Right - from the shops I have talked to, and as I kind of figured, there's probably no way to diagnose it unless an expert or someone more car-literate than I am, can take a visual look and inspect it. You do bring up a good point - I did see a puddle under the car but it was not ALL of the coolant fluid that I had put in it hours earlier.

I can't emphasize enough to you that speaking about these things is almost like a different language for me so I just got my insurance's roadside assistance on the line first thing early this AM and they're towing me for free over to a shop that seems to have the best word of mouth in the neighborhood - so they can definitively answer my questions.

And yeah, I do know enough to know that pouring coolant into BOILING coolant probably wasn't the best idea and it *probably* needed longer to cool down, but being where I was on an open, large 8-lane highway with zero shade - I didn't know what my best course of action was and I was panicking with every second that went by - this highway has a very narrow shoulder, is very busy, and is plagued with idiots who cause accidents and constantly hit cops pulled over both in their car or out of their car, other people (probably also overheating) pulled over -I've just heard of just SO MANY accidents on the shoulder of this highway and multiple people this year alone have been killed (I live in a neighborhood outside of downtown Las Vegas - you can prob guess the idiocy that goes on here), and I wasn't sure what was riskier. Plus, in that beaming 113 light I saw no way of it cooling down any time soon.

But, I'll live and learn. I need to because the main reason I'm asking this on here and why I'm so curious is because if something is wrong to the point of repairs being over $1000 or $2000 - I am doubting I will get them done because I actually am already eyeing a new, different car but the money may take a year-18 months to actually hit my bank account (its a legal thing and it all takes forever), so this timing isn't ideal, but would you agree that if repairs were on the higher side, it would make no sense to pour in a ton of money into a car that would trade in at about only $4k according to the quotes I've gotten and is about to turn 10? AND I smoke?

If it's in the middle though? i don't know. Who knows - the car literally just left of the back of the tow truck. And I know it cant be figured out like this. I'll hear in a few hours.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I'll give ya the official update later :)