Originally Posted by
tFUnK
This is a good idea and maybe you can see if the seller is willing to go through this exercise with you. I've never gone this route myself but that's because I'm lazy, not because this isn't a prudent thing to pursue.
I'm not here to talk anyone out of N+1; if it were me I would be hesitant to drive 2hrs to check out a bike that may not be the ideal fit and have a questionable history, but that's because I live in an area where the local CL market has plenty to offer.
I once sold a used carbon bike to a fellow who drove at least an hour to get to me, and he wanted to examine every part of the frame to the point of being annoying, but I let him take as long as he wanted in the hallway of my apartment building. I didn't clean the bike beforehand and he brought his own towels to wipe the frame down and inspect every little scratch. All I could do be is honest and truthful in answering his questions and in the end he did try to talk down the price a bit (though I was firm) and he ended up buying the bike from me that day.
I'm not that kind of critical but it is difficult to evaluate anything unless in person. I drove an hour a couple weeks ago to look at a Checkpoint. The seller swore it was like new. When I arrived, it had terrible deep horizontal scratches in the fork that the seller apologized for and claimed his kids must have done getting it out of storage. I didn't buy the bike. All it would have taken was for him to look at it before telling me it was perfect.