We are looking to purchase a baby grand for our home around 5'1" or 5'3" in size and were looking for some recommendations. We wanted to keep the price under $10K. In listening to the pianos we were drawn towards the Yamahas and the Kawais.

Is it better to get a new entry level like the Kawai GM10K or entry level Yamaha or look for a 10-20 yr old better model? I have seen a couple ~20 yr old Yamaha C1s and a 15 yr old Yamaha GH1 or an 18 yr old Kawai GE1. I have been looking for an RX-1 but have yet to find one used.

Any recommendations?

Welcome to the forum, livngston. I personally would lean toward a better 10-year old model than a new entry-level piano. New pianos usually have a period of about a year where strings are stretching so tuning is less stable; things that are going to stick and squeak start sticking and squeaking and have to be taken care of; and you suffer a definite depreciation hit akin to driving a new car off the lot.

There is, of course, risk in buying used, but you can deal with that risk either by buying from a reputable dealer and/or having a trusted technician inspect the piano prior to purchase.

How firm are you on the 5'1" to 5'3" preference? While there are some new brands that deliver excellent sound for their size (check out The Piano Buyer guide for an article talking about them), in many cases you will get significantly better sound with a longer grand, say 5'6" and above.

Yamaha and Kawai tend to have very different sounds, so I'd isolate which I preferred and lean that way. As to new vs old, there is not a right or wrong answer. There are positives and negatives both ways. I think you have to answer the question based on the specific pianos you are considering rather than on generalities.

That said, I did not find any new budget grand pianos by Yamaha or Kawai that I really liked, so I'd also lean toward older, if those particular brands were my targets. However, your ear may say differently. I'd also consider an upright like the Kawai K3, which is excellent and well within your price range.

I agree with Monica that going up to 5'6" or better seems to feel and sound a lot better than the smaller grands, but the new smaller pianos do get good reviews. When I was shopping in 2010, I found there were several Korean and Chinese smaller grands I would buy over the entry level Yamaha or Kawai. The piano I ended up with seemed substantially better to me (in terms of components and rich sound) than the entry lines by Yamaha and Kawai, but not everyone would agree with my assessment.

Good luck,
Mike

Here's the URL for the article on small grands I was thinking of... turns out that it's not in the current issue of the Piano Buyer, but a previous one:

http://www.pianobuyer.com/fall10/92.html

The Yamaha GH1 were very much entry level, and IMHO are definitely not the best choice. The C1, or maybe something somewhat slightly larger, though secondhand, would be nice. The GM10 and the GB1 are ok, not too bad. (C1=5'3")

Great advice above, guys!

The small Yamahas and Kawais are not very good in my opinion and there are other, better designed small pianos out there, that actually cost less as well.
Here's a good article to get you up to speed...http://www.pianobuyer.com/fall10/92.html