My old frig was never repaired or maintained beyond normal cleaning.
If it made a thirty year run without a freon recharge, great - that was very unusual. And certainly, at some point, it would need one - and you cannot buy R12 anymore, again, due to regulation, not cost.
By the way, how did you dispose of it? If it was still fully charged, and you took it to the dump, you broke a number of laws.