not *too* bad...

[philaros]

The car repairs were done fairly quickly, I was able to get my car this morning on my way to work. And fortunately the gasket turned out to be fixable. I ended up paying just over $1,650, including the tune-up and also fixing a cracked exhaust manifold they discovered during that process. And everything else looked pretty good - minimal rust on the exhaust system, brakes are good, emissions are good... overall my car should be in good shape for a while now. They've also told me to bring it back in 500 miles for a complimentary oil change, which will also let them re-inspect it to make sure things are still looking good.

I'd still be happier if I hadn't had to spend this kind of money on my car right now (or, indeed, ever), but, you know what Sarah Vowell would say...

"Andersonville!"