To reset or not reset
About 3 months ago, I finally pulled the trigger on a 000-18 after years of pining for one. I bought it locally from a guy on marketplace. We met up, I tried it, it seemed to check the boxes. He originally got it from a reputable local shop, so I felt good about its history, and the asking price was tempting: $1950. In hindsight, perhaps I should have been more critical in my evaluation, considering that it was generally speaking less than comparable market value. But I was hasty and blinded by my excitement and went for it. I didn't notice at the time what I noticed just a few days later as I scrutinized it more closely from the comfort of home: the neck is visibly separating from the body at the joint. It is a 2023 standard series, not a vintage instrument where the inevitable neck reset has come to pass.
It is otherwise a beautiful guitar, and still plays well and sounds nice, although I suspect the action is higher than it would otherwise be capable of.
But the buyer's remorse has been hard to shake, and overall, I am particularly bummed out about finally getting my hands on a real Martin and feeling like the actual takeaway is a lesson learned in buyer beware on the open marketplace.
So I am trying to decide what to do next. I imagine many readers will suggest going back to the seller in some manner. I have considered that, and to this point, I have not done so. In my opinion, far too much time has passed for me to justify asking for my money back.
Instead I have taken it to be evaluated by a reputable local luthier whose shop is an authorized Martin service shop. He sympathized with my plight, and diagnosed the cause as some kind of concussive event--maybe a fall off a stand at one point (my suggestion, not his, though he agreed). The newness of the guitar would support the theory, though there really are no other visible signs of damage. He would charge $600 for the reset, and presumably some nominal additional labor charge for the new setup to follow (unclear).
Should I try to sell the guitar in its current state, and acknowledge to buyers that a neck reset is in the near future? Are there even buyers out there for this sort of thing, and what could I expect fair asking to be?
Or should I proceed with having the work done? I will admit that there will always be a part of me, even after completing the reset, that will wonder if I bought a discounted lemon instead of what I hoped would be a lifelong cherished instrument. Which means I would likely be inclined to sell it even after the repair.
So which is the wiser path: sell it before or after the reset?