I’m the type of person who normally would say no way, never, no how … BUT … then I went and did it. 
In my case, I’d been without a trailer for about three months, selling one that had a leaky roof and number of other problems, thinking it would take a while to sell. It sold within a week and I was trailerless. Then I had a hard time finding a draft horse trailer. A true draft horse trailer, not one that someone puts in their ad, “we even fit a draft horse in it once.” Grrr. So when one came up for sale that was almost 400 miles away BUT also happened to be located in my old neighborhood, I felt fortunate to be able to ask my old barn mates what they thought of the dealer. I got lots of high praise, and after calling the dealer found out it had been maintained serviced at the same place I had always taken mine, I figured that was all I needed to know. It all worked out very well for us.
From that experience, my tips would be …
Check with your bank(s), assuming you might be taking out a loan, whether they have had any dealings with this dealership, and find out from them how exactly the funds would be disbursed.
On your first call to the dealer, be prepared to state your source of funding …they have to deal with “tire kickers” Just like we do when we sell stuff, and they might be more willing to work with you if you make it clear you’re really serious about purcahsing.
Ask the dealer if they can provide any references, so you could talk to a customer.
Ask the dealer how\where they get their service done, whether they do everything themselves or if they take it somewhere
If they take their equipment to another servicing center, see what you can find out about that place’s reputation
I’m not a fan of the better business bureau, but it is one way to get some reputation feedback on the dealer and/or servicing center
This may be petty, but ask the dealer to provide 1-2 more photos of something specific, helping you assess a little more how honest they are, like a close-up of the Vehicle Labels, or tire tread.
Good luck!
