[jsgold]

I have bought cars like this before, although not a BMW. I would wonder if the previous owner used synthetic oils, as that would be a good thing as they can last 15K miles. I have seen arguments that regular oils can go that long also as they are much better than oils of old and BMW's call for a longer change period anyway(my son has a 96 318i). I would not do this, but these engines are engineered a bit better. I would get an "early" change (say 1K) or have the motor flushed to get out any crud and then put the car on a regular service set up, either regular at 3-4K or synthetic at 5K, but of course others may differ on this. If the engine sounds good, runs good, and has no other troubles I would run with it, but not sure about the oil light. See if your friend can do a oil pressure test. If it is OK you should be too, but I would consider getting rid of it if too low. Sorry not more help on this, hard to know what to do in these cases.
I got an old Olds with a beat up 2.5 (90K)on it years ago, really abused. Took care of it and now my dad now drives it with 175K on it. Still going....