Motoring: My worst car: dale winton's opel monza

I'm absolutely crazy about cars. My favourite kind is a coupe, the bigger the better - the American Caddies, Chevys and Lincolns. Back in the late Seventies I owned a yellow Vauxhall Cavalier coupe. I decided to trade up and in a garage in Nottingham I found two European models: a Vauxhall Senator and an Opel Monza.

The Senator was a comfortable four-door saloon, but I couldn't help being drawn towards the Opel Monza, purely because it was a great big coupe. The salesman kept directing me back to the Senator; I think he knew all too well what a pig of a car that Monza was. But I still went for it.

It looked OK. The colour was a metallic grey and it was the top-of-the- range 3.0 litre model. As I drove it away I realised there was a lot wrong - including a 2-in gap one side of the steering column. It must have been stuck back together after a big accident. When I accelerated there was a nasty, grinding noise.

It went back to the garage dozens of times. The electrics were a nightmare, the dash was always flashing at me and it was always breaking down. Even the roof had been damaged by the "For Sale" sign. It must have been on sale for ages until a sucker like me came along.

From 18 May Dale Winton will present 'Lorraine Live' on GMTV. He was talking to James Ruppert.