In defense of my prior posting, I didn't say he should buy it without having a pre-purchase inspection, that would be wisest of course. The other thing to do is basically negotiate sending a deposit now (smallest possible) and bring the balance in cash with you so if there are issues you can either walk away or negotiate the difference. If you pay the full price up front you are basically stuck with it regardless of what you think when you get there.
I do think he's pretty safe in that he's buying it from an owner, not a dealer. The owner's had some history with the car. Besides - he can always turn it around and drive it through the seller's house if it turns out to be a lemon...those brakes can fail at any moment
