Finally drove 7102 this morning after its “refurb” including a new paint job, new engine, and that’s about it. It’s a bit of a shame that it’s being used whilst the exterior is unfinished, as there is meant to be some more branding included (like the big “A” that I mentioned, no clue if it’s meant to have the Arriva “swoops” either.)
Despite the new engine though, it had an Amber engine light. Honestly, pretty standard for these coaches from my experience. Something that threw me off though was the interior mirror just fell off… it looked like it had been stuck up with some superglue, so it’s honestly something that had been waiting to happen in all honesty. Apart from that, it’s pretty much just the standard Temsa!
Here in this photo is Arriva Midlands 7102. It is seen in Hinckley Bus Station waiting to begin service X6 to Coventry. This coach is the first to be painted into the new Arriva colours.
flic.kr
Something that did make me go “why?” Was the way the offside has been painted, more specifically this part:

In sunlight, you can see how the panel should be painted in terms of the black paint, and it was painted properly before, so it just seems a bit silly in my opinion!