You'll probably find that the aesthetic appearance of the bus shelters matters far more to TfL than the cost of constantly repairing them.

The only viable alternative to glass is polycarbonate type material which is even more attractive to the graffiti/vandalism brigade than glass, mainly because it can be scratched/etched into easily, leaving permanent damage which looks unsightly.
It is also very difficult to remove spray paint from polycarbonate without the paint or the removal agent eating into the surface. Polycarbonate can also be melted with a naked flame.

Our council (in North Wales) has a policy of erecting shelters with glass windows, but the first time a window is broken by vandalism it is automatically replaced with polycarbonate. This means that some shelters have windows of both materials which look awful, especially once the polycarbonate has been etched into.

I hope that makes some sense.

PP

Shock absorber

HJ, if I look at my A4's nose and that of the A3 I see a gradual but distinct progression from the older to the more recent car. The new A6 and 'new' A8 look like a real leap on from the A3.

I quite like it actually, but don't want my A4's residuals affected (too much).

Why didn't Audi give the new A3 a stronger nose? Now it's the odd one out and needs to look like an immediate member of the family, not a cousin.

Power steering pumps are too expensive- checkk on ECP (www.eurocarparts.co.uk), and realtively easy to change.

Wheel judder could be all sorts of things. But if you can be sure the sub-frames are all straight, i doubt it will ba anything too expensive to put right- even a 16v rack (different from 8v) is only £130 plus vat exchange. (£650 or there abouts from VAG though!).

Due to the age of mk.2 golfs now, i would reccomend you look through owners clubs and enthusiats forum etc for cars. A friend on mine recently sold his 16v which was in great condition, had full leather trim, bottom end from and audi coupe (9a block 2ltr) which had about 30k miles on it, the head was off my old jetta 16v with high lift inlet cam, vernier pulley etc, two year old lowered suspension (done properly) with all new bushes all round, 280mm brakes etc etc. He took a grand for it. Quite a bargain i thought. Car was g plate but i think thats almost irrelevant. Mad people still pay £2k plus for J and K reg cars.

Another friend years ago sold an even better spec car with a properly rebuilt gearbox for £1500. Look for cars that have had decent gearbox rebuilds. The boxes can go on and on but the syncros are weak. Hard driven cars can have problems with the diff. Accelerate hard and see if the car deviates as you lift on and off the throttle

www.wiganmbc.gov.uk/pub/ehcp/ts/Leaflets/Car%20mil...f
hope that helps