Hi! We are in the market (US - Midwest) for a 48" upright piano. We came across the Yamaha U1 which my wife loves. She is hooked on the brighter sound of it. I don't play piano but I thought the Kawai K3's sound is different but I like it just as much.

The store offers us the Yamaha U1 for $5800 + tax, Kawai K3 for $5000 + tax (both pianos come with delivery, a tuning at delivery and 6-9 mos later tuning).

I wonder if someone can comment on these prices whether they are high or low or jump on it at once .

Thank you for your inputs.

Price is good on the Kawai, excellent on the Yamaha. Since your wife is hooked on the Yamaha, jump on it.

Great! I will work hard on our budget to get this U1 into our living room soon!

My other question about the U1 is that... are there different versions of U1? I thought I saw at another store U1-PE (or something like that), does PE mean something significant?

Thank you for your answer.

I would defenetly go with Yamaha (+, your wife likes it, and i think she'll be using alot)

Are these both new pianos or used? If used, how old are they?

Nancy

PE == Polished Ebony, if I recall correctly. In other words, a lovely glossy black piano. Enjoy your new piano!

saudade - Thank you about PE = Polished Ebony.

NancyM333 - These prices for U1 and K3 above are new pianos, not used.

michmontreal - I will ask my son (5) to hand over all his piggy banks to cover the difference between K3 and U1.

I just got a reply from the the store that they only have U1 displays left. Right now we are weighting our options on either a new K3 or even step up to a new K5 or this U1 displays.

Can someone help to point out what to ask or look for on a display model besides scratches and better offer? Thank you!

Yahama U1 is one of the best pianos in the market as far as the ratio between price and quality is concerned. It is ranked among the first ones even in the Piano Book (the best guide on buying pianos)

I remember when I would go around looking for pianos with a technician I would pay for the service of checking the pianos on sell and he always had only positive things to say about Yamaha U models.

The kaway tends to have a more harsh and staccato sounds and the keyboard is too hard in my opinion.

After doing some research for a piano player (my wife), I find Kawai offers more and about $1000 less for the same model by Yamaha. As far as sound (I'm not a piano player but I had a few pricey speakers in the past ), I find Kawai has deep sounds vs. brighter sounds of Yamaha.

Chuck the Yamaha / Kawai research. Your wife is the player. Let her decide the tone and touch.

Yes, the research is now in the trash bin and the U1 will be delivered this Saturday. My wife is happy... I'm sure the moods in my house will be as bright as Yamaha's tone.

Thank you everyone for your help.

Ditto Turandot, No wonder dealers are going out of business! That U1 price is out-of-control!

Correction! I ended up paying $5890 for the U1 + tax. It comes with delivery and 2 tunings. I assumed it was still a great deal therefore I didn't question the salesperson who said $5800 previously or I just heard it wrong.

Poisy: I'm living in Midwest and looking for Yamaha U1. The price you got is $2500 less the dealer gave me. Could you let me know your store's name and phone number if you don't mind? Thanks in advance.

From my piano shopping experience, 6K is the price for U1.

If you have extra money, try to get YUS1 instead of U1. And if you have too much money, the YUS5 is the piano that you want to get. But I do not know yet the real price for this. YUS5 is amazing piano.

I know someone in San Jose bought a U1 last month for $5600 out-of-door, sales tax and moving included, and with one bench and one free tuning.

toaster66 I just sent you a PM. Wow! $5600 out the door with taxes. My price has been beat. Good for that person, pianoca!

Four years ago I negotiated a deal for a friend to buy a U5 for $9200 out-of-door, tax and moving included, with one free tuning, one fixed bench and one extra adjustable bench.

Poisy, you got reasonable price. Most people who do not know had paid much more than you. Dealers need to make money, they have family to feed, but I just mind if they are charging U1 for $8K. They can do this because the MSRP is very high. For those who did not do any research will end up paying that much. It is their fault, but if there are too many ignorant people, the price will go up and dealers will not sell at reasonable price since there are many people who are willing to pay high price.

Sorry if it makes you feel bad.

Silicon Valley is a high-volume area. Competition is also fierce.

Hi pianoca, I'm just joking about it. I'm happy when I get a good deal; therefore I feel the same for everyone who gets even better deal than mine. I just thought cost of living in California is high therefore pianos cost more. I am surprised.

Hi RonaldSteiway, Actually I had my own problem when I bought my U1. I came into the store near work, looking around at cheaper pianos than a U1 like Pearl River or Kawai K2. In passing I asked the price of a U1 and he quoted me at $58.. something. For awhile (about 2 weeks) we were looking at the K3 but then decided to go for the U1 at exact quote of $5890. The salesperson said he had no U1 except the floor model. We told him we would take it then he told me that he couldn't sell it to me anyway because I don't live in his Yamaha area. (somewhat confused and frustrated) We went to 2 other Yamaha stores to look for a U1 (I was priced at $6180 and $6400). Then we got a call from the original store to tell us that he got 3 U1's arrived that weekend and he would sell it at the quoted price $5890 + he got permission from my local Yamaha region to sell me a Yamaha U1. He offered me to stop by his warehouse and pick out the U1 we want (he explained that no U1 sounds exactly the same, pick out the one that sounded best to my ears).

Even though I'm happy with the deal + the owner took the time to make things right. But why making us traveled back and forth to other stores and confused in between.

I agree, eventhough Yamaha is very consistent compare to other brand, but still I will do the same. I need to pick the U1 that sounds good to me.

I do not know that there is restriction to sell to people who are not in their area. When I was in SoCal, I bought from any dealer and so did I last year in IL.

You made the correct decision to buy U1. K3 sounds too thin for me, but, of course, it is substantially less money. I love YUS5, but YUS5 is expensive.

I only heard up to a U3 and it sounds way better than my U1. My wife decided to buy the U1 over a K3 and that was how to story went. I'd love to hear the sound of a YUS5 once to know what people are telling how great it sounds.

California is closer to Japan. Pianos come from Japan in containers, and the container ships dock in California ports. To get to elsewhere in the country, additional ground transportation and warehousing would be needed. Well, at least that why I think Japanese pianos are cheaper in California.

In any case, congratulations on your purchase.

That made good sense about California is closer to Japan.

I just got a call from the place which offered $6400 for a U1 awhile back, but now they wanted to sell it at $5900. I asked them about selling a Yamaha outside of their region. The salesperson said he wasn't aware of this issue. Very interesting , but I thanked him that I already bought one almost 2 months back.

I'm also trying to decide between the Kawai K3 and the Yamaha U1. I actually like the Kawai a little better, but the Yamaha is probably a better investment. I'm going back and forth between the to dealers right now, and the Yamaha dealer just came down to match the Kawai price!

Kawai K3 - $4750 (delivery included)plus tax
Yamaha U1 - $4950 (delivery $100 more) plus tax

I'm a teacher, so I know these are really great prices. What do you think? I actually like the Kawai better, plus I get an adjustable bench and a better financing deal with that one.

I am looking for a new Yamaha U1. Would you be able to find what was the dealer on this one?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

Regards,
John

Is this "The Piano Book by Larry Fine" http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Book-Buying-Owning-Used/dp/1929145012 that you mentioned?

My first post here.
Like the OP, I'm getting ready to buy my wife a Yamaha. We have seen & heard some very attractive Grey U3's running $4.5K to $5K. Vintage 1973.

The only new Yamaha dealer in our area has quoted us $7890 plus tax on a U1.
The local Kawai dealer is offering $5280 for a K3

Have prices truly changed that much in 2 years on the Yamaha's?

We really do love the U3, and would likely go his route in a heartbeat if we could get a new one for around 10K.