Looking to buy a used 2001 Ford Crown Vic from a private seller who is fine with having a mechanic look at it but says it would have to be done onsite where the car is parked because it's currently uninsured... what do I do?

The title pretty much sums up my dilemma. The seller bought the car along with a fleet of other Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors for use in an executive protection training program. This particular vehicle is a bit older than the others, so the company is no longer using it. The seller says the check engine light is on but doesn't know what the issue is. He also mentioned there is some rust under the hood but no body damage. Other than that the car had normal maintenance done, and looks good cosmetically, but the seller didn't want to invest any more into the car since it's not being used currently.I had wanted to arrange for my mechanic to inspect the car in his garage to see what work the car might need and what the check engine light indicates. But the seller just replied that because it's uninsured a mechanic would have to inspect it where it's parked.Is it possible for a mechanic to adequately inspect the car in that case? Do mechanics even do onsite inspections like this? I would have thought that the car should be put on a lift to fully inspect the undercarriage. I'm trying to decide if it's not worth the time and effort to move forward and try to arrange this.Lastly, the asking price is about $1400 negotiable which is below KBB, and the car has about 80,000 miles which I understand is considerably less than average for a 2001.Any advice is hugely appreciated! via /r/cars http://ift.tt/2uA09i5