The base is the most important part imho. which is the workmanship and wood of the body and neck. electronics are parts that can be replaced easily. but u can't detract from the fact that the base is inferior.
guitars are one thing that are very worth it buying second hand provided it's in good shape. cannot put in the second hand=not good/create more probs mentality here. these musical instruments are made out of wood, not PCB's. instruments that are well made and well taken care of will become better over time in fact, which is not the case with most other second hand stuff.
cheaper stuff are good stepping stones to learn on. but not good stuff to invest a lot of money in, coz you are spending so much money on something in which it's base isn't worth much. it's pretty subjective tho, if you "happen" to get a very well made one that you like very much, even compared to the more expensive ones.

this has been pretty much said by a number of ppl here.

This post has been edited by MetalZone: Nov 28 2006, 12:40 AM