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My son is after a second hand P Bass and found one he likes. Its a Mexican and I think its about 8 years old and priced at £359. To me it seems to be a lot for a second hand one but I don't play bass and have no idea of market values. I would just add that it is from a shop so I don't expect E bay prices but I don't want him to pay over the odds for one. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi Jase,
You are right to be suspicious of the price. Although a brand new Mex Standard P. Bass would cost around £450, if it is 8 years old, it would probably have cost around £300-350 when it was new. I would say don't pay more than 50-60% of than 'New' price. Mex Standard range instruments are plentiful in the new & 2nd hand markets. Also, get your son to check out the 'Squier by Fender' Classic Vibe range & Vintage Modified range of P Basses. These are equally as good as the Mexico ranges & only cost up to around £320 for a brand new bass.

Cheers, Tony.

Hi Tony

Many thanks for your thoughts. I have tried to steer him towards a classic vibe but being 17 years old and a music technology student Squiers don't carry the respect needed of his peers. I'm a fan of the classic vibes and have a Simon Neil signature model that is far better than my Mex standard Strat.

Hi
its certainly not over priced considering its from a music shop
a new standard precision is about £450 new as Tony mentioned.
they dont lose much value ,if its in good overall condition
you could probaby find a better deal if you are prepared to look around.
but if your son has tried it and likes the look and feel of it, then try and haggle a bit with shop.

regards
Jay

Thanks Jay. We have tried a lot of Basses and this is the one he feels is the best so I guess I'm going to find out how good a haggler I am.

Just to update, he ended up getting a new Mex P bass. Although we were offered about £35 off the shops price for the second hand one, I couldn't help thinking he would be better off in terms of value with a new one. So somehow I've ended up putting a £100 to his money and now he has a new one.

Heartwarming!
Hope he enjoys playing it