So, thanks to you guys, I decided to try out and purchase an American Vintage 57 RI. I actually found a store here in the Bay Area that carried one, and fell in love with it instantly.

It was on clearance(i'm guessing it's been there too long), and the guy took forever in the back room trying to find the case. But eventually he came back with the guitar in the tweed case. I asked him if the 5 way switch selector was there, and he said no, but that it wasn't included with the guitar. After looking it up online, he went to speak to the owner, and said that Fender only started including it this year(implying that the guitar was last year's model). They agreed to give me an $11 "Retro Parts" 5 way selector switch.

I naively accepted it, and went on my way with my new guitar. On my way home, I received tragic family news. I'm not well off by any means, and realized I'd have to return the guitar the next day because of unfortunate turn of events in my family.

When I got home, I inspected the guitar, and noticed that the accessory bag wasn't even for my guitar. It had a sticker on it that said "Telecaster Accessory Kit", with a neck tag(including serial number) for a telecaster. This meant that the tremolo bar is missing and that the ash tray cover was missing as well. This made me wonder if the case even belonged to the guitar?

I called the store owner the next day and he refused to give me a refund saying that clearance sales are sold as is, and no returns are accepted. I e-mailed him on Saturday explaining my situation, and am hoping that he might sympathize, but being as I haven't heard back from him, I'm starting to lose faith in that.

That only leaves me with the option of trying to sell it, but I can't do that with a telecaster accessory kit. And that brings me to my question.

Did Fender only start including the 5 way pickup selector switch for 57 RI in 2010? Or should have it been included with my guitar even if it was from 2009?

Secondly, how can I be sure this is the correct case for my guitar? I'm worried that this case might be for the telecaster that the accessory kit belonged to. Does Fender use the same case for both?

here is a picture of the guitar in the case. The case does say Fender on the front, so at least I know it's a Fender case. But...is this the correct case for my guitar?





Sorry for such a long story. I thank you guys for your helping my decision to buy a 57 RI. It is such a sweet guitar and I honestly can't wait to be able to purchase it again when I'm able.

The case is common to both instruments and AFAIK the "modern wiring kit" upgrade has been part of the AVRI package going back to at least 2002 where direct mention of it is made in the Frontline catalog that year for both the Strat and Tele.

HTH

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

The AVRI '57 has included the 5-way switch in its factory accessories since its introduction.

Do you have a better look at the case? That looks like a nice Fender case, but not an AVRI tweed case to me.

My tweed case has only tweed around the edges of the opening, not brown tolex. There is only brown leatherette on the ends.

Mine also doesn't have the divot where the strab button goes on the bottom and has a more plush lining, but my guitar is a Fullerton so the case may be somewhat different.

It sounds like he gave you a tweed Tele case. Regarding returns - - is it written on your receipt that no returns on clearance items?

If not, you have a shot in small claims court, if you paid with a credit card, let the issuing creditor go after the seller.

Good luck!

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

here are some pictures of the exterior, another of the interior, and a little tag inside the case.

Can anyone with a recent AV57RI confirm whether or not this is the case they received??? I'm really starting to feel like they took advantage of my ignorance and gave me the shaft. And what is most disappointing is that this is a very well established music store here in the S.F. Bay Area.

Look at your receipt and see my post above your last one (if you're considering returning it still?)

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Unfortunately it does say that it is a clearance sale on the receipt and that all sales are final. Still, I honestly hoped that the owner of such a well established music store would sympathize with my situation, especially since 24hrs hadn't even passed when I asked to return it. But seeing how they were so shady about giving me a telecaster accessory kit and possibly the wrong case, it's not surprising anymore.

They made it sound like they were doing me a favor by giving me an $11 "Retro Parts" 5-way pickup selector switch, since they insisted that Fender only started including the switch with the 2010 models.

For $1499, I thought I was getting a great deal...but in light of everything, I'm not so sure anymore.

If you paid by credit card, it wouldn't hurt to have them try for a credit/refund.

Make a list of all that was wrong. i.e. Tele Accessory Kit, switch, etc.

In the business world - you get what you negotiate, not what you deserve!

Good luck!!!

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Hi rabmag,

The brown tolex case is what comes with the newer '62 reissues. The '57 reissues come with a tweed case. The '62s used to come with a tweed case, now they come with the brown tolex.

Edit: Sounds like the place that sold it to you misrepresented several things about the guitar. I would threaten to stand in front of the store and tell everyone coming in to be wary of anything that the store says, until they make it right. I don't care what the receipt says, there are consumer protection laws that frown on the seller misrepresenting his merchandise. Being loud in the store while other customers are in there will get the stores attention also.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

rabmag - I'm here to return this for a refund because (name 'em all).

store owner - Well, all clearance items are stated as on your receipt.

rabmag - [fake dials on cell phone]

"Yeah, hey Vinnie, it's your cousin. How you doin? Hey I bought this guitar that was misrepresented and now they're tryin to stiff me! Yea I know, I can't believe it either! Hey what are you guys up to? This is a great store - Ya wanna come over here and have some fun? Yea? Alright see ya in a few. What? No, just bring the Louisville Slugger. That's my favorite! Alright see ya in a few."

