When I bought my crew cab a year ago, it was reposted from craigslist to the OBS/400 forum by another member in the San Antonio area; I'm in Houston. The seller had lots of pictures, the truck was cleaned up, he let me hear it run, and was willing to discuss it at length with me in several phone conversations. The truck had always been in his family, and he wanted to see it go to a good home; not just get flipped or haul lawn care trailers. I figured out the $$$ and how many cookie jars had to be opened, and we set a date and time for him to deliver the truck. He had all the paperwork necessary for a vehicle sale in Texas, and the deal was done.
Most of the time when we've bought a vehicle from a private seller, it's gone well. Back in '89 we tried to buy a '70 Burb from a guy who approached us at a swap meet and said he had this truck and wanted to sell it. He was in Houston, so we made an appointment with him to see it the next week. Long story a little shorter, he kept changing his mind on the price, and even IF he wanted to sell it. So on the way home from that attempt to buy a Burb, we found the '79 Silverado Burb we ended up getting and driving all over for the next 20 some odd years. So sometimes what looks like a wrong turn, ends up being the right way to go.