Is This MIM worth the effort?

[b21960]

This is available about 2 hours from me. 2003 (confirmed by #SN) MIM 5 string Jazz. The gentleman says he bought it from another man who kept this in his cellar, thus the paint started to peel and he reliced it from there because he didnt know how to finish it himself. I personally like the look of it, but was wondering why the paint was peeling? damp cellar? probably many reasons why, but the fact he's letting it go for $300 dollars sends up a bit of a warning flag. Just lookin for some words of wisdom on this. Or could this be a find? FYI, the guy claims it works really well and there's zero issues beyond the paint and reliced look to it. Thoughts?

 

[friskinator]

Even if it was in better shape, 2 hours is a long way to drive to buy a bass. Could the seller ship it? You'd spend the same in gas money driving round trip as you would paying for shipping.

 

[Gorn]

Packing and shipping a bass properly is no small feat either. There are too many of these out there to justify the trip or the potentially undisclosed issues. I’d offer him $200 and maybe take the drive if there’s anything worth doing in that town while you’re there.

 

[RSBBass]

Anything in a basement that would cause the finish damage could cause unseen wood damage. If it was around the corner I might take a look. With the drive I would skip.