First piano shopping, and didn't like what I saw at local dealers. I'm a college student with a less than 5k budget. Plan on hiring a tech to look at while I'm there, but if I can save checking out any one of these it will save me money.

http://sarasota.craigslist.org/msg/2832740916.html
http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/msg/2844731262.html
http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/msg/2800739838.html

Also, are newer uprights a better way to go than say a 30ish year old grand? I've seen some cheap but old grands in the florida area. I live in Orlando by the way.

Thanks for your patience,

Alex

Hi Alex, and welcome to the Piano World forums!

Gosh, either of those pianos looks like they would be great instruments. Of course, the K3 being the newest of the three. The $1200 Kawai looks like it might be a good buy, if it is in as good a condition as the seller claims.

Me personally, I’d be drawn to the Kawai 600 grand; looks like it has real ivory keys. And, it looks like some negotiations are in order (and welcomed by the seller) on the price.

Good idea about having the piano inspected by a piano technician before purchasing.

Good luck!

Rick

I honestly was given a strong impression that an old piano wasn't worth the risk by this site. Now I'm not blaming or anything, but should I actually consider older grands? If so I would be between the one you saw and two more... Thoughts?

http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/msg/2824072146.html
http://mobile.craigslist.org/msg/2818885030.html
http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/msg/2800739838.html

The GE-1 I feel I could negotiate down as well, just not sure which is the better buy.

Thanks so much guys.

If you have the space for a grand - go for it! Which one? Hard to say by looking at the pictures. Try them all and I am sure you can tell which one is for you. Bring your tech once you have narrowed it down. Good luck!

I think it's virtually impossible to tell anything from most of the pictures and that the verbal descriptions are almost meaningless(almost every piano on Craigslist is in "excellent condition" etc.).

I agree, which is why I plan on hiring a piano tech once I'm there. But just looking at model/price, and assuming they are in the condition stated, which would you go for?

For your own benefit, I strongly suggest you start with a dealer so that you can gain some idea of what you are or are not getting when you go into the private market. A tech can warn you if it's rotten, but it says nothing about what you may actually prefer. There are several good quality new or nearly new uprights within your $5k budget which, whether or not they are your preferred outcome, should provide you a real benchmark.

I've seen many people, especially in the last couple of years, get caught up in craigslist and end up making a choice of the least bad thinking they must be getting a deal because it's craigslist. Having a new piano as a benchmark can help prevent that kind of mistake.

Good luck in your search.