323i year 2000. Engine overheat problem.

[secretstep]

My car is BMW 323i, year 2000. I just got my car fixed from qualified collision shop, and on my way back home, the cooling fluid warning light came on. Since it was a warning light only, I thought it's ok to drive still, but as soon as I noticed the red light for the engine overheat is on, I pulled my car to the side of the road and turned the engine off. The engine temperature, however, kept going up to the maximum even after I turned off the engine, and the warning light for the engine came up too. Now the mechanics say that the car is fixed, but they still have the warning light for the engine. Do you know why the warning light for the engine is still up? Would the engine overheat cause anything bad to head gasket so that the engine is not fully functional now?
The mechanics are saying that they have done nothing to the engine, so it would be fine, but I keep feeling that they are trying to hide some problems to get over this.
The engine overheat was very extreme. Although I turned the engine off, the engine temperature went up to the maximum it could go, so I think something inside the engine broke down.
I'd like to know whether the engine has problems now...
Please post anything you know. Thank you.

[witeshark]

Overheated engine can lead to a warp of the cylinder head, and that causes gaps in the block to head gasket. Very bad, I hate to say it. The coolant system must have overheated and went over pressure limits, causing loss of coolant. The head gasket repair and new oil and coolant are just a start. I don't wanna bring bad news, but there is truth to deal with.

[AlpineSixAndSeven]

check your oil what does it look like? chocolate milk? like a clear caramel color or like the color or chocolate syrup color?

[secretstep]

I couldn't see the oil. Haven't really thought of taking a look of it. My car is now in a collision shop, so I can't check it now, but does it mean something?

[AlpineSixAndSeven]

if it looks like chocolate milk that means coolant has gotten into the oil....
clear caramel means the oil is good
chocolate syrup color means you need an oil change

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