Here's how it started:
2 days ago my brake lights were stuck in the "on" position, even after the car was turned off. I pumped the brakes a bit and they went off, then came back on a couple minutes later. I disconnected the fuse, did some reading and realized the rubber bushing for the brake light switch was shot. Took it to a friend the next day and sure enough it was. As a quick fix he replaced the worn bushing with a small bolt, and that did the trick: lights back to working normally.
Drove the car all day with no problems. That night, driving home (late) I suddenly noticed that my muffler sounded really loud, louder than normal. It had had a small hole, so I thought the hole just got a bit bigger and now I really need to fix it. No problem. But the car was also losing power, engine straining, so I turned off the heater (it was a cool night!). When I put the window down, I smelled a really bad burning smell, like burning rubber, but my temp. gauge remained in the same position: just below halfway. No alarms on dash, but engine power got worse, smell got worse, and I began to worry about making it the 5 miles home.
Then, flashing lights in my rear view mirror: uh-oh... I figured I was getting pulled over for noise pollution and disturbing the peace with my loud muffler. No. The cop thought he should stop me because he saw "sparks flying from my wheels"! Sure enough, when I looked, three of the 4 brake rotors were glowing bright red! Not only that, the tailpipe was super hot and started to melt the surrounding plastic and bumper parts! The car was a hot mess - literally! I let it cool for a while, then tried to move it. It was like driving with the parking brake on full hold!! I parked it and left it, and there it sits today, waiting to be towed somewhere.
Now the questions: Could the car be worth saving? Is this multiple system failure or just one or two issues? Specialty repair or generic?
The car is not my main daily driver, but I can't afford to replace it, and I do need it sometimes. Any advice will be appreciated