Well, it could easily be a 25 year old lens, so I would expect some internal dust and flecks--even with hundreds of visible but small dust flecks, a telephoto lens like that will still shoot sharp, contrasty images. Expect internal dust.
Scratches on the front element are of almost no consequence. Even rock dings on the front will not hurt image quality too much, unless shooting toward bright light sources. Simple scratches on the front are of almost no real consequence, but on the rear element, scratches or chips can have a dramatic and drastic bad effect. Look closely. Huff some breath onto the rear element and look at the condensation as it dries,and you can also see how well the rear coatings have been treated. Hold the lens up to a bright light source while standing in a darker area can show you the look of the rear element quite well, but might not be possible if you meet the buyer outdoors.
Keep in mind, Ai-S Nikkors of that era had ball-bearing diaphragms, and the bearings can sometimes be heard shaking or rattling,and it is *normal* for a Nikkor lens of that vintage to have a sight mechanical rattle if you hold the lens up to your ear and shake it back and forth rapidly--again, normal.
Slip the upwardly-pointed corner of a clean,new business card in between the barrel and the focusing ring and move the card around the ring in a sort of one-way windshield wiper motion, to pull down and out any grit or excess grease in there, and give an audible "tsk" sound and say, "hmm, looks like this lens is gonna' need a clean, lube and adjust," as you show the owner the cra) attached to the edge of the business card. Rotate the card and use all four corners. [ this is a negotiating tactic--use for another $25 off
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Seriously-- there might be some crud in there.This method can remove large grit like sand quite easily,and will also, only occasionally, remove a lot of misplaced,excess grease that might be gumming up smooth focusing action.
Expect the lens to be scratched up on the outside. Here's a lens buying tip on exotic older pro-level glass: the pristine lens might not always be a good lens. A well-worn, brassed, dinged up lens was carried a lot and probably shot a lot because it was a good sample of its type. Look at the edges of the mounting lugs on the back of the lens to get a feel for how much use the lens has had; some brass will show through on the edges of each of the three F-bayonet lugs. On a lens that has sen heavy,long use, there might even be a bit of brass showing on the rear bayonet's flat surface itself,especially after two + decades of heavy use.
I own a LOT of Ai and Ai-S manual focus Nikon stuff. it can look very bad on the outside, and have dust flecks inside, yet still shoot superbly. Do not expect that it will look pretty. It might be shiny and new,and it might not, but the mechanical standard on the older, pro-level AiS stuff is very high,so even a really worn exterior is not necessarily a bad thing,and at $200, the price is well below fair market. I have bought a lot of used Nikkors: a quick d-slr test will reveal if the diaphragm is working properly and stopping down right; be prepared for a weird, thunky- feeling stop-down when shooting shots using many Ai or AiS lenses on a modern d-slr....the diaphragm actuation feels and sounds a bit "weird" compared with new, AF-S stuff like your 50 1.5 G.
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