Better than drivers opting to leave it hanging!One of the front panels on 1427 looked to be hanging off slightly when I saw it the other week.
Was on a Pulsar the other week (can't remember if it was one of Stockton's or Durham's) and an off-duty Arriva employee alerted the driver to a panel which was hanging by one screw. The driver said he didn't have time to sort it out, so hopefully it wouldn't fall off completely. The off-duty employee looked less than impressed.
Problem is knowing Darlington depot it will stay like this for ages, 1304 had a bit of this stuff on for a while and after a few months instead of being repaired they added more, it remained like this until it was transferred to Belmont depot who fixed it.
Also saw a pic on Fotopic years ago of a Prestige the panels above the windows and lights was being kept shut with tape and some over times they were just left to flap open.