Do you think I'll have engine damage? Overheating car?

My car overheated as I pulled up to Canadian Tire. They looked at it and said the rods that bring your antifreeze to your radiator is broken (rotted away and eventually snapped when i got rear ended yesterday which i can't do anything about b/c i didn't file it but they were rotting anyways).
I paid 550$ for new rods (they said that was the only visible damage) BUT they warmed me that when your car overheats and you drive with it you can do damage to the engine which to look at costs more then my 99 Ford Taurus.
The guy at the front desk said engine's are pretty tough so it probably didn't do much damage (Prob drove for less than 5 minutes while the gauge showed H, minor smoke when i lifted to hood).
Anyways i paid for the repairs but if the engine is damaged i'm out $550 AND a car… What do you think? How likely is it that there will be engine damage?

My car overheated as I pulled up to Canadian Tire. They looked at it and said the rods that bring your antifreeze to your radiator is broken (rotted away and eventually snapped when i got rear ended yesterday which i can't do anything about b/c i didn't file it but they were rotting anyways).
I paid 550$ for new rods (they said that was the only visible damage) BUT they warmed me that when your car overheats and you drive with it you can do damage to the engine which to look at costs more then my 99 Ford Taurus.
The guy at the front desk said engine's are pretty tough so it probably didn't do much damage (Prob drove for less than 5 minutes while the gauge showed H, minor smoke when i lifted to hood).
Anyways i paid for the repairs but if the engine is damaged i'm out $550 AND a car… What do you think? How likely is it that there will be engine damage? It depends how high the temperature got. If it reached the red zone then the engine may well be damaged. Apparently, you were able to drive it away after repair. It is also possible that the engine's life was shortened by this incident. Keep an eye on the oil and the coolant. They should never mix. If they do, further repairs are needed and it will be expensive. Start saving your money, just in case. If they do mix, your oil may begin to look like chocolate milk and be way above the safe level (on the dip stick). If I were in your situation, I would have a plan ready for alternate transportation and pray that I won't need it. Don't feed the scammers. Repost of a question from 2008 5 mins with the Gauge on Hot?

Heck that's going to be 50/50. Keep any eye on your coolant and oil and you will soon know if you have blown a head gasket, which is the most common thing to happen in this scenario. They warned you as a precaution because people tend to come back later and blame them for the engine failing, when it's nothing they have done wrong. The damage was done before they lifted the hood.

For future reference, when you see the temp gauge go high, stop as soon as you safely can, and investigate. If you had looked, seen coolant leaking out the bottom, then you would have known something was seriously wrong, and you could call for a tow. OK you might have ended up with a $600 bill that way, but you wouldn't be worrying about the engine now.

Don't feed the scammers. Repost of a question from 2008

5 mins with the Gauge on Hot?

Heck that's going to be 50/50. Keep any eye on your coolant and oil and you will soon know if you have blown a head gasket, which is the most common thing to happen in this scenario. They warned you as a precaution because people tend to come back later and blame them for the engine failing, when it's nothing they have done wrong. The damage was done before they lifted the hood.

For future reference, when you see the temp gauge go high, stop as soon as you safely can, and investigate. If you had looked, seen coolant leaking out the bottom, then you would have known something was seriously wrong, and you could call for a tow. OK you might have ended up with a $600 bill that way, but you wouldn't be worrying about the engine now.