YOU are not alone. Many people say the Magna/Verada was a good car, but they had an image of it being boring. If Mitsubishi had somehow been able to race it against the Falcon or Commodore it might well have been able to change its reputation.

YOU have quite a large choice of cars, even with your limited budget. You need to understand that any car you buy for that sort of money will be old and likely to have gone around the world several times. Don't limit yourself to a particular make and model, but go for the car that's in the best condition. The EA Falcon is one I would probably avoid. It was the first model in a new generation of Falcons and had a few problems with the engine and transmission. That's not to say that all EAs are lemons, but you should be doubly careful about buying one.

If the wheel alignment is correct the car should steer straight ahead when you take your hands off the wheel, unless the road camber is quite pronounced and then it might steer slightly to the left. If your car markedly steers left when you let the wheel go there is something wrong. Has your car been in a crash? If so, it may have been incorrectly repaired and not straight. It amazes me how many cars you see on the road that are not visually straight, that is, they are crabbing down the road. I recently saw a Laser so far from straight the driver needed a quarter turn of lock to hold a straight line -- he wasn't so much steering it as sailing it. I'd get someone to drive the EB while you observe from a following car and see if the rear wheels are in line and tracking in line with the front ones.