Volkswagen Repair: 2003 Passat rear Brake rust, rear brakes, brakes squeak

Question
I have a 2003 Passat Wagon 26k miles, the brakes have squeaked from day one, whether wet or dry day or night.  The dealer said very common.  My mechanic at my work(not VW) checked out rear brakes at about 23K and said they were completley rusted and should be replaced, and that this is rare, especially on a car that is driven everyday.  Dealer service first claimed it was because I live on the ocean?VW HQ told me this was false and sent me back to dealer, now dealer says this is very common in the Passat, and I should have replaced at about 30kand that the car is safe to drive, and that all VW brakes squeak and the rear brakes on my model are usuallly replaced at about 30k  Any thoughts,  I thank you and appreciate antything you can offer.

Answer
Meredith, Thank you for your question.  VWOA is quite correct about the rusting of brakes.  That should not happen unless you are driving in water often or parking in the water on the coast.  Truth be told, it sounds like the dealer doesn't want to do any warranty work.  That is not terribly unusual. Dealers have to submit warranty paperwork back to the factory every time a part goes defective before its time.  Then they have to wait about 3 to 6 weeks to get paid for the work they did on your vehicle.  They just don't want to wait to get paid. You may have to find a different dealer than the one you went to.  Now some dealers don't like doing work on a car they didn't sell.  A nasty Catch-22.  brakes will last any where from 30 to 50k miles depending upon driving conditions.  Stop and go traffic will lower the range, whereas strictly highway driving will give longer life to the brakes.  City driving will also lower the life of the brakes as will the condition of the rotors as well.  I had on set of brakes last 65k once but the rotors had to be replaced!
Hope that helps