I'm leaning hard towards a Deluxe Players, but I've seen that MIM Strats lose value, if this is so, I may consider a Highway One, less color options but I may trade that for retained value. What's the story on the MIMs do they lose value?

The American Standards hold there price well...But from what i have seen the HWY 1 lose value pretty close to the same lines of a MIM...
But lets think about this for a Minute...I bought a MIM Standard new in the fall of 08 it was on close out i paid $320 for it out the door...
If you look on e-Bay or Craigslist the price of a used MIM is $300 to $350..
Now another thing to consider is the MIM Deluxe player and MiM Roadhouse Strats have recently been dropped to $600 when they used to be $800 and you can frequently find deluxe player Strats for right around $500 to $550 with discount sales of 15 to 20 percent..
You very rarely if ever see a deluxe or Roadhouse strat sell cheaper than $450 used except like the one that i just bought were the seller was desperate to get cash for a deal on another guitar..So i don't see were you will lose alot of money except if there is another price drop..
I will tell you this all guitar economics aside if you can get a deluxe player Strat between $500 to $550 new you are getting alot of guitar for your money..

They all lose value. Custom Shop lose the least. You can expect 30% to 45% drop in value from new to used no matter what. I almost bought a used American Strat for $550. It wasn't a highway 1 or American special. Just a standard. Best bet, buy it used if you think you may get rid of it ever...

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In this opinion, a guitar should be purchased to play, love, vibe with.

And further opinion, 99.999% of guitars, especially with SO many being on the market and more made every hour, will not appreciate enough to cover purchase price and inflation, so why sweat it?

Over the years you own it, toss your spare change in the bank and you'll make up the difference in "investment." Few people / almost nobody buys cars or furniture or coffee makers or clothes washers with appreciation in mind, so just let the guitar just be a guitar.

And buy the exact instrument you want to play; enjoy it rather than smacking yourself around about some possible couple of hundred bucks in the unpredictable, distant future. Just an opinion....

Regardless of what the folks at antique roadshow want you to think,guitars are not a good investment.They all lose money.Some quicker than others.It would be years until my 08 MIA standard would be worth much.Buy a guitar because you like the way it plays and enjoy it.

The only reason vintage guitars are worth so much is because they were hand crafted and not mass produced. That's why 50's and 60's strats up to about '65 are worth so much. Once Fender went factory, those guitars made during the "CBS" era are about what you'd pay for a new strat today... JMHO

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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Lets face it,the market is flooded with guitars right now.There are so many versions of strats alone its mind boggling.Reminds me of the sportscard craze of a number of years ago.Originally there were few to choose from.Value went up,there became so many choices,value went down for everything except the original cards.I see the same thing here.

I've bought and sold a lot of guitars in my life,most regretfully, Because I needed some cash at the time (to pay rent, stuff like that comes up) but I've never picked up a guitar before buying it thinking what I'd be able to get back for it if I sold it. I LOST money every time.When I do pick up a guitar and want to buy it it's because I like it and want to own it at that time. Another problem is I like a lot of different guitars at different times. Just buy the one you like now and some day if you sell it, Don't lament the money you put down for it. It's only money. You got to play a really cool guitar for a while. They're like Chicks, Most Guys Don't marry their first girlfriend...

+1

If you want an investment I recommend Krugerrands, US Double Eagles, or Canadian Maple Leafs. The only people who make money on guitars are those who sell them as their profession.

Find a guitar you like, buy it for the pleasure it gives you, and enjoy it without pretense.

Arjay

Well the CBS era started around 65-66, even those guitars are pretty expensive, and the 70s guitars that everyone hated are going up in value. Eventually everything once it gets old enough will appreciate some, maybe not like a 50s/60s strat, but it will appreciate a bit. However in the mean time every guitar as soon as it leaves the store takes a huge hit in value. I got a 1999 Custom shop 65 Reissue for 800 bucks used. $1700 off new value. If you shop enough you can find good deals like this all the time.

I wouldn't sweat buying a guitar b/c of fear of potential loss of value. Buy the one that plays the best.

First off Fenders were always mass produced guitars and were not hand made, this is what made Leo special that he mass produced such a successful guitar was part of his genius. Unless you are just a collector resale value should not be high on the list of reasons to buy a guitar, tone and playability are what you should be concerned with. I will add that once you are paying a mortgage on the garage you are playing in and your shot at fame has passed, you can view what you buy in a different light.lol

That is the truth Straycat. Once you've past the halfway point in life you kind of just accept the fact that is nice to be able to make some pleasing sounds to your ear, And if you can get some guys to jam with, ........Priceless

There is a Best Buy store near me that sells musical instruments. I talked to them about ordering a 62 Hot Rod Strat (American) but their list price was too high. I think once in a while you can catch pretty good deals on Fenders there.

