The $134 figure for adding refrigerant sounds WAY high unless it includes evacuating the system, leak checking, then recharging. You could find somebody with a set of refrigeration gauges to check pressures in the system. On an eight year old car, it's likely it simply slow-leaked down to the point that there isn't enough refrigerant in it to handle the cooling load. A worn seal on the compressor shaft is the first place to look. If there is an oil stain at that point, that's where it's getting out.
I would not recommend simply going to Wal-Mart, buying a can of R-134a and charging it without checking pressures first. Overcharging a refrigeration system is not a good idea. OTOH, if you check it and know it's leaking, say, one can's worth in a year, you could charge one can into it about now and be good to go the rest of the season. A can of gas is a lot cheaper than a new compressor.
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Paw-paw Don, y'all
Favorite saying: "One need never apologize for exercising the Golden Rule."
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