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Having done multiple RB25 swaps, there are certainly things I look at when examining a RB25-swapped car.
1) Which transmission? RB20 tranny will bolt up and allows the use of the stock driveshaft, as well as costing a couple hundred dollars, instead of $1k... but the RB25 trans is much beefier
2) What kind of mileage and maintenance does the motor have? Stock timing belt cover has a metal sticker on it that mechanics are supposed to stamp the mileage (in KMs) when they swap the timing belt - if theres a number on there like "85000" you can be sure that the motor has over 85,000 km's on it, and is probably on it's way out. Also, the water and oil pumps, timing belt, and timing belt pulleys are normally replaced when people swap the motor in because it's cheap insurance - if that stuff is done, it definitely shows that the owner was interested in "doing it right". If not, it's something you should do.
3) What kind of mods does the motor have? Things like aftermarket exhaust manifolds and Greddy-style intake manis, along with turbo elbow and exhaust, can free up some power, but if they're knockoff brands it shows that the owner is cheap - what else did he cheap out on? Ebay turbos, knock-off FPRs, etc are bad signs.
4) Wiring - this is a big question mark for most people, but since I do everything from simple swap wiring to full on Mil-spec harness work, I can spot instantly whether the person who did the wiring knows what they're doing. The speed sensor reads the same as the KA sensor, so the speedo should work if it's wired up - the tach needs to be recalibrated but it can be done also. The fact that neither of those are working means he either didn't know how to hook them up, or didn't care to.
It's hard to say whether or not you should take him seriously, but if the car runs well, chances are it's worth the $4k. It costs more than that just to swap an RB25, without thinking of the money for the shell.
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