Mountain Biking - Buying bikes without ever riding them

Hey there, I know I have posted a bit about my situation and I apologize. How risky is it to buy a bike youve never ridden? Im considering a used Santa Cruz Heckler frame with a King headset for 400. The guy is in California and is courteous and very polite. I have seen pictures and the bike is definitley scratched up and only 1 or 2 small dents on the top and down tube. But the guy has gone over it and found the bike is in great mechanical condition. My other question is, how safe is it to buy a bike without riding it? Ive never ridden a SC before nor a single pivot bike, so im basing my buy on reviews and opinions. The closest dealer is too far to drive out to. I guess i see how much the resell value is worth if i end up not liking it? (hopefully not). Its a sweet looking frame and retails about 1000 USD.
Thanks again
Here is a picture of the bike:

well, if you can't ride it or someone elses your going to have to buy it blind.

the only "good" thing I can think of is you can put it up for sale if you don't like it.

I personaly won't buy site unseen.

Hecklers are great bikes. the problem I see with this one is, well, it looks like it has been through hell.

Where does they guy live? If he is near my location let me know who he is and I could let you know about the bike. If it is any one I know then I would say not to buy it. All the riders I know of with Hecklers have road the piss out of them and have done some good size drops AND had some serious crashes on them.

If I do not know him and he is close by I could check out the bike for you(don't worry, I do not want to buy it).

If you do get this bike I would suggest upgrading to a Romic rear shock. They tend to have a lot of BOB when pedaling out of the saddle. I personaly do not like single pivots because of the way they feel and they also seem to have more brake-jack then a good 4-bar design.

:beer: :beer:

Dirtbikedude, the guy is in Irvine california. Good point about guys beating up their hecklers. I will ask this guy how much he rode it, he seems pretty truthful. i contacted the guys at SC and they told me the 2000 heckler was more of an XC bike, which moved to xc/freeriding and the superlight replaced it. So hopefully this guy will have ridden light xc despite its condition. That would be cool if you checked it out for me. Thanks again guys
byron

Forgot to add, the guy used the Heckler for epic rides, and did not use it for hucking. He has an Intense Uzzi which he did more of his riding. Well see
byron

I bought my frame on Ebay without ever riding it. It's a little too large for me. Gives me some neck/back pain after LONG rides. I have a wierd torso/leg proportion. I have a short torso and long legs, so I've yet to find a bike that fits me really WELL. But I'm pretty satisfied all in all.