a friend has offered me a 2001 740il 70,000 miles. this car is currently wrecked but has a good title. i think i can buy for $5000 and fix for $5000 - total - $10000. all service done at bmw dealer. i've heard they are very expensive to maintain. thoughts?

my 2 cents: your friend is doing the SMART thing by selling his wrecked car (and the headaches and heartaches that goes with it) to somebody esle willing to make above aches his own.

otherwise, he will be fixing it to keep it.

are you refering to problems getting it fixed or the problems with the 740il in general? the wreck is sheet metal, air bags and head lights and no damage to frame so i think the car is mechanically fine except for the normal problems with these cars. he's selling car cheap because he already bought another new bmw - 5 series

if damage is limited to what you said above, then $5K does not sound too bad. Check this link for common issues with 7's (nothing out of this world): http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71177