Hey good news Mr Manager! My cousins want to meet ya! They'll be here in a few minutes!"

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Just piling on a bit, but it looks like you got the case for an AV '62 Tele Custom (brown case with a Tele accessory kit). How much of a discount did this guy give you?

Okay it was a clearance item but it was really misrepresented to you - that issue about the 5-way was BS; they should have at least gotten you a Fender switch. The dealer should also at least take back the Tele accessory kit and get you a Strat kit - you need the trem arm for sure and having the ash try would be nice.

If you can't work anything out with the dealer for a return then the dealer should absolutely give you a trem arm. The ash try is probably not going to happen, but I believe you can get one from Fender. You could also sell the Tele package separately - I wouldn't give that back to the dealer unless they can give you an unopened Strat accessory pack.

$1499 was a clearance price? They sell for $1599 new at musicians friend, and nobody ever clearances that model. I'm thinking the store had a mishap with the case and had to do a case swap, hence the $100 reduction. For the record, my 57 AVRI is 3-4 years old and came with all the 5 way switch and the proper tweed case. I don't know what I would do in this situation, because if you sell it you'd only get 1100-1200 tops and that's being optimistic as the economy sucks. Looks like you're in tough times rabmag, I wish you and your family all of the best.

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Thank you all for your advice and humorous stories lol. Miami Mike, I'd have to call my cousin Pablo...I'm not Italian, ya know?

After reading your replies and rethinking the situation, I think I'm starting to realize what happened.

Here's the rundown:

I went in on Wednesday the 22nd to try out the guitar, and I loved it. I saw the price was $1499, and asked one of the employees why it was $1499. He said that it was on sale. I asked if it came with the 5 way switch, case and accessories. He said it did.

I returned on Thursday the 23rd, and put down $1390 in cash. I was intending to come back within a week to put the rest down. On the original receipt, under notes, it said, "Customer will be back within two weeks to pay the remaining balance". The remaining balance was $251.41 (tax was $142.41).

A family member said they'd lend me the money and came with me to pay the rest on a credit card. When I drove back to the store, the guy said he'd go get my guitar and case in the back. He literally took 30 minutes or so in the back getting my guitar. He came back with the guitar in case and apologized profusely and said he was having trouble finding the case. Again I asked if it came with the 5-way switch and he said it didn't come with a 5-way switch. I asked him to confirm on the fender website that it did, which he complied, and then agreed.

He then went to the back to talk to the store owner/manager about it, and came back and said that Fender only started including the 5-way switch with the 2010 models, but that they were going to throw in a "Retro Parts" 5-way switch anyway to make up for it. I thought it was a very kind gesture and thanked him. Right before we completed the transaction he told me, "This is a clearance sale, so that means all sales are final." I acknowledged it and paid the remaining $251.41 balance with a debit card.

I'm starting to think that since they couldn't find the original case and accessory kit, the owner must have told him to make it a clearance sale and make sure that I acknowledged it so that they wouldn't be liable. This must be the reason for the discrepancy between the first receipt containing the deposit which lacked the mention of a clearance sale, and the final receipt which made mention of the clearance sale.

In hindsight, I blame myself for being ignorant. But at the same time, it's disheartening that I can't trust such a reputable music dealer that, according to their website, has been in business for 35 years. It makes me wonder how many other ignorant people have purchased guitars there with incomplete accessories or incorrect cases and were too dumb to know otherwise.

Thanks again for your help, guys. I acknowledged it was a clearance sale, but I was hoping the owner would at least be sympathetic to a returning customer. Nevertheless, that one is on me, and I accept that. What I can't accept, however, is the fact that I was taken for a fool and duped out of the correct case and correct accessories.

If I never said anything, they would have actually let me walk away with the wrong case and wrong accessories? I feel so stupid.

Don't be too hard on yourself, most of us depend on the dealer to shoot straight with us. You did after all get a pretty darned nice '57 AVRI, which is the important part. And mistakes are how we learn, right? I'll bet that some of us on this forum learned in much the same way that you just did.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

¡No problemo, compa......just send the vatos around!



As mentioned, you've probably got a case for an AVRI '62. Those all got the brown Tolex (aka "Nubtex") case. The '50s model got the tweed while the late '60s and '70 re-issues shipped in the black Tolex case with the chrome amp logo on the lid.

I'd be a bit frosted about the deal but if they spotted you the correct wanker bar, ashtray, and a 5-way switch I wouldn't be inclined to squawk too much.

JMO

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY