Toyota Repair: Corolla 96 Airconditioning problem, c systems, airconditioning

Question
The A/C on my 96 Corolla has been giving trouble for the last year. It starts and I can hear the A/C motor running and all.

But I get just 10 or 20% of the cooling effect of what it used to be a few years back.

I took it over to a Firestone Summer checkup where they said that something big (like the A/C motor or unit) had to be changed and that it would cost me more than a 1000 bucks to get it fixed.

Can you advice how I go about it? I am a musician and know NOTHING about cars - so all details will be very helpful.

Thank you!

Thomas


Answer
Even if you knew something about cars I would not recommending trying doing this yourself for the simple reason that it involves the use of special service equipment and tools to work on A/C systems and by the way, the knowledge to diagnose the problem correctly.
The best advice I can give you at this time is to take it to a shop that specializes in A/C repair and get another opinion.