I must add here this.. Goddamn.. I saw Vai's Jem (something, blue flowers, dark colours) in a music store near us, 1000 dollars, used get a case with it!! Jesus. I sucks so much because I don't have that kind of money!! I would have bought it only to have a Jem.. :)
I just have to say that I wouldn't play with a Jem on a gig because everyone would just say: "Hey, that guy wants to be Steve Vai".

Anyway.. You might want to check Ibanez RG models, they are quite cheap and they are great to play. The prices are not high if you compare to the quality. For 700 bucks you can get a very good Ibanez, believe me. I bought mine for umm.. 900 euros (one Euro is about 90 cents in dollars, I think..?)