(13 Sep 2016, 8:26 pm)Adrian wrote I'm of the same opinion. I'd ridden on a couple of these down in Brighton, shortly before their withdrawal and transfer to Go North East. Having seen the state of some of them down there, I was surprised when they hit the roads up here without a refurb.I had 3995 this afternoon on the 15A and it is a absolute mess, at the front over the destination screen panel there was various random assortments of metal and panels that wouldn't normally be there including one crudely fitted panel on the drivers side, making tape on one of the seat legs and of course the typical shabby seats.
I'm not suggesting all 2nd hand buses should be refurbished as a matter of course, but 3995/6 look especially shabby, and customers aren't daft enough not to notice these things. Having ridden 6132 yesterday, it just goes to show how much difference an internal refurbishment can make to the presentation of a bus.
Also had 6134 on the X22 this morning which I had to admit looked a lot better with it having the blue panels rather than the drab dark grey panels but still had the shabby red seat moquette which is quite worn and looks a mess.
Had one that has had it seats re-trimmed on the 15 fairly recently and it really did make a difference in the overall appearance of the bus.