Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Is that a good value for a 1986-1987 Yamaha U3A?

Hey everybody,

I'm looking for some advice. I'm in a position to purchase a new (to me) piano soon and i'm trying what's available locally (I refuse to buy online, unseen and unplayed in person).

I found a ~1987 Yamaha U3(A) at a local dealer who is asking $5950 for it. This includes a 5 year warranty from them (I think it's 5), an adjustable bench, one tuning, and local delivery. I'm sure this price doesn't includes sales tax.

This is their initial asking price, so I know they're expecting a counter offer. My question to ya'll is what do you feel is fair? I'm looking to spend closer to $5,000 "out the door".

I played it briefly yesterday and I do like it's tone. It's warmer and a bit more mellow than most Yamaha's i'm accustomed to, and is pleasing to listen to. The action feels solid and consistent.

I still plan on having certified piano tech do a thorough inspection of it (even though its from a dealer, WITH a warranty).

Thanks for any advice and tips!

I am not an expert, but that seems high to me for a 30 year old piano, even with a 5-year warranty and all the extras...

I tend to think of 30-year old pianos in good condition as costing closer to the $2000 range... Hopefully someone can comment on whether this is realistic or I'm totally off here.

In the US, no, that is not a competitive price, and more than that piano cost when it was new.

ShiroKuro, no, I think $2k for a U3, if it's a good one and really that age, is likely cheaper than that piano's worth. I'm more used to seeing them in the $3,500-4,500 range, depending on how good they are, and the amount of competition in a given area.

Thanks, terminaldegree. So my $2000 range is probably unrealistic, but $5900 is also probably too much. Makes sense. (I'm taking a lot of notes for when I'm ready to upgrade from my current piano!

Hello, I recently (3 weeks or so ago) purchased a 1986 UX-1 in Canada for $4200 CAD.

4,200.00 CAD = 3,242.49 USD currently.

Without considering the exchange (plus would not read much into it), I'd consider the price too high. Around here (Greater Toronto Area) it would go from $4,500 - $5,300. The UX-1 only slightly less. I am not familiar with the A part of U3A. If you like the piano and your technician is good with it, $4,500 would be a fair offer in my opinion and $5,900 is too high.

For comparison, ensure all dealer pianos include delivery and first tuning. Also, all pricing discussed is tax included.

BTW Andy, I know you said you refuse to buy online, but remember, just because you find a piano for sale online doesn't mean you can't go and play it in person.

And even if you ultimately want to buy from a dealer, looking around online will give you a better idea of what prices people are asking for similar pianos.

Have you looked at Larry Fine's Piano Book and Piano Buyers Guide? If not, that's definitely worth a look because it will give you a lot more information.

http://www.pianobuyer.com/

Either way, good luck and keep us posted!

Thank you all for the great advice. I have read through pianobuyer.com. What an incredible resource to help this rabbit hole quest to finding a piano. Maybe I'm making it harder than it needs to be?

Anyways - I told them I wanted to get out more around $5,000 out the door (more like $4500 for the piano, pre tax). Seemed reasonable to me. They said they can't go under $5999 out the door.

Oh well. The search continues. I found a U1 that has been worked on by a local shop for $3200, a 70s model. I go and see it tomorrow. When talking to them about it, they said that "it sounds good and we did a lot of action work and case work. I spent extensive time cleaning the center and front rail pins and felt work. Eased the keys so they play even, and tuned it."

They're supposed to file the hammers down a bit before it's sold, as well, but the tech I spoke with told me that there is evidence that these hammers have never been filed before, and considering the age of the piano, that this is pretty good news given that it probably wasn't played much.

He did also mention that two of the bass strings needed to be twisted, but didn't say whether or not they'd do this before selling the piano. Seems like that needs to be corrected.

At the end of the day, they sound like a nice small shop that does piano restoration. $3300 just still seems high to me for a U1 that is going on 41 years old, restoration work or not. Perhaps this is absurd thinking. I can find plenty of U1s online from this time range that are higher than this. I suppose if it sounds wonderful to me, and has a good action feel, then that's all that matters. I'd love to support a local shop.

I'm certainly open to opinions. I found a late 1980s Charles Walter 1520 for what seemed like a great price, but when I saw a video of it, it was horribly out of tune.The owner told me that they certainly admit to neglecting tuning it as often as they should have, so I imagine that it has been _years_ at this point.

If you're stuck on Yamahas you're also stuck with the premium for buying the "can't go wrong, easy to re-sell choice".

Kurt

Not necessarily. I prefer Yamahas to several other makes, some more and some less expensive, so I can imagine someone being stuck on them because they are good pianos.

I could this see being the case. I'm certainly not stuck on them though. There just isn't nearly the market to select from with other makes. My craigslist area has a handful of Kawai, several Yamaha, and the rest are grands.

Local dealers essentially mirror this same environment. I'll find the one eventually.

Others have already posted some good information about prices, and for the most part I agree. And you've already moved on, it sounds like.

But one thing to keep in mind: condition is everything. The "perfect condition, lightly played, one owner piano" is worth more than the "high school classroom piano". Sometimes the real cheap U3s are closer to the HS classroom piano.

Too bad about the Charles Walter upright, one of my favorites. Might think about asking them to tune the piano and try again.

Rich