Toyota Repair: 1990 Toyota Corolla, r134 freon, r 12 freon

Question
Purchased this car which has had regular maintenance. Air cond. doesn't work...blows hot air.  Wondering if it is worth having it checked at the dealer or likely cost prohibitive given its age.
Thank you.
Lois

Answer
I would recommend having the toyota dealer look at it or any decent shop that specializes in air conditioning,the most likely cause is that all the refigerant has leaked out over a period of time in which case the leak should be located and repaired,it would aslo advise that the system be retrofitted to use the R134 freon, this is fairly inexpensive but worth it in the long run, the system should be changed over to the R134 freon which is the only freon that has been used since 1994 in all new cars, the R-12 freon costs about $60 a pound versus about $20 for the 134, so you may want to consider changing the system over. Be prepared to spend at least $300 to get this a/c system up and running, it could be a lot more if the compressor or another major component has a problem.