I've said it before, I'll say it again. MIM Fenders are simply superb. They are behind USA Fenders by very little. Sometimes, the USA models are not as good. Some of them have features that may be absent in USA models. Example: you want a split-coil P with a maple neck? Mexican only, and until recently, only then on the Classic 50s P. Notice I said neck, not fretboard. The American Standards have separate fretboards. If you like fretted maple necks, you've no choice but to go MIM or CIJ. Or AVRI or Custom Shop...
My basses, all of which get gig time, are MIM, MIJ, and one Squier. All eminently gig-worthy. Some hardware might do with upgrading; my split-coil has a '94 USA pickup in it, but, TBH, it didn't sound any better than the stock MIM pickup.
These days, there are very, very few truly duff Fenders. They will almost always set up superbly, even if stores don't show them at their best. Mine just get better and better. The black splitty has done around 300 gigs, starting to show the first signs of PROPER relicing, ie well used and well cared for.
As you can tell, I'm a bit of a fan!