BMW Repair: Over Heating, temperature guage, bmw 3 series

Question
Hi Michael,
I have a 1997 BMW 3 series 316ia (four door sedan)
Recently while making a 6 hour journey in the car, I discovered the temperature guage was off the scale (hot) and subsequently the engine "cooked itself" and has had to be rebuilt.  It occured due to a leak in the water pump.  Is this a common problem with this model BMW? And in future do I need to watch the temperature gauge as often as I do the Speedometer?
Thanks
Darren Brown.  

Answer
No this is not common But is built into the pump to prevent the pressure of the coolant from blowing the head gasket or heater core, you should also be able to smell coolant in the car when it starts to come out.
The light that says "check" starts flashing when the coolant level gets low, also the power will decrease.  
no matter what the craft you are useing or driveing heat is ALWAYS a major factor in engine performance, so yes, you need to watch it.  You could however get a seccond gauge that has a light that turns on when the engine gets to a certain temp.
-cheers