Buy used, the biggest bit of its depreciation has already happened and you'll get more for your money if your clever.

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No no and no

Well, these are as always my own personal opinions but in this case doubly so. Also please know that I'm not trying to be rude or mean here but this may come off sounding a little blunt...

If you want an "investment", real estate is nice. Stocks, bonds and T bills are also very good -if- you have the right investment counselor (broker). Guitars on the other hand...at least new guitars are for musicians (or people who might want to be musicians some day). I'm sorry but if you're buying a new guitar based on how much fiscal value you believe the guitar might retain, you're buying your guitar for the -WRONG- reason. Yes, some guitars do certainly retain their value nicely but more often than not most new guitars...even really nice models, usually loose some value just by walking out of the store with them (just like driving a new car off the lot...no miles, no damage but still worth $1000 less than it did 5 minutes ago). Unless you -really- know what you're doing and you want to "invest" in a couple of vintage instruments, chances are you're going to loose some money regardless of what you buy.

At the end of the day, once you strip away all of the glamor and mysticism, a guitar is a "tool". A guitar is to a guitar player what a paint brush and canvas is to a painter or a camera is to a photographer...it's a specific device that allows you to create whatever it is that you're trying to create. When I buy a new guitar, I -know- it's going to loose some of it's value as far as that actually goes but I also have to say that I don't think of it as a lose at all. My guitar (ok guitars) pay me back in other ways...mainly 2 other ways. First there's the pleasure I get from playing. Even if I weren't a "working musician", I get a great deal of pleasure playing guitar...and for me that alone and by itself makes it -more- than worth the price of purchase (at least for the right guitar that is!). On top of that however, I do gigs so I get "payed to use my tools". Ok...it's not a lot but over the years it does add up a bit. Ok...maybe I've lost $100 or so since a given guitar was purchased new but maybe I've used that guitar at a few gigs over the years where I've made a few hundred...it certainly evens out...no real loss there at all. So again I don't buy a guitar thinking "how much is it going to sell for in a few years", I buy a guitar thinking "Is this guitar going to make me happy?", "Am I going to enjoy this guitar?" and "Can I use this guitar on stage (or in the studio)?".

Now personally...ok...I'll admit that I'm perhaps a bit shallow. The first thing that attracts me about ANY guitar is how it looks. To me this is very much like looking at a beautiful woman...you don't know if she's smart or has a good sense of humor or anything from across the room but you usually know if there is...err...something that is "aesthetically pleasing". Of course in the guitar realm, if said instrument turns out to be just another "dumb blond" wearing too much make up...well, I just keep walking. So with that, the second thing that attracts me with a guitar (or at least a Strat) is how well it plays...in other words, how it "feels". Then I worry about how it sounds...of course with Strats that's easy enough to change. Of course I do consider if said instrument is actually in my price range however, how much I think I can turn around and sell it for in a few years...not even part of the equation in my book. While I have sold (and/or traded) a couple of guitars here and there over the years, I -NEVER- buy a guitar with the immediate intentions of selling it...if I really don't like it that much that I would plan on selling it right away, what's the point of buying it in the first place? Every guitar I buy (nice or inexpensive) I have bought because -I- liked that guitar (and in some cases maybe I saw some potential).

Now I do feel the need to reiterate that this is -NOT- a model specific thing...aka it's not that "MIM's loose their value" compared with say an American or something else. Like Invader said there, back in '96 my wife bought me a brand new MIM Standard and with a Fender hardshell case, back then the price after tax came out to somewhere around $350 or so...with the upgrades I've done on her over the years, she's still worth about $350 - $400 so I can't honestly say she's lost much "value" as far as money goes (and again I've used her for quite a few gigs over the years so I've made up any loss in that regard anyways). In contrast I've also seen a number of used American's that I know went for around $1000 or more new that are selling for as little as $600 to $700 on Craigslist. If anything the Strats I've had that have retained the most value are actually the 2 cheapo Squier Bullets I had...bought them for around $100 each and sold them for around $100 each (and the only real reason I sold those two was to raise money for a mid 80's MIJ I was drooling over)! LOL!!!

Seriously...if you want a guitar then find one in your price range that makes you happy, regardless of where it was made and play the crap out of that sucker. If you want a "financial investment" however, you're much better off looking elsewhere...stamps, old coins, jewelry...simple as that.

Again, just my own personal opinions.
Jim