E39 Drive shaft advice needed (540 wagon)

My independant repair facility tells me my drive shaft is the culprit behind what started as a small shimmy and has now grown into a clacking sound much like a CV joint clatter without having to turn... low speeds only. This is a 2002 540 wagon...

Questions:

-does this sound right for a drive shaft to go kaput at 73,000 miles? I bought this car from my neighbor (who bought it new) and he is not hard on autos at all.... is there any recourse with BMW on drive train issues at this low mileage?

-two courses of repair are offered from my shop; 1- BMW shaft + labor = $1200 to $1300
2-new but not EOM shaft saves $200 to $300 from other price.

Any and all advice would be appreciated. I drove my beloved 533i until nearly 300,000 miles and though I won't with this one, I still expected a bit more endurance than this first taste has shown...

thank you,

Rob