Left Suspension damaged. How Serious is that???

I am thinking of buying a car that has been in an accident. The damage was left fender and left suspension. It supposedly has all been repaired. How difficult/serious is it to repair left suspension. If looking at the car how can you tell if fixed properly? thanks

Most newer cars with McPherson struts use the body as part of the upper suspension. Lower suspension attachment points are on the body also. In an accident, with a frameless car, these points can be damaged and move because of the built in crush zones. It is very possible to repair the left front suspension without ever dealing with the attachment point damage. A cheap repair could just involve straightening the mount itself, aligning the wheels for the straight ahead, no jounce or rebound position. This might mean that you would have serious steering geometry errors while the wheels were turned or you went over bumps. You could also just have problems when the car is just driven down the street-- have you ever seen a car "dog-track"? -- the rear is offset from the front wheels. It is very difficult to repair body damage in these crush zones because of the difficulty in pulling the damage back out. If the car hasn't been repaired by a body shop with the correct(read expensive) equipment, I would be suspect.