Well, I got a surprise today.
I was going to restring the jazz bass and I noticed something funny looking around the bottom edges of all 4 string ferrules. After a closer look, I realized the nitro finish was bunching up and starting to lift off. It's almost like they installed the ferrules before the nitro was fully cured. So, I talked to my guy at the shop and he's gonna call Fender. I want the bass and they don't have another since it was from 2009. I do know I can return it for a full refund, the shop is really good about that. I'm going for a warranty repair as the entire headstock probably needs to be refinished and new decal installed.
Oh well! This is probably the first time I haven't just swapped it for something else, but I really DO WANT this particular bass. So, we'll see how good Fender's customer service is on this one!