Please see post #11 by one of our HOF volunteers here. I have nothing to add.

It is pretty damn hard to fix stupid. Metal handles won't do it Neither will repeating this over and over again, but.. you really just need passengers with a clue...

 

So ive used both plastic and metal handles and I like the metal over plastic. You can thik whatever you like is stupid, I wouldn't give a rats ass. Nice way to treat new people on the forum.

 

Wow. Not really sure what got Blu SS's panties in a wad. Maybe he needs to give up the decaf and go back to leaded coffee.

Tokin. Good choice to go with the metal ones. The design shape of the plastic ones makes them prone to easy failure because the plastic is just too weak and thin for the stress it has on it.
My drivers door handle broke several years ago. I was aware before that they break easily and it still broke off just from me pulling on the handle to open the door.
I repaired it with metal strap reinforcements but the next one that snaps will get the metal replacement part.

 

BTW, GM put a TSB out in 2012 about the handle only part from GM.
P/N 19299614/19299614. TSB #12-08-64-003 includes directions to do the job. It lists labor time as 0.4 hours.

Until that time GM's solution was a complete door card. Nice of them to notice 1 year after production ceased.

 

Its all good, everyone has those days and I know I have plenty of my own. I try not to over react and be disrespectful because usually it just breeds more and thats not why we're here. Theres plenty of great forums and platforms for roasting, trolling, blowing off steam after a crappy day and being an overall douchebag, trust me I know a few real good ones if youre interested in letting off some steam.
Honestly I like the feel of the metal over the plastic more than anything else. My roomie replaced his drivers side handle with metal and after driving it for 2 years i noticed it has a a very different feel than the plastic. What broke my roomies handle was letting the handle snap back into place when opening the door. It was the handle itself that failed. I absolutely agree with Blue SS that passengers and drivers need to be gentle with the doors, its not a 1972 Buick station wagon with 200 pound doors. Handles arent for pulling the door closed.

 

Hey, no offense intended toward you, but you don't pull doors closed with interior handles for at least 50 years now. Those are for opening. Period. Used to work for a handle maker - not this particular one, really! (Think Chevy Venture, GMT900, and all those mid 90s GM vehicles).

People need to brighten up. I was grumpy. Metal handles will not fix dumb people, though. Sorry if you thought it was on you.

 

I always used the door pull strap, over there in the fake wood grain insert

 

I remember those. Dad had Regals, but the same strap was there. The strap never failed, but the trim covers popped off on his '83 all the time.

 

Yep youre right, I read it wrong and nope it wont fix the underlying issue either.
We were more into the 81-84 cutlass but I owned a few buicks too. My ex crashed one with that same green interior the day after Thanksgiving going to the store for something stupid on the busiest shopping day of the year on the busiest road in Kalamazoo. Ahhh the good ol days...

 

A big thanks to Tokin for the heads up on the seller for the metal handles.
Ended up the eBay seller was rather local to me, (6 miles), so I just went and picked up a left and a right for 17 bucks apiece.
No way these will break, they look pretty tough and the chrome finish looks better than the originals.