For $450 on a Springfield receiver. The guy had a lot of the metal done in parade chrome. It's on consignment at a local shop and supposedly it's fires dine. Anything I should look out for? I knjow chroming is supposed to make metal brittal.

If it shoots then FO.  The chrome can be removed and you can refinish anyway you desire easy enough.

7.62 or 30.06?

30-06. It's at a gun shop, so I can't test it before I buy it. It's also a consignment gun, so the shop won't guaranty anything on it.

I'd be a little leery then.  The tankers are prone to problems from shoddy modifications.  However the parts alone could be worth the money depending on what's on it and their condition.

You can bead/sand blast off the chrome.

30-06 is a better caliber for it.  308 the port has to be larger to get  it to function.

I would get it now for $450

Chrome will need to be chemically removed, then rifle reparked Most older tankers are made of welded receiver halves. $450 may not be a deal with all considered, you will have to much in it when done

When you say "a Springfield receiver" do you mean Springfield Armory (USGI) or Springfield,  Inc.?

If a USGI receiver then check for a reweld receiver.  If SI then its a cast receiver that may or may not have USGI parts in it.  The more the better.

I obviously know nothing about these guns. I've just googled it and can't find how to tell the difference. I assume it's in the marking on the receiver? I'm gonna try and stop by tonight to look at it again.

I have put together 3 "Tankers", 1 in 30-06 and two in .308Win.  All work.  My preferred cartridge for the "Tanker" is the .308W.  30-06 has more muzzle blast due to the short barrel. I have "fixed" a "Tanker" for someone that was a commercially made mess.  Welded receiver and two piece barrel.  Op rod was too short, and because it was too short the gas port was about 3 times bigger than it should have been. It required a new barrel and op rod, but once done shot well.  One of mine started life as a commercially made mess with a welded receiver and a standard length two piece barrel.  It now has a "Tanker" .308W barrel and is quite decent.
I agree with a previous comment that it could be a welded receiver and the chrome could be hiding the weld lines.  If you can get the serial number and the revision number under the woodline on the right hand side, that can be checked.  Each revision number was for a specific serial number range.  So, if the serial number is not in the range for the revision number, you have a welded receiver. The revision number will look something like D28291-17.  Or D28291-13.  Or -32.  You get the idea.
Another way to check is to look down the barrel, and see if you can determine the number of lands and grooves in the rifling.  Garand barrels used 4 groove barrels.  If you count 2, then you have one of the two piece horrible creations that people made when they couldn't get Garand parts.  Most of them ended up on welded receivers.  Of course, any barrel can get screwed onto a receiver.  But, it you find a 2 groove barrel on a Garand receiver there is an excellent chance that the  receiver is a welded receiver.

Thanks for the info. Interestingly enough, the receiver was not chromed. It was the trigger pack, and the tube under the barrel. The barrel and receiver was not touched.

If they let you,  take a pic of the rollmarks on the receiver heel and if they are really nice they'll let you take the receiver out of the stock.  Take a pic of the right front receiver leg so we can see the markings there.   By comparing these markings we can tell if it's a reweld or not.  The rollmarks on the heel will tell us if its GI or commercial.

If it's just the trigger housing and the gas cylinder that was chromed, it sounds like someone replaced some parts.  Those are easy to replace, and not too expensive. If the weld is properly done, it can be okay.  The weld on welded receivers is usually visible with careful examination.  
$450 is a very good price if it isn't a welded receiver. If it was me, I would jump on it if it wasn't a welded receiver.  I would have to think about it if it is a welded receiver, since I don't "need" another Garand. Since "Tankers" require no permanent modifications to the basic receiver, one can relatively easily return a "Tanker" to a full size rifle.  Though it takes a new barrel, op rod, recoil spring, and upper hand guard assembly. It takes about an hours worth of work, if one works slowly.  But parts will cost about $400.

Definitely this. Although, truthfully, I've got an old AO Tanker in 7.62/.308 (an early '90s build on a NOT-welded S.A. USGI receiver, with a WW2 ser.#, by the way), and it runs and shoots great.

That said, you need to do your due diligence before purchase, since (to me, anyway) the price being asked is suspiciously low.

Definite check for a welded receiver if it's S.A. If it's SAI, I'd probably pass just based on the cast receiver and the likely mix of commercial parts. Plus, you'd need to dump $$$ into it anyway to have someone who's competent with Garands remove the chrome crap and then re-park it.