Do you replace 13 year HVAC system with R22 refrigerant?

[David Shapiro]

Hi All, I have a 13 year old rental property in Austin that needs 4 lbs. of R22 refrigerant. I'm being told by the HVAC contractor that because of the phase-out R22 is $125/lb. If I'd like to find the leak that will cost another $275, and likely the coil in the air handler will need to be replaced. They're saying $1900 - $2500 to repair. A new system with R-410A is $5780. I could probably get that price down a bit, but this is a vendor that's been fair with me and services all of my properties so I'm not concerned about the $5780 (unless someone in central Texas has a vendor that can handle for under $4k :)

If R22 wasn't so expensive it would be an easier decision as I have other systems that are 20+ years old... I'm just concerned about needing to add more refrigerant down the road especially if R22 gets even more expensive. The repair has a 1 year warranty vs 10 year parts/5 year labor warranty on the replacement.

Has anybody else faced this decision?

Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!