I'll put it to you this way - I drove mine with the blown gasket for a year with no performance problems and no damage that my mechanic could find. With it fixed, it still runs great. But I wouldn't recommend driving it with a blown gasket to anyone, especially someone who isn't mechanically inclined. The fact that you spent $900 on brakes tells me you're not mechanically inclined, so you probably ought to have it fixed soon. Even if driving it with the blown gasket does no damage to your engine, if you let the oil get too low, that could damage it.