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We are looking a piano for our daughter, so she can practice her lesson. We found this upright piano at craigslist:
All of them said it's in a good condition, except Yamaha YUA, they claimed it like new.

Option 1: Yamaha YUA Upright Piano - 100% Reconditioned - $4480
Option 2: Boston Piano - Black Upright UP-118S - $3500
Option 3: Kawai UST-6 satin black upright piano - $1975
Option 4: Yamaha U3 Piano "Delivered, Warranty" - $4575

I'm looking the one that we can use for long term and if it has true sostenute pedal, that will be a plus.
So, which one do you think is the best deal and worth to get.
Please give me insight on this. Thank you.

Craigslist is the wild west. I put the same faith in craigslist ads as I do in Congress as a whole. If you insist on shopping there, visit the piano, make notes about how you like it, verify the age by serial number, and if it is a finalist, hire a tech to inspect it for you, both to verify the mechanical condition and to estimate service costs to tune, regulate & voice. There are no shortcuts.

As posted, I make the following analogy:

Option 1: Blue Honda Civic - recently detailed - $4480
Option 2: Toyota Car - hatchback Corolla - $3500
Option 3: Chevy Cavalier - $1975
Option 4: Red Honda Civic, new timing belt - $4575

I don't know your background or experience, but for a first post, to anyone shopping on craigslist...start by going to a dealer, play different pianos, get educated and select based upon information more relevant to you. At the very least, you'll need to supply factual information about the age or condition of these used pianos.

The YUA and UST-6 are probably close to 40 years old. No telling on the U3 as the model has been around over 50 years. That Boston has been made for over 20 years and in more than one country, so that's a lot of unknowns even before you try them.

Almost none of these pianos have a true sostenuto pedal. Perhaps the YUA, but I don't get to see that model often.

There is not enough information to say anything definitively, based on what you have told us. The YUA and U3 are a bit taller than the Boston and Kawai pianos you mention. That will mean a fuller sounding bass register, all else being equal.

We don't know the ages, the use, the state of regulation and voicing, mechanical condition (most people will say that a piano that hasn't been tuned in 5 years is in "excellent condition", which is ridiculous), how well it was maintained, or the environment it was kept in.

If you have a little time to do some research, I would suggest reading the used piano buying advice at the Piano Buyer site, which you can read for free online.

What's your actual budget?

Where do you live?

Is your daughter into playing the piano or is this a non-optional activity?

In re-reading my post, I think I should do a better job of welcoming and encouraging you.

All of those models have potential to be good pianos, and depending almost completely on the condition and service history first, age second, the offers posted could range from good to terrible. It's very difficult to rule out a vaguely worded ad about a potentially good piano. Or it could be an ex-institutional, underserviced nightmare, or it could have been an insurance salvage piano.

In my area, most piano ads on craigslist (as in over 75%) contain clearly wrong or misleading information. Some of the misleading ads are for decent pianos but many of those are sold in a deceptive way. Most of the honest ads are for lousy spinets or broken "antiques". I know many people get taken.

I do wish you luck in your search. I do believe working with a dealer is your best option. I do believe that shopping craigslist is best reserved for people who play, with a fair bit of knowledge and an existing relationship with a trusted tech both to advise them, to save them, and to service the variety of pianos you might meet online.

Welcome to PianoWorld.

Your mention of a Sostenuto pedal has me a little intrigued. Most piano works don't require one, many pianos don't have them, and many pianists have never used one - even if they have a piano with one. YAMAHA U3s had them, but I'm not sure if it was on all years.

I'd agree with other suggestions that you look at the market by visiting dealers (including online), working out what you would like. You'll also get a good idea of the market.

Only then would I look at purchasing from other sources. There are many good, genuine pianos out there, but also many which are just plain worn out, with hidden damage or have not been serviced adequately. I'd also agree that with any used piano, you need to engage your own technician to appraise it.

Sage advice so far.

The pianos mentioned all could have potential, but they could all be a terrible mistake as well.

Best advice:



Learn a little something about how pianos age, what maintenance they need, and how this will make a difference in the instrument.

Welcome to PianoWorld and good luck!

We live in Houston,TX. My budget is $4000. But if I can get a true sostenute pedal, I'm willing to spend couple more hundred dollar.
The reason why I want the sostenute pedal, just because that's what my daughter's teacher recommend me.
But, if I can't, it's alright too.
Thanks a lot for all your input. I will definitely visit a dealer and do my research again. And yes, I'll have technician with me if we decided to go to visit a craigslist seller.
Ok, one more question, I saw lots of Wurlitzer piano around, and what do you think of the quality?

"Ok, one more question, I saw lots of Wurlitzer piano around, and what do you think of the quality?"

Bad when brand new, and worse now. Do not consider.

My suggestion to you would be to try your local Kawai dealer and see what they can do for you in a new upright piano, suitable for a beginner. Such a model could take your young student up to the point where purchasing a grand piano, with a sostenuto pedal, might be necessary (this is a fairly advanced level of study). Then again, if your young student does not take to piano study as you hope, these are in demand and are easy to sell.

