I "think" the duct tape bodge is to stop the tiny bit of plastic vibrating against the pinch bolt. Either that or there should be a rubber pad there which has gone AWOL.
I'm going to glue a small bit of rubber in place of the tape to do that, but as you say it's a rubbish design.
I've glued a suitable rubber pad into the plastic stop under the front of the handbrake lever already and it works well.
As for the broken switch I'm going to try and undo the screw and fish it out through the gap beside the handbrake handle, it looks just about plausible to do that with only the trims on the actual handle removed. With the handbrake pulled on it should all come out forwards underneath the lever as there are now no cables to constrain it.
If I can then repair (or replace) the switch it ought to be possible to connect it to the wiring with a couple of short lengths of cable (with suitable blade connectors on) and then wiggle it back into place and screw it down again.
If anyone wants a handbrake trim in Vavona (I think that's what it is, fairly orange-ish) I have one available at a fair price, though it does have a tiny crack across the top lacquer.
(I've also got all the rest of a full set of Vavona trims apart from the door switch panels - these are just the beige plastic ones I swapped out)
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2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions and extended leather. Ski hatch retrofit. Aftermarket reversing camera. DVB-T and XCarlink now removed as redundant.
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation".  (Even rarer than a D2 S8!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one! 
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. Agate Grey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, Tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course.  (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon. Added Auto-dim mirror, Leather seats, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!
Last edited by HPsauce; 10th May 2014 at 10:53 PM.
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