10 YRS OLD MIM FENDER STRAT? DID THEY MAKE EM BACK THEN?.... 400.00 BUX. WOULD YOU?

[lumpy555]

ITS white but faded to a yellowish-cream,fender noiseless pups,maple neck-frettbord,pearl pickguard,hrd. case. friend wants $400... not a dime less,BUT he says friends discount to me 360.00+gigbag.... would you? or buy new,MIM STRAT? ALSO were these quality guitars fender made in mex,back then? any qc issues. thanks all,i have the cash,just wanna see if its gonna be WELL-SPENT,as i never owned a fender strat,or close to,an i know yous fellas can relate. i am a single dad,an dont have any extra money,but my works paid our vacation checks to us an after unclesams share,well, i have bout $500.00 to manipulate on a small peavey 4x10 classic beat-up combo amp.200.00+300 left for a players guitar. i love christian rock,prais+worship,my bro. plays bass at his church,i m not hardcore like him,i love my lil bro., but i also like the metal,aaannd rikey skaggs type o stuff,mixed in with the paisley,etc....

[cbh5150]

Well, the Noiseless pickups are something, if you're into that kind of thing, but $400 is way high for a 10-y.o. MIM, and 360 ain't much better. You should be able to find good, used, older MIMs for well under $300.

 

Frankly, though, the current edition can be had for ~ $300 used, and IMO they are the best MIMs that Fender has issued.

[reverberlayed]

Yeah, that's way overpriced. Look at your local craigslist. I'd say $300 is fair, and I've been seeing some go for $250 or less.

[reverberlayed]

Even if you go to used.guitarcenter.com and search for stratocaster, you can see plenty of MIMs for $250-$300.

[pilon]

+1

I just bought a 1999 wine red mim strat minty for $200 on CL. Seems to be about the going price up here.

[diceman1000]

considering that i paid $285 for my '04-'05... yeah, $400 is a scoche too much...

[HanSolo]

GC Algonquin. IL has my mint Dlx Players Strat hanging on the wall for $399. Noiseless, S1 switching, rosewood board, crimson red/tortoise. It is set up perfectlly and like new. Get it. Have it shipped to your local GC. I traded it for an LP because I had just bought an AmDlx and it was just redundant. It is a gem.

[harold heckuba]

In 08 I believe it was, they improved them, especially the necks. I would look for a more recent one.

[bsman]

 

In 08 I believe it was, they improved them, especially the necks. I would look for a more recent one.

 

 

Actually, the big improvements were made in 06 (better neck, pickups, etc.) I think that the more recent change was more cosmetic (e.g. moving the "made in Mexico and serial number to the back of the headstock.) Whichever -- I agree that paying anything over about $250-$300 for a ten-year old MIM is excessive, even with the upgrades (noisless PUs and pearl guard.)

[Funkwire]

To answer your first question..."they" started making guitars in Mexico in 1989. So, yes, a 10-year-old MIM Fender Strat is legit.

 

I would agree with everyone that the price is high for a MIM Strat of that vintage. There are varying opinions of when "they got good"...I played a MIM Tele in 1992 that blew me away. If you like the guitar, see if you can drive the price down. If not, walk away. Plenty more fish in the sea.

[Emory]

Agree price is high. Now how about a Mustang II amp instead of an old Peavey? I am amazed by those things.... try one out!

[frankie pajamas]

It sounds like he may be describing a Deluxe Player's Strat.

 

Honey Blonde Color

Noiseless Pickups

Pearl Pickguard

 

OP: does the guitar in question have gold hardware? Can you get some photos for us? If it is a Deluxe Player, 360 would be a fair price.

[ashasha]

That's high. I mean the noiseless pickups increase the value, but to be honest unless it's a great playing guitar a 10 year old MIM Fender is not a highly sought after item. I remember playing some from the first few years and thought they were pretty pedestrian and bordering on terrible. Since then they've gotten to be very good, but I wouldn't touch one before 06 unless it's a great player.

[fretmonster]

I prefer the older MIMs personally because they weren't scrap bodies (up to seven piece) like the newer ones. I also prefer the vintage frets to the medium jumbos and feel the necks were also better quality. That being said, $360 seems a bit high, particularly without a hardshell case.

[bluesnapper]

Sounds like a lot of money.

 

But - if it's what you want and you have the $$$s then buy it - you can spend ages searching for a good deal and spending your days phoning up guys on Craigslist and arguing about fretwear isn't my idea of fun.

 

If it's just an average quality MIM Strat though I'd probably be inclined to keep looking elsewhere.

[rburgess]

Price is indeed high. The older ones are better IME.

[strtdv]

I have a 10 year old MIM strat. It's a great guitar, but it needed work to get it there. Stock pickups were useless IMO. Also came with goofy wiring where you didn't have a tone control for the bridge pickup (an essential feature if you're ever going to use the bridge pickup).

 

I wouldn't pay a lot for one TBH.

 

If it's a sunburst model then it'll have a veneer over a 4-6 piece body to make it look nice.

 

Mine has quite a lot of fret wear and I'm debating whether it would be worth my while getting it refretted, or whether I should just get a new MIA one and put the pickups from the old one into the new one.

[wartoxin]

 

You should be able to find good, used, older MIMs for well under $300.

 

 

My opinion on most would be 150 or less. They only costed 350 new for a long time, and there are other reasons. Exactly 10 years ago I don't know exactly, it's a gray area, but I still wouldn't pay very much.

[Hurtzher]

I bought one of those in 1996 or 7. I believe the price I paid was $419. So, yes $360 to $400 is too much, IMO.

[Ratbatblues]

I see excellent condition mim 1990's Strats for $200.00-$250.00 often. 360 is way to much.

Good luck with what-ever one you get.

[GCDEF]

 

It sounds like he may be describing a Deluxe Player's Strat. Honey Blonde Color Noiseless Pickups Pearl Pickguard OP: does the guitar in question have gold hardware? Can you get some photos for us? If it is a Deluxe Player, 360 would be a fair price.

 

 

I'm pretty sure those are Korean.

[bsman]

 

I'm pretty sure those are Korean.

 

 

nope -- the deluxe series are all MIM. The special edition guitars (e.g. lite ash, koa, etc.) were Korean.

[vintage clubber]

I went to GC on my lunchbreak and they had a used MIM standard strat in mint condition for $299. It still had the plastic on the trem cover too...

[billybilly]

 

Frankly, though, the current edition can be had for ~ $300 used, and IMO they are the best MIMs that Fender has issued.

 

 

This. A lot of people overvalue their own possessions. The new MIM are quite a bit better instruments.

[JR13]

Would. But not for $360