Or, maybe you could be the person who buys this model as a second owner, from a discouraged first owner.

I'm speaking from my experience as a player; I'm not in the trade. But you've had very excellent advice, so far, from some of our members who are.

Best of luck to you.

I went to the Houston Craigslist to see these pianos.

Couldn't find the Boston or the Kawai.

The U3 and YUA are being sold by an "out of state" dealer. They claim that you give them $$ up front - then they ship the piano to your home. If you don't like it you can return it. DON'T EVEN CONSIDER PURSUING SOMETHING LIKE THIS !!!! They even offer a "5 year warranty" - but it seems highly unlikely that it would be honored.

As for Wurlitzer - it's bottom of the line - which is why they are being sold for a couple of hundred dollars by private owners.

My best advice is that you 1) spend time educating yourself by reading "The PianoBuyer" (it's FREE - see link on this website), and 2) visit piano dealers in the Houston area and see what they have in stock. Have any instrument you are seriously considering checked out by a qualified technician.

Good luck.

Honestly, just forget this recommendation. Teachers say stuff. Not everything that comes out of their mouth is gospel. (and yes, I'm a teacher, so I'm allowed to say it!)

Unless your daughter is very advanced and playing high level pieces by Rachmaninoff, Debussy etc, she isn't going to use the sostenuto. And anyone that advanced should be getting a recommendation to buy a nice grand piano - not a $4000 upright. Hence, the advice is to be disregarded. Just buy the best piano you can find within your budget.

Oh, and you can listen to me because I'm a teacher too...

PS - the vast majority of U3s don't have sostenuto.

I've got a semi concert grand and have been playing for 23 years and I rarely, if ever, use the sostenuto.

In your price range you might also want to consider a very high end digital piano. The action, feel and sound quality on some can be simply stunning and they are a LOT easier to resell if your daughter eventually does not continue, which hopefully won't be a problem.

Oh, and most of the nicer digitals can use a sostenuto pedal

I live in Houston too and there are at least a couple of store where you can get a decent used piano like the ones you are looking to at very similar prices out of the door.
About the sostenuto pedal: I don't know who's your daughter's teacher but I play early advanced repertoire and none of my teachers ever mention the sostenuto pedal as a "must have" or even a "should have"... Even in the Rach C# prelude that has the double version for sostenuto pedal and for regular damper pedal, we used the damper pedal....
Being an upright piano, the functioning of the action and the more narrow dynamic range will be a limit sooner than the lack of the sostenuto pedal.

You should get a technician now because a piano can be made "pleasant" for a quick trial but might have underlying issues that might be visible only to a technician.
I have no intention to scare you, but replacing hammers (if needed on an older piano) and / or strings (if needed) and a comprehensive regulation (most likely needed on older pianos) might exceed the price of the pianos you are looking at and makes a night and day difference in the feel and capacity of the instrument.
A trusty technician usually also knows instruments around for sale and might orient you in a proper way.

Oh, I'm so glad to find this group. Thank you so much for your time replying my post. It's a big help for me. It's kind of overwhelming process for newbie like me.

Well, here I copied from the ad for kawai UST6

Kawai UST-6 satin black upright piano in great condition. It comes with wheels to easily move it from room to room, and the top opens up for more open tone, like a small baby grand piano. Plays well, nice tone, and a beautiful piano overall.

Located in west Houston/Memorial area. Must be responsible for moving on your own; located on first floor. This is a great deal on a beautiful, well-reputed piano.

Victor Borge said the sostenuto pedal is there to separate the other two.

There's no way any of us could give you any opinion about a 30-40 year old piano without playing it and then having a tech look at it. Those pianos in the $3500-4500 range in your list seem over priced, but most sellers, private or dealer, mark it up to give room for negotiation, usually about 20-30%.

Sam is right that buying a used piano takes someone who knows what they're doing, but that's true if you buy from CL or a dealer. Plenty of dealers have the same 40 year old, grey-market, Yamaha & Kawai's, and are asking the same price. And the 'refurbished' is usually misleading. Usually they just give it a good cleaning and some minor mechanical repairs.

It's always good to learn about buying pianos, reading PianoBuyer, etc.., but if you don't play I think it's going to be pretty tough. If you go used for one of these old Yamaha/Kawai's, I'd stay under $2000 or even $1500 so if you screw it up it's not the end of the world. But have a tech inspect it either way, and check the serial number on the maker's website. Or just get a new piano from a dealer. You can get a Yamaha b3 for about $4-5K, Kawai K-200 or K-300 for around there as well.

In your price range Wurlitzer isn't what you should be looking at. I agree with that. I don't really agree with how Jeff words his evaluation of them, but that's irrelevant to this conversation.

I agree with others who say don't worry at all about a sostenuto. I'm also a piano teacher, btw. Sometimes a teacher latches on to one particular "feature" of a piano (in this case a sostenuto) and tries to use that as an identifier of a higher quality piano. Unfortunately it won't work with a sostenuto as there are plenty of awesome pianos that don't have them.

And to add fuel to the fire, please check this link: Should a child begin his lessons on a digital piano?

+1.

And the digital will be _new_.