Its probably been said before, but Marcus Miller seems to be happy with his '77 jazz bass!
I played an amazing '72 recently, beautiful instrument, sounded awesome with loadsa character, tight neck pocket etc. Needed a slight setup and the (original) nut was a bit buzzy, but just beautiful. If i had £2500 cash i woulda snapped it up. Probably priced over the odds for what people think a '72 is worth, but i loved it, and with vintage stuff u just can't shop about, if thats the one, thats what u pay!!!
That same day i tried a '66 Jazz (albeit a refinished one), and it was sh*t IMHO, wouldn't have payed £500 for it, so i think its a lot to do with the player as well!
Might try and pickup an '83, my birth year, and see how it ages lol.
Si