2006 A3, on both door bars (Black vertical body part between front and rear doors) bubbled and peeled off this past year. I checked with the dealership, part runs about $75 a piece.

My Question is this:

1. What exactly is that part called so I can look online for the part, and two, what is involved in taking it off? I imagine not much more than removing the interior plastic modling and finding some bolts in there.

Also, the door lock button on the passenger side is bubbling as well on the interior door panel.

Did they have to cut $$ somewhere on this production run, and decided to sacrafice on the "Cheap Black Sheet Coatings" portion?

 

That piece is the exterior B pillar trim. Mine were grayed out and flat looking, so I removed them (open the doors and remove the bottom caps to expose two torx bolts, and look along the front and rear edges to find another on each side), sanded them with 600-grit to prep, sprayed them with gloss black, followed with a few coats of automotive clear (left over from painting my lowers), and buffed them. Looks great - a nice satin finish, and materials cost me about $25.

 

Excellent, thank you.