Is this a good deal?

[pathesa]

My apologies if a similar question has been asked before. I'm looking into buying my first Rickenbacker bass. I found a used one at a guitar center and absolutely fell in love with it. It is a 1984 4003S, mapleglo finish, and it is priced at $1699 - it is in near mint condition and the only signs of wear that I could see were a couple of scratches on the top of the headstock. Other than that, it looks brand new and plays great. I really don't know a whole lot about these basses and this was actually the first Rick I've ever played. I'm worried about it getting sold - I've had a relatively hard time finding one, and I really don't want to buy one off ebay or something without playing it. Anyone have any advice?

 

[whoapower]

What's your location? A state like Texas has tax exempt forms for music gear.

The S versions are a bit more difficult to find these days. The price can be ok to average for that model/year.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

That's an average price.

 

[pathesa]

I'm in NJ, so no exemption on taxes I'm afraid. I forgot to ask the salesperson if everything was original - not that I'd necessarily trust the salespeople at Guitar Center anyway. Here is a picture of the bass in question:

Invalid Link Removed

 

[mmbongo]

Does Guitar Center still sell new ones for $1399?

 

[hdracer]

To Much

 

[capnjim]

Walk in with 14 100$ bills and you will probably walk out with the bass.

 

[mikeswals]

Id rather pay that for an S model, than that for all the binding. The S is much more comfortable to play, and yup, a little harder to find.
But all that said I'd haggle with them, should be easy to get 'em down 2-3 hundred bucks.