Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Help needed on Yamaha U3 vs. Kawai K50

Hi,
I recently started looking to buy a used piano and came across 2 that I am interested in: 1) Yamaha U3, built in 1985 according to the serial number for $3400 by a piano tuner/buyer/seller. 2) Kawai k50 built in 2000 and bought in 2002 for $3800 by private owner. The owner said that the piano was never played or tuned and was kept in a storage for the past 10 years.

I used to play when I was younger for 10 years but stopped about 15 years ago. I want to play again and since I am expecting, I am hoping my son will learn how to play when he grows older. I am hoping to get some opinion on these 2 pianos, the pros and cons. Since the Kawai is 80 miles away, I want to know if it's worth it to hire a tech over to check it out. Since we are planning to keep the piano and not upgrade for a while, I am thinking of getting something above entry level. Are these 2 good choices or should I keep looking? Thank you.

Both Kawai and Yamaha make excellent pianos. You'd be good with either piano. I'm not sure if the age of the piano would make a difference though, so maybe you should look into that.

The K50 is a nice instrument, but 10 years in storage only leads to more questions. If the seller does nothing to help sell the piano, that puts the entire burden on you.

Did you play the U3? What did you think of it?

Thanks for the replies. I like the sound of the U3 when I played at the dealer but not this particular one. I am worry about the age of the piano and want to know if it's a good price for it so I am hesitant to hire a tech to check it out. Also, it looks like the seller took down the listing for the Kawai K50. I also saw a Kawai KG1E from 1991 for $5500 but the price seems a bit high according to some of the previous posts. At this price range, people also suggest to take a look at the new Kawai K3 instead. Your thoughts are truly appreciated. Thanks.

Posts here are rarely a good indicator of your local prices.

Wont go wrong with a k3 imo... i love mine more each day..... has the same size harp as a k5 without the acoustic openingings fyi. Plus ten year guarantee.... good luck