You can tell a lot from visual inspection and gut feeling. Lift the hood and look for signs of previous service, labels on hoses, rebuilder tags on engine blocks, stickers on alternators, etc. A quick fluid check can tell if it's been serviced, clear sweet smelling coolant (not rusty or dank smelling), clear sweet smelling trans fluid (not burnt), clear smelling engine oil (good combustion). If it has good windshield wipers and the washer works that's always a good sign that someone cared about it. If it looks well taken care of, chances are it was... Check for wear on the drivers seat, especially the edge as the driver steps in and out. Look at the door where people rest their arm, the step well, and the brake pedal for signs of wear. That will inform if it's an original 40k miles and how hard of stop-and-go use. Sometimes sitting can be hard on vehicles, for some reason rubber likes to rot when not in use. Radiators like to clog in the center of the core from sitting. A/C and transmission seals get hard and out of round while sitting. Freeway miles tend to be easier on vehicles than city short trip stop-and-go use. Also, idling can add significant wear on engines and mileage doesn't show idling hours, but some newer computers might. Ford fleet considers each hour of idling to be the equivalent of 33 miles. Ask the seller how it was used to see if idling is a factor. I'd also look very closely for rust and prior collision damage. Is it on a salvage title? It's always a tough call with used vehicles, with so many things to take into consideration. The good news is that you can have it inspected locally and get an informed second opinion from your mechanic.
