Concidering buying a broken powerbook, oppinions?

Hey there,
I took computer science in college so i'm fermilliar with toubleshooting systems, however, i'm lacking big time when it comes to macs. I video edit on a G5 so i'm fermillir with the system, but not so much the hardware/architecture.

theres an add in my local paper for a 17" 1.5ghz powerbook. It's being sold as is and i'm interested in buying it. In the add they state that the unit WILL NOT power on, and is missing it's cd drive, some motherboard cables, and it's internal hardrive. It does however come with everything else including the motherboard, processer, and ram etc.
that's really all the information i have on the system, and the seller doesnt know much either. I guess it could be a simple fix, or a very complex fix (if even fixable)

I'd love to hear some advice on this from more experienced people on the subject. thanks for the help

Thanks for the reply. They said they recieved the item without the parts, they don't know why it's not powering on, and they don't have the parts to put in to test the item. They said physically it's in great condition, with absolutly no damage to the screen or anything like that. I've been looking at parts on ebay, and they don't see too bad. I could get this unit for about $400. i guess it's a bit of a gamble.. i really don't know what to do. i really cant afford to pump almost 3 grand into a new one however.