[WrenchesOnJunk]

Hello all! I'm reposting this into the e39 forum, as I misposted the first one. I've not yet been active on the e39 side of things, but my name is Alex, and I'm a Bimmer-holic. I've owned a 2004 325Ci, which I sold at 127k miles, bought a 2007 e90 335i with about 80k miles last year, and recently bought a 1988 528e as a side project. I've done a lot of work to the 528 and while it's cool and all, I recently caught within my gaze, a 2001 540i6 for sale semi-locally. The car has a dent in one of the doors, but otherwise nothing a little touch-up couldn't fix. The interior is in decent shape for the age (it seems like e39s hold up better than e46s). Oh, and the car doesn't run. The seller states that he was driving it one day and had to limp it back home, has not tried to turn it over since then. He said it misses and hiccups and won't stay running. He says he thinks it's the timing chain, but I also think he has no idea what he's talking about, and that seems unlikely to me unless I'm not getting the entire story. As of now, the battery is apparently dead, as the car has been sitting. Im still waiting to hear back about any maintenance that's been done on the car.

From what I've read online, this almost seems like classic fuel pump/system issues, crank position sensor, or MAF sensor. The car is for sale for DIRT cheap too. I'm not afraid of putting $500-$1000 into it to get it running, as it would still be worth it as far as the car's value is concerned. I'm not afraid of doing a lot of the work myself either. From your guys' experience, what does this sound like? I guess I'm looking for advice on what to look for so that I can determine what type of fix is required. Is there anything I can test while I'm there? Maybe even tinker and see if I can get it running well enough to drive it home instead of towing it?

Thanks in advance guys!