Two things to remember about A/C systems:
1. To diagnose A/C issues, they put in a full charge of refrigerant along with a dye for leaking checking and then run it while scanning for visible dye with a UV light. $95 is high for diagnosis, should be more like $70-75, but usually they take that off of the repair bill.
2. Any A/C repair above and beyond recharge is going run you at least $500 and probably more. The parts aren't cheap and the A/C components are usually buried so the labor isn't, either. The diagnostic fee will be peanuts compared to the final bill. Sorry, but that's how it is. Doesn't matter if it's a dealer or an independent shop.
No, A/C shouldn't die at 60K, but these are Fords we're talking about. My '94 Taurus has gone through two each manifold and accumulator assemblies, one compressor, and a blower control module. It may be covered under an extended warranty, but that's it.
