First scrirocco, what to look for

[gr8hunter1 at comcast.net (Jacob)]

Today my mom and brother saw a scirocco (mk2 or 16v) for $500 at a small 
corner lot. If it checks out we plan on trading our '92 ford tempo 
(thank god) for it. The blue book value for the ford is $990. Before we 
even take it to a mechanic to look over what should I look for?
I should have more information tomarrow such as year, mileage, and ... 
what else should I find out?
As you can tell I have very little under the hood knowledge, and I wont 
be able to tinker with any new car as it will have to be my daily driver.