I have the chance to purchase a cosmetically nice 740IL from my father in law for 5,000.00. It has 85000 miles on it. Gentle miles. The guy is just a passive calm person. However, I took it to a BMW guy locally and he said this is the list...R/F wheel bearing starting to make noise, L/F lift pad is missing, L/F strut is bad, Left Catalytic converter is rattling, Timing covers are leaking, but not bad, probably needs an intake manifold gasket/valve job.
You guys know best. I have seen DIY's on this stuff and all look easy accept for the timing covers.
IS THIS A GOOD DEAL or should I walk?
Thanks,
MY FIRST BMW!

I always say the same thing on this subject: If you enjoy working on the car and would find it rewarding as a hobby, a 7 will pay back big dividends in driving satasfaction. If you want transportation that you don't have to think about, get something less complex. It's a good deal, a fair price for a 97 that needs some work. I'd get it if I were you, but I also enjoy working on such things.

The list of things you've enumerated would cost you a lot to have done by someone else, so you'd better be in a position to do it yourself if you want to make out well on the car. There is enough technical information here on the board that you can follow the breadcrumbs back to a solution on most any problem, but it will take some persistence on your part to ferret all the diagnostic techniques, replacement procedures, and parts out.

I hope you get the car, repair it successfully, and enjoy the heck out of it. Welcome to the board.

I say walk.

If there's this much wrong with the car now, then I think it's a sign of how well it was treated by its previous owner. Even if he's a gentle guy, he could have damaged the car without knowing it.

BMW parts are very expensive. If you want to be a weekend mechanic, then by an old chevy truck, not a Bimmer.

... although, $5k isn't bad ...

You could buy it from him, fix the leaks and the noises, then sell it. You would more than double your money, and then you could go out and buy a nicer BMW with less problems.