Healthy fret wear for a vintage bass?

Hey all,

I've had my eye on a 1977 Greco bass for quite a while now, and I contacted the seller to ask about condition of the neck, frets, etc. The seller told me that about 60-70% of the original fret material is remaining.

Now I've never paid that much attention to fret wear or considered frets in terms of percentages, as I've never owned a bass quite as old as this one - so I can't really picture how frets with 60-70% left of their original material would play.

So how much fret wear would you consider still healthy for a vintage bass? Does 60-70% of fret material left sound about right for an instrument this old? Do you think a neck can still play well with 30-40% of the original fret material gone?

Thanks for the input guys! I appreciate your help!

 

Thanks Templar! I'm pretty sure this bass is worth the investment, but then I don't know how much re-frets typically cost obviously I'm sure it varies from bass to bass and luthier to luthier, but is there a general ballpark estimate of cost? I'll look it up too.
Thanks again!

 

Here ya go ddnidd1 ^^^
Thanks!

 

Thanks again ddnidd1! I'll contact the seller again and see if I can get a picture like that!

 

Thanks for the wise input Templar! The bass is from Japan, which is why I'm being so cautious about all this - it's a big commitment. I would have to pay $45 for them to deal with all the CITES stuff.

I asked the seller about neck condition and was told it was "mostly straight" and the truss rod was still fully functional. The pots have been replaced and there's no scratchy noise from them.

The bass is a Greco GOB900 Speedway, which isn't an Ibanez Musician clone but was a contemporary bass meant to compete with the Ibanez - and even though the Musician tends to be a bit more pricey (I'm seeing mostly over a grand) I actually much prefer the sound, specs, and look of the Greco Speedway, from what I've heard in YouTube vids.

I'll keep considering all this... Thanks again guys!