OUCH.
That sounds painful...
I have a small collection of guitars and one of these days I need to pick them back up. No talent but, I love the art!
When I was a kid, I always loved Fender products. My dad bought me a nasty acoustic "second" from a guitar factory in Germany. The neck was horribly warped and the action was about half an inch high. As a beginner, it was unplayable.
In school, a guy had a Squire he loaned it to me for the weekend. I fell in love with it. Later, for some reason, I bought a walnut SG. Didn't feel right the whole time I owned it.
Years later, I decided to find a Strat and was in a guitar shop one day looking at a trade-in. It was a Malmsteen Strat with the scalloped frets. He said he would take any offer on the thing and I told him I couldn't afford this guitar and really shouldn't be in his shop. He kept badgering me to make him an offer. It was three weeks from Christmas and as my wife walked in, I said, "Honey... you wanna get me this for Christmas?" $300 bucks later, we were out of there with a tweed case included. That started the collection.
I met a guy at a swap meet and he wanted the SG bad. About six months later he called and asked if I'd swap for a Strat. I said, "Sure!" This is what he swapped for! Its the sweetest guitar ever made....
I bought another American Strat in the dark using car headlights to look at it. A perfect guitar from a guy who buys and sells Strats as a hobby.
I also bought one in a driving rainstorm at a Dominos Pizza store.
All total, I have in all four, barely what a new American Strat would run but they all have different personalities. I hang them on the wall just to admire them. I am their custodian right now. Someday, they will move on to another player...