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I have recently had oil leaks fixed, one of which was from the cam cover. The replaced gasket has started leaking again, as identified by the mechanic who did the initial repair. He has applied some sealant to fix the leak, which seems to have worked. He mentioned in passing that it was caused by the cover being overtightened and squeezing out the gasket. My question is - should I accept the sealant as a long term solution or insist that the mechanic fix it properly.
I have been invoiced for a new gasket at around $170.

Provided the sealant is not trying to cover up damage done to the gasket itself (due to the over-tightening) then you could give the repairer the benefit of the doubt and see how things go.

If you were to take that option it would be wise to have an understanding in writing, that if the oil leak was to re-appear they would take care of it at no charge to yourself.

You would need to keep a close eye on that area of the engine to ensure the gasket was not leaking and not just rely on noticing oil on the garage floor.

I’m surprised the bolts themselves are not designed so that over tightening is virtually impossible to be honest. Not sure about BMW, but many manufacturers design these bolts in a way that when tight, the new cam cover gasket is automatically compressed just enough to make a perfect seal.

Over tightening in this case is almost impossible.

The other option is to simply ask for the cam cover to be removed and the gasket inspected in your presence to make sure there is no obvious damage.