At the factory, all available trim strips are made of unpolished aluminum. If you see a Volkswagen with highly polished trim, this was done by the owner.
Aluminium can't take much, a dent is easily made, that's why we have aluminium trims for some years and/or models, but also in polished stainless steel. For some models they are even only available in polished SS. Stainless steel is a lot more solid and when they are polished to a high-gloss finish, you don't have to worry about it anymore, whereas with aluminium you have to keep it up to keep the high-gloss finish.
For the Volkswagen Beetle the running board mouldings are not included, you can buy them as an extra (see tab options).
Most sets are not provided with assembly parts, if they are not included you will have to order them extra, if available they are on the options tab.
For the Volkswagen Beetle there are some aluminium trim sets available in a high quality A-grade. These are equal to the original, but there is also a cheaper B-quality version available. These sets have a lesser finish, but that is reflected in the price.
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