Baja Tele

I think that they'll hold up just as well as any other Fender guitar with a poly finish, so there's nothing to worry about there. As you know, they have the same pickup configuration as the 2012 American Standards.

Much of it will come down to whether or not you want some of the more vintage-style features like 21 frets and a 3-saddle bridge over the 22 frets, 6-saddle bridge and belly-cut of the new Standards. I am personally not a fan of most vintage features but the Baja does at least have a 9.5 inch fretboard radius, which makes bending a lot easier than on a rounder 7.5 inch board.

I've played a couple of Bajas over the years and found them to be good guitars - lots of tones, nice hardware, although they're often quite heavy and I'm not a big fan of the sticky poly coated neck.

One of the major factors that would stop me buying one is the mere fact that about 4 years ago you could get one for roughly €460 from a lot of different stores in Germany. The price is now under €700. The glory days are over.

You don't sound convinced.

If you want to move away from Fender, take a look at some G&L ASATs - there are a number of different varieties including a brand new type with alnico pickups. I got mine ASAT Special Deluxe No Top for around €850 shipped and taxed with a hard case at Christmas. When you think that some of that went towards a hardcase, shipping and then tax you see that you can make your money work a lot harder if you shop around and perhaps take a risk.

The Baja is a good guitar but I can't help comparing Fenders to equivalent G&Ls and concluding that the latter are better value

New, 2011 You're looking in the wrong places!

Try ProGuitar shop on ebay, for example. Sign up for their newsletter and look at the coupon code for that week - they tend to vary and some are better value for effects, others better for guitars. Use the coupon as a starting point, a minimum discount that you expect and make offers from there! They'll accept if you're being reasonable.

You can also look for G&Ls from Dallas Used Guitar (now Grapevine Guitarworks). They tend to have 10 or so on ebay at any given time. They frequently lower prices by 10-25% if the guitars aren't selling. Again, use this discount as a starting point and make offers from there.

Simple.

I'm not sure about that. You might take some of the sheen off the poly finish but sanding it will be quite hard and if you go down to the wood buffing won't gloss it up again.