Well, that didn't go as planned

 The car vet has not relinquished my car. The poor GSVCO needs a fair bit of work, and Steve The Amazing Mechanic not only got a bit of a late start, he also had the wrong belt, so getting the correct part took a chunk out of his day. So I may not get her back before tomorrow. Steve is actually kind of surprised the car ran at all: apparently the spark plugs were in abysmal shape, and my alternator was seizing up, and all of it is kind of terrible. He hasn't checked the brakes yet, but it sounds like I probably need new ones anyway.

*sadly waves goodbye to money*

[...]

Steve called back and showed me a terrifying photograph of what my brakes look like. Namely, there are no more brakes, and apparently I just had a fleet of angels stopping the car for me each time. Cripes. 

Anyway, I have a very expensive bill in my future. Steve is going to call me back with more pricing soonish. Wish me luck!