Well spoken, @howard . . . 
I know you and I go back and forth over Fender basses! . . . 
('cause deep down inside we all know which one is best 
)
Cheers
Joe
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Nah I’m kidding ofc. I have 3 premium Fenders which I absolutely love and won’t sell. No regrets, but I do agree they could be sold a bit cheaper. 
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I do like Fender/Squier, a lot, but I LOVE Fender Japan head and shoulders above the US/MIM offerings. It’s almost like they are a different company (less the headstock and crummy bridges).
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Under $30….
Keep on Thumpin’!
Lanny (Griff)
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I bought a donated/used Peavey Millenium BXP from the Goodwill auction site for under $100. Sure, I had to rewire and replace a few items, but it is a great bass, and I think my total investment is $150. My average new item is in the $499-799 range, but that’s more for visuals (is it pretty?). So I guess my response is that you can get a great bass in almost any price range 
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I’ll be honest, the whole “relic” fad that kicked off first with actual old instruments and culminating with Fender (and probably others) now selling premium, highly-priced Custom Shop instruments pre-beat to hell on the finish is something I don’t quite understand (well, I sorta do. It sure looks like it’s seen some sh*t) but I won’t tell someone else how to spend their money. I just hope it brings them joy even if I think it’s a little silly myself.
Want a relic look? Let’s hook a modestly-priced instrument up to the back of my car and drag it at high speed 
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I view the relic fad as similar to copying someone else’s tattoos: I think you should earn it, not steal it.
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I’m perfectly capable of thinking it’s dumb as hell to beat the crap out of a fine new instrument, while simultaneously respecting anyone’s desire to own an instrument that looks like it just got shat out of a clothes dryer full of rocks 
Not my thing, but if that’s what you want, go for it!
Some people like the roadworn look. I get that.
I do reserve the right to make fun of bad DIY relicing jobs though.
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Fender also only makes certain instruments which are reliced. If you want a Fender Flea bass, their only Jazz bass with vol/tone vol/tone, it’s going to be road worn for example. Squire has this etup on a couple basses, but not with the Fender label.
I wouldn’t buy a bass because of it, but I wouldn’t turn down a bass becasue of it. Besides, the Flea bass is Shell Pink to boot.
To each their own.
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Inexpensive equipment usually not for beginners they are for experience and/or tinkerers.
Like it or not cheap bass is less user friendly than the more expensive ones. The really expensive ones are idiot-proof when it comes to usability and playability.
Bargain basses require the users to make adjustments and/or correction to get started. Is it a big deal? No. As long as you know you can take care of all of the annoying little fixes like setups, fret dress, intonation sometimes wiring.
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Ironically my bass which required the most work was $700
I got it for $425 or so though, floor model.
(a new Rockbass Streamer LX5 had wiring issues).
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