I see nothing wrong with the little amount of backlash shown in the pictures and would not let that bother me in the least. I'd ask the gentleman what his rock bottom price is and take it at that. You can strip the lathe and basically leave only the headstock mounted to the bed and remove everything else if need be to lighten it up enough to facilitate the moving. The tailstock, carriage, apron, motor, leadscrew, even the gears can come off fairly easily. That way you can also give it a complete once over and cleaning and lubrication when you get it back home. Heck you might even want to consider a paint job and then make all of us fellow forum members envious!!!!
Good Luck on your lathe procurement!