– $800 for an ’01 Ninja 250 w/ 15k miles is a good deal.
– Why was the clutch cable disconnected? Ask the seller that, and ask him to connect it back.
– Ask the seller how long the bike has been sitting to get a sense of the age of the gas and condition of the carb. The shop I use charges about $150 to clean/adjust the carb.
– The ad says “looks like in the pictures”. Does that the pictures are not the actual bike? Does that explains the ’04 plastic?
– Ask the seller about how the bike was dropped. Tip overs are generally no big deal; all the new riders do that. Even some low speed lowsides only damages the handlebar and plastics, as long as the bike didn’t smash into something hard.
Bottom line – if the bike starts and runs ok, then it may be a good buy. May just need to get fresh gas, oil change, and a tune up; about $200-$250 or so.