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You need to check out your tie rod ends and ball joints on the front end of course. But that may not be what you are feeling. Had the same sort of roaming feeling even after replacing the front shocks, sway bar links, sway bar bushings, ball joints, tie rods ends and a having the rack rebuilt.
What your mechanic is telling you about is the Trailing Arm Bushings. Often seen as TAB here on the BB.
When you roll the windows down and hit the gas, do you hear a tapping sound coming from the rear of the car? That is one of the warnings of a shot TAB. What happens is that as the bearing wears out it becomes loose and actually allows your rear axle to move back and forth. That movement can certainly give you that roaming feeling you are describing in your post. You get the same sort of wandering sensation on a smooth road at higher speeds, never felt like I was going to loose control of the car but there was this slight swing at times. If the surface is irregular and grooved, the rear axle would be able to move around as the tires grip changes. A worn out TAB will also contribute to the dread saggin wagon look when it gets bad enough.
If yours has never been changed, might be worth having it checked out. One of the reasons the TAB goes not check checked as often as it should is that you have to take quite a bit loose to be able to see it.
This is what the better of the two TAB's on my 86 looked like before replacement. After using the Hole Saw method and adding a new Poly replacement bushing, the tapping on take off and that roaming feeling are gone.
Good Luck,
Paul
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