I know my car was in an accident at some point in it's past. But a number of people have looked it over and can't point at any repairs, so whoever has repaired it has done a damn good job. Also the problem is exactly the same on both sides so it's pretty unlikely that the car had a dead set front hit that damaged both sides equally.
Still, however unlikely, it's always possible. I will have to have a closer look at some other vehicles when I next get a chance and see how different they are. It may just be one of those common faults in the later model Mk3's.