I've bought two Crossfires that were not local. One was 475 miles away, but I'd seen the car at the Dragon a few years earlier and a forum member personally knew the car.
Another was 2200 miles away, I had a forum member who lived near it look it over, he called me while test driving it.
In both cases, I committed to buy the car unseen, then flew one way to buy it and drive it home. If the owner is not a member of this forum OR one of our Facebook pages, I'd tread carefully. If they are a member, have someone local go look it over and go from there.
Would I be a complete idiot initiating a purchase of this car without seeing it in person first?
Idiot is too weak a word. Perhaps I'd loan you my avatar.