Definately a fake.

1: No Fender Strat has the trus hole the same wood as the headstock
2: The dots on the 12th fret are too far apart
3: And the number one issue I have with this instrument is the water slide decal is flaking off
4: The headstock is just shaped wrong
5: This could have been an after-market thing, but I cannot see Fender stamped on the saddles, and the saddles just look wrong.

I am sure that there are other signs, but these stand out the most. In my opinion, it is not worth $350. I would look around some more. If $350 is your budget, a Squier Classic Vibe, Standard, or Vintage Modified would be a better than that guitar.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Thanks again. Now I know what to look for if I am suspicious about guitar.
My budget is around $500, including shipping, taxes etc.

You say that Classic Vibe Squiers are quite good. Some people sell used Japan made Squiers, quite old ones. Are they any better?

Neck looks like a fake. The scroll of the headstock is not shaped correctly. Best case, its a MIM strat. But I rather doubt it.

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


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The old Japanese squiers are quality instruments, the 84-87 era, as far as I understand it the Squiers were branded Squier for export and the exact same guitars were branded Fender for the Japanese domestic market.

The Japanese made Fenders of that era, for my money, are on a par with the US Fenders. I have one, and it's my number one guitar!

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"I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It's so f*ckin' heroic!"

For $500, I saw a bunch of Highway 1's American made strats on Guitar Center's used gear section. With their current coupons, you might even get a discount...

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


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Wrong decal...wrong headstock profile.