Do you know what kind of refrigerant the system has?
From what he said its probably A22. I went through this after I bought my house. Compressor went out (right past my 1 year warranty, go figure) and I had a neighbor's son give me a "deal". In the end that deal cost me another 9 grand along with the 1500 I paid for him to replace the compressor. I don't know if they service your area but I've had good luck with Air Comfort Solutions. Maybe not the cheapest, but they stand behind their work.
Don't envy the cost of replacing it all.