Wow. I'm surprised he went through the trouble to block out the front license plate. Uncommon effort from a flipper. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1980-mercury-zephyr-wagon/
Was this car kept in the dark for the last 40 years or did Ford have much better dyes for their interiors than GM ? This interior looks new in the BAT auction photos in April. Typical GM interior fades into half dozen shades of whatever color it started as.
I can vouch for that. While the exterior of the Way-Back Machine has weathered significantly, the interior looks relatively the same as when the wagon arrived in late 2012.
I would say it has been garaged for most of its life. And no the plastic used on Fords of the period were not much if any better than the GM versions. Usually from the same suppliers.