Mexican vs American Fenders question

My suggestion would be to buy a "cheap" American made strat, purely for the quality of the wood and the general build. Then, buy yourself some upgraded pups. Personally, I bought some John Mayer Big Dipper pickups and threw them in my Highway One strat.

Looks exactly like this (different bridge though):

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Is there a big difference in sound?

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Define "big" - I think most serious players will want to upgrade the electronics of a Mexi, while an American or American Deluxe may stay stock (at least longer).

The fit and finish are close, although clearly more flaws get through on the Mexi - but, for all practical purposes, they're using the same CNC setups, the same software and very, very comparable materials in factories on both sides of the border. The biggest difference in cost is the labor costs (ETA: And electronics). I suspect the best Mexis are a little better than the worst Americans (fit and finish-wise), so you could even get lucky.

For me (I'm an American Deluxe, 50th Anniversary Strat owner, BTW), I think the question will be stock or not - if you're going to do Lace pickups or heavily modify/customize the guitar to your liking, you will gain less by buying American. If the guitar will be part of a gigging rig, Mexi is probably the way to go. If it will be for a youngster, a Mexi might be the way to go.

But, an American made Fender (or Gibson, for that matter) electric guitar, even if seldom played, might be a better choice if it going to be left stock. And, the fit and finish differences are noticeable, there is no question about that.

Fender MIM are solid and quality instruments. Hard to go wrong with them unless you want to or can afford to spend the extra $500 to $700 extra for an American made Fender.