The bottom line for me with the road worn guitars is it is a lot of money for a MIM Strat. I also think that, in a sense, the whole relic thing is kinda fake. I mean not genuine in its' look and age. All the road worn guitars are worn in the same places, with the same wear marks. It is like somebody taking a piece of 50 year old furniture, and "antiquing" it to make it look older, and more collectable and valuable. It is not a 1960s Strat, it is still a new MIM Strat.
To each his own!!! It is just not for me.

Of course the Road Worn guitars are new guitars but Fender has done an incredible job making them look genuinely old. They don't appear fake at all to me.

Stevie Ray's Number one was beat up when he bought it. Granted he added a a lot more to it, but Ray Hennig himself said it was an old ugly beat up stray when Stevie fell in love with it. I bought a 50's road worn. I like the vibe, but the main reason I bought it, was the feel. I will never be able to get that feel for that price any other way. Plus, as time goes by, It will wear itself into me. It will gain a new personality. I guess I just love old beat up strats that have a story behind them. This is as close as I will ever get in the forseen future. This thing resonates like crazy. But If you are in the market for one, play several. some dont feel as good as others. It's all personal preference. I do want to say though, that the guys at Guitar Center are MORONS. They are like used car salesman. They dont want to help you unless they are swiping your credit card. And dont think about asking them questions, they have no clue. I am not speaking for ALL of them, but from what I have seen, Guitar center is a joke. Luckily, I live in DFW area. From now on, I will take my guitar to Charly's guitar shop in Dallas. There is a lot to be said about the privately owned and operated music stores. Especially one with the history and reputation that Charly's has. I dropped about $900.00 on one, and I asked them to set it up for me, the guy at Guitar Center said they couldnt because they were too busy. NO!!! They couldn't because they didn't know how. The ONLY reason I bought mine from there, was because that particular guitar felt better than any others that I ran across anywhere,(that I could afford of course)..lol.. Other than that, I am done with Guit. Center.