Hey SGE, welcome to TRS. I have no Idea your experience with anything, but my first few steps are fairly straightforward and simple.
I don't want anyone "showing" me a vehicle, I prefer they pretty much stand back and allow me to look at it, and do not want it to be warmed up or cranked before I do.
On the first basic walk around simply look at the body for damage, fenders, doors etc out of alignment and such, but that's a simple cover-up of sorts, because during the walk-around reach down and wipe your finger around in the tailpipe(that in itself might tell you all you want to know)
If it passes that test go underneath, look for loose hanging wires, busted shocks, rusted frames, transmission or other parts with wrecking yard chalk on them, lots of oil leaks, etc.
Then under the hood and basically do the same, considerable wiring harness "alterations" can be a bad sign. Look at the oil dipstick for rust or signs of water in the oil(if the oil has just been changed is not always a sign of "proper maintenance")
Then get in, (hood still up) looking for all the above, considerable alterations etc, dashboard out of alignment.
Set the parking brake and start it up and let it idle, get out and walk around it slowly, listening closely to the engine and looking for rough idling etc. At the tail pipe smell the fumes for excess fuel etc. listen to the motor carefully a bit. Reach over the the throttle cable if it's visible and slowly increase the rpm.
Then take it for a drive checking first for brakes, then for proper shifting through the gears(whether auto or manual) and listen to driveline components, wheel bearings, steering etc
That's a simple list, and could be greatly expanded depending on experience
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