the worst and too afraid to examine it closer in fear that i would come to realize that it was in fact something major, like frame damage.

after gathering myself and overcoming that initial shock of seeing my baby hurt, i realized i had not examined my car as closely as i could have, so i got back down and poked at the hole. when i heard that familiar plastic thunk, i realized the damage wasn't what i initially thought.

i definitely think the damage was done during my front end alignment, as there is no way that damage was there when i bought my car, or noticeable at any point during the last few months. i've washed my car thoroughly and stare at it nearly every second it is in my view. i would not have missed it.

there's a funny part to all this...

the main reason i was getting my front end alignment was because i have had a slight pull to the right since i bought my car. this was nothing major, and it never really bothered me. before i went to college my dad offered to get me a front end alignment. so i said sure. after getting the car back, it still had the pull. so the alignment didn't fix the problem. one of my friends said it might be the steering column causing of this pull. you guys know anything about that?

anyway, after the alignment, the pull is still there and now i've got a hole...which to the best of my knowledge, was caused during my alignment.

thank goodness my car is alright. i will surely get that thing fixed, if for only aesthetic reasons, as soon as possible.

i greatly appreciate everyone's input and help.

i am sorry i could not have posted better pictures...i likely would have saved myself a lot of grief last night when i could not fall asleep.

safe driving everyone.

 

i dunno man ... sure looks like frame damage to me, but it doesn't look like it could have been caused by a lift unless they used a forklift and stabbed it with the fork.

i'm with audiboy ... looks like an ax-job. i'd definitely have a body shop look at it just to be safe. and ... whoever above said that frame damage of that sort (if it is indeed frame damage) isn't dangerous is a complete idiot. trust me ... i'm a structural engineer. unibody frames require the entire structure to be in sound condition. does it creak or groan when you corner it hard?

 

it's just the plastic part of the undercarriage...it is seemingly unrelated to structural integrity.

frame damage would be to the metal part of the car, right?

there is no damage to the metal part of the car.

honestly, the picture looks a lot worse than what it looks like in person.

when i first saw the picture after i took it, i cringed.

 

you think someone took an axe to my car?

 

i just went and checked it one more time...cause that last post didn't make me feel too good...thanks. heh.

i stuck my finger under the plastic and felt the metal...it's fine. the only damage is that dent in the plastic protection for the undercarrriage.

that is not frame damage.

when i go home, i'll have it checked.

knowing that there is only a dent in my plastic, someone else tell me my car is alright, please.

 

If you are certain that this is just plastic.... then your baby, i'm happy to say, is fine. . . . . Go get some sleep. :-)
It really does look like frame damage but you had the eyes on it not us. You could "fiberglass kit" that back and make it look fine again if you really wanted.