Power Assist Brake Vacuum Hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings problems of the 1996 Volkswagen Passat

The vacuum hose broke at 55000 miles, was repaired and failed again at 60000. Since a dealer was not available at the time it was repaired with duct tape. (the duct tape proved to be more reliable). The hose was then repaired at 70000 miles and failed for the third time at 72500 miles. It is currently repaired with duct tape. This problem is further agrevated by the fact that none of the three dealers I have contacted have had the part. The first failure occurred in rapid city, sd. The dealer there did not have the part and the national distributor did not have the part. One was finally located in texas and fed-exed to rapid city. The second failure occurred in northern calif. The dealer in palm springs did not have the part and the national distributor did not have the part and he could not locate a dealer that had one. I drove back to FL with the duct tape repair. When I contacted the dealer in tallahassee, FL he did not have the part but he ordered one from jacksonville. I returned to the tallahassee dealer after the third failure on a Friday afternoon. He did not have the part and could not get one until the next Tuesday. I have not returned! I actually feel safer with the duct tape than I would with their repair part.