How does Fender know if it's a Partscaster? Is the serial number also stamped inside the body? Is there a warranty on Fender made Partscaster's?
There is no warranty on a partscaster - if you buy say for example a new American Standard Strat, then you put another body on it and sell the original body...and then the neck warps....you're out of luck....unless you can put it back together as original to present to Fender... There is no serial number matching either, it's only on the neck. Sometimes you have a date stamp on the neck and body that matches, sometimes it's off by a few days or weeks. Sometimes it's not even there. The best way is to contact consumerrelations@fender.com if you're buying a used Fender guitar, then you can check what it left the factory as. For example if you buy a Strat that's white, and the factory spec sheet says it was sunburst - then you know it's been repainted or it's a different body.... Fender's warranty is also only to the original purchaser for a time of 1 year, some stores like MusiciansFriend will extend it to 2 years though....used guitars have no warranty under any circumstances, so it's best to know what you're doing and how to spot problems with guitars when buying used... @SlyStrat
Why dont you explain your situation a bit so we can help you better. In general no there is no warranty on part casters even if its put together with legit fender parts.
They just can tell you by the neck code, what color the guitar is. Outside of that, I don't think they're matched. My tele is sunburst. The fender rep told me it was sumburst or blonde. I could swap it with a blonde body of the same make and year, and it would be indistinguishable for them.
All correct - the exception being a brief period of time toward the end of the CBS era. Circa 1979-1981 (maybe even 1982) Fender was putting paper stickers with the serial number on the neck heel, body neck pocket, and back of the pickguard. I assume that they decided it was too much trouble and stopped doing it; I don't believe these were on the 1983-84 models.
So if a couple people swapped necks on the same model/year Strats, sent them in for warranty service, Fender wouldn't know which neck was with which guitar? Basically the serial number is just for the neck?
I have the serial number on a sticker in the body cavity of my 2014 strat. It matches the neck serial number.
That would be a rather odd scenario, that they both needed to go in for service. If the the bodies were different colors, models, etc from what the serial number dictated, Fender may very well know. The way Fender warranty service works is they have you take the guitar to a Fender-authorized tech, and the tech reports back to Fender as to what he's dealing with, then Fender authorizes the repair assuming it qualifies for warranty service.
yes bodies and neck aren't matched but they do know the specs for each serial so unless the bodies are the exact same colors and specs Fender would know