Situation got really bad tonight as my wife got stuck at work. Finally, after 1/2 hour she got the truck started and drove it to my friend's garage.

This will be the first time a non-bmw mechanic will be working on the car. Assuming its an ignition switch for the moment, does that have anything to do with the ignition itself (where the key goes into) or is this a totally separate part underneath the steering column? I want to help out my friend as much as possible so if the switch is an easy swap out part, i just may tell him to swap it out.

Thanks for all your help