Drivers inside door grab handle

[warbum44]

Hi all
I have a 1 year old Sharan bought preregistered and i've noticed already the trim around the grab handle on the drivers door has started to scratch / peel away. With it being only a year old, have I got some kind of comeback do you think? or might they just tell me wear & tear (not that I've been going at it with a scouring pad or anything...)
Mark:1zhelp:

[Tim Sowter]

This seems to be very common - it has happened to mine but admittedly mine is 5 years old. You can at least get replacements quite cheaply on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-GALAXY-SHARAN-INTERIOR-DOOR-HANDLE-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ230069315432QQihZ013QQcategoryZ21654Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Tim

[warbum44]

hey thanks for that - v useful. have looked at the site and it seems just the job. happy christmas!
Mark

[Eshrules]

there would be no harm in speaking to the dealer and suggesting they replace the parts, 12 months is not what i would consider fair wear and tear. each part on the car has certain tolerances. you wouldnt expect the paint on the body to rust in 12 months, in the same respect, you dont expect the handles to start peeling either. just speak to them, if you get no joy, pen a letter to them and request they send you some spares out, i think youll find they would be quite willing to help you out :D

[warbum44]

I'll give it a go and let you (and other users) know...

[BobDavies]

If your problem is the thin rubber material coating the handle then I had the same problem after the car was only about 8 months old (from new). VW replaced the handle, but the same thing happened. I suspect that the problem is VW have not managed to get the coating to adhere to the harder plastic material of the handle. It is probably possible to do this by exposing the handle to a plasma (corona) discharge as has been done for some car bumpers.

A nice attempt to improve the feel, but shoddily implemented. VW quality is not what is used to be.

Regards,
Bob

[warbum44]

yep same thing! once the christmas/new year season's past i'll be onto VW... incidentally some friends of mine with a Seat Alhambra 53-reg have now got a similar problem and said to me "bet you havent got that with the VW build quality" til I pointed out they are one & the same product;)

[redadair]

After I noticed the grab handle of my 2003 A6 was peeling, I checked the VW Audi forum and discovered this thread. Warbum44 did you get any feedback from your dealer?

[warbum44]

I'm afraid I didnt get very far. My local VW dealer couldnt decide if it was a "parts" or "service" issue and were not that keen to help because I'd bought the car from a car supermarket. time's gone by and I've decided to live with it. I should have pushed them further but havent done so far. :(

[redadair]

Although I bought privately, the previous owner bought and serviced the car at a main dealer. The only downside is the car is nearly four years old. Still I will give it a try.

[warbum44]

well would you believe it. after months of living with a grubby door handle, when the car was due for its (1st) long life service I mentioned it to the guy at the desk and he said "yeah that'll be a warranty issue", and they re-booked a date for replacing the panel. its now all done, without costing me anything (my car is still within the initial 3 year warranty).