Problems with MK3 steering

Hi all

First off, I apologize if this is the wrong forum to put this topic in, and secondly, if this topic has been posted before, I did a quick search for it and didn't find any results that seem to match my problem.

I've been having issues with my steering for the last year or so on my VW Polo Classic MKIII, 1.6L and I've taken it to at least 3 separate mechanics to try and rectify the situation, and none of them seem to be able to help.

(The next part is just a detailed history of my car, feel free to skip past it if you'd like)

About a year ago, I crashed my car into a curb, which bent my right driveshaft, damaged the control arm and also bent the tie rods. I took it to the first mechanic the next day on recommendation from a friend who has a similar car to mine. They simply bent the tie rods back into place, installed a new control arm, and cut the driveshaft in half and welded it back together with a piece of hollow tube, which haunted me later. The car seemed to be doing fine after that, apart from a sqeeaking sound coming from the front springs. Then, a friend of mine borrowed my car one night (a few months later) and managed to sheer the "repaired" driveshaft in half, along the hollow tube. Her brothers towed my car back to their place (using nylon rope...), and broke my aircon tube, which they thought would be a good place to tie the rope to. It snapped a few times, after which they tied it onto the driveshaft, and consequently got it tangled up in a horrible mess, which ended up with all my gearbox oil gushing out. I then decided to try another mechanic, who installed a new driveshaft that wasn't welded together with hollow tubing, and also told me that the previous mechanic had installed an incorrect control arm, which they also replaced, along with a new seal to stop the gearbox oil from leaking. Car once again seemed fine after that, from what I can remember. A few months down the line after that, I went home to visit my parents and decided to just get a checkup done on the car. This mechanic (number 3) found that a few bolts were missing, along with incorrectly sized bolts being installed, and some other items I forgot about (I'll try to find out what exactly, if you guys think it's relevant), which were all replaced. Not 3 weeks ago, I was happily driving to go grab some midnight snacks, when my steering wheel felt as though it had lost any handling to it, and started jumping around a lot, with the road handling becoming erratic. I drove home as carefully as I could, and decided to try yet another mechanic, this time my father had organised it, since he was fed up with all the trouble I'd had previously and referred me to a friend of his. They told me that my tie rod bolts had come undone, so I think I was lucky it happened in town rather than on a highway. They also replaced my brake pads, and installed a new water pump (more on that).

Other things that have happened to my car include an electric gate closing on my car, it getting broken into on the 2nd night I had it, and recently my car had been using a LOT of water (due to a damaged water pump, I have no idea how that happened).

Here's my issue I've been having (sorry for the long rambling). Whenever I start my car, the steering feels "locked" in place, to which I have to turn the wheel to either side, then rev the car with the clutch in, which results in a nasty sounding grating sound, and then goes back to normal, so I can drive it. I'm kinda concerned about this, but I honestly have no idea what could be the problem. Most people I talk to tell me it's normal, but it really doesn't feel like it's right. I could try and make a short video clip of the sound and the process I go through to start it, if that'd be any help. The car did come with power steering, however a friend mentioned that when she drove my car she didn't notice any power steering. I think that perhaps my power steering unit was damaged in that accident a year ago, and it could be causing me problems. I've mentioned it to all the mechanics I've taken it to, and they keep saying they've fixed it when the problem just persists. Any thoughts? If you'd like more info, I'd be more than happy to provide whatever I can, but I'm not particularly good with cars and the mechanical side of things. I also don't want to buy a new car, since I really can't afford it at this stage, and I can't afford to keep taking it to a garage every few months (I'm in college at the moment). Plus I really like my car. So am I just a paranoid moron who shouldn't own a car, or is there really an issue here?