Hi, I just finished getting the inspection for my first home. It's a 52-year-old ranch house in Colorado. It has a garage on a slab, and the house has a crawl space.
The inspector said the house settled some, and there is a small crack in one corner of the crawl space. There are also large cracks going both directions in the garage, which he said is related to the house settling.
How concerned should I be about these problems? Should I back out of buying, try to get some money from the buyers or buy the house and just deal with it myself?

I would be less concerned about the small crack in the house foundation than the large cracks in the garage, unless the small crack looks like it was recently formed. After 50+ years, some settling is to be expected.

Since the garage is on its own slab, the house settling should not cause cracking there, unless it's due to the two structures being connected and one has settled more than the other.

Any questions you have now are the same ones a potential buyer will have when you decide to sell, though it's likely that the damage will be worse as the house continues to settle.

Colorado is in the expansive soils region, and the garage floor cracks could well be attributed to a change in moisture content in the underlying soils. The home inspector ought not to be discussing a cause. Their job is to describe what they see, and to suggest consultation with other experts if they feel it is necessary. A structural engineer or even a competent contractor might be able to determine the cause, but either should be very familiar with local soil types and conditions.

Thank you for your thoughtful responses.

lots of issues you have. As an inspector I would suggest you get a 2nd opinion from a foundation expert such as an engineer. Your real estate agent assuming your using one can help you on that.
Without knowing more about the settlement, and the location of the cracks. We cannot help you.
Are the cracks on the floor or on the block walls. are they step cracks or do they go right through the block in a straight line, are they offset or if you run your hand over them are they even on the surface? What kind of soil is the house built on. Does it suffer with water issues?
These are some of the questions there are more.
If the cracks are on the slab in the garage this simply means that the slab was poured over loose fill or garbage. If you take a two by four and bump in on its end on top of the slab does it sound hollow or firm. Hollow means that the soil under the slab is just that hollow. A mud jacking company can pump the old slab up if its to large to replace.
As far as buying it or not. I get this question all the time from buyers.
You need to use your gut feeling on this. How was the rest of the house? Did it have all the things your looking for? Did you get a good feeling when you first looked at it or just settled because you were tired of looking at any more? Not knowing the area in which your buying, but assuming your in a part of the country that is suffering from poor house sales. You may find another home for a better price. As an inspector who has seen buyers go through the purchase process many times. I have seen their faces light up when they find the right one. Even after many deals that fell apart. Do not despair, you will find the right one. This may or may not be it.
One other suggestion about credit when buying.
I would never suggest that you get credit from a seller on a structural issue assuming that is what this is. Reason being you never know what will be found during the repair process. Once you accept **$ you will end up finding it will cost more to fix. At that point your fixing it out of your own pocket. Not good.
Also do not go through a process of arguing with the seller to get a price adjustment. I find many folks who go through this process end up with buyers remorse. It ends up being a need to beat up the seller and who can win at negotiations. No one wins in that scenario.
Get it check by a engineer get the answer you need then move on from there.
Hope this helps

Thank you. You gave me a lot to think about.