nice guitars. i think the CIJ/MIJ thing is to do with age rather than model- before a certain year, they were MIJ, after, CIJ. Could be wrong, though.
If you're not averse to second-hand, though, just cut out the middle man and get a tokai. though be careful, it's often hard to identify them, and there are fakes (though you could of course say the exact same things about fenders).
or for a little more, get a bacchus or something like that. i've seen bacchuses going on ebay for a similar amount to CIJ Fenders... amazing what a brand name will do to resale values. awesome when you're selling, not so good when you're buying... :lol: