I shouldn't have sold my first bass, a Hondo copy of a Gibson Explorer, bought through Friend A who got me into both bass and guitar. I think I was 18 when I sold it to Friend B, who promptly butchered the body in attempting to make it into a Steinberger! Ruined beyond recognition.
Within another year or so, Friend A (who I got it from) passed away at the tender age of 22 and then I really started to miss that bass.