How much piano worth

Older does not always mean cheaper, especially when dealing with bigger brands like Steinway, Fazioli, Bosendorfer, and Yamaha. In this case, you might find that the Steinway has had a complete rebuild, essentially making it brand new compared to a Steinway that has some mileage on it.

An instrument that has had patchy work done or needed frequent repairs is a sign that it might be worth less than the asking price. Those who have found a piano that they love and commit to purchasing it need to be aware of how financing works. Much like a car payment, the more initial money paid on the piano, the lower the monthly payments will be. With any piano loan, there will be interest tied to it.

Those who choose to make smaller down payments on the piano will end up paying significantly more in interest over the years. A typical piano loan runs at 6. Thousands can be saved when purchasing a piano from a private seller. Although a private seller cannot offer any warranties or financing, a thorough inspection of the instrument should ease any concerns.

This also gives you more options to obtain your own financing rather than using the sellers financing. The easiest way to decide how much to spend is to think about how the piano will be used. These are much less than acoustic pianos and offer a good introduction to the instrument at a low investment point.

If the student is more serious about the instrument, then an acoustic upright piano is a good option. I would advise getting a used piano from a private seller because many times you can get one for free.

The condition of the piano might be terrible, but with some work, they will be playable. Grand pianos are instruments I would consider for intermediate to advanced students who are serious about music. A cheap grand piano plays much differently than a high-quality one. In general, I recommend sticking to brands like Yamaha, Kawaii, and Baldwin. They offer excellent entry-level grand pianos for really good prices. Steinway makes the Boston and Esx pianos which cost a little more, but they are excellent instruments.

In general, stay away from used pianos that need a lot of reconstructive work. Pianos in that condition will cost more to fix than they would be purchased new. If you do plan to purchase an old piano, a proper inspection beforehand can save you a headache later. In some categories, the prices we received from our sources varied all over the map, and we had to use a considerable amount of editorial discretion to produce price ranges that were not so broad as to be useless as guidelines, and to retain at least a modicum of internal consistency in the chart.

For that reason, you should expect to find some markets or situations in which prices higher or lower than those given here are normal or appropriate. The prices given here for pianos that are not reconditioned or rebuilt those labeled Worse, Average, Better are the price ranges you might expect to find when buying pianos from private owners.

The Reconditioned and Rebuilt categories represent prices you might encounter when shopping for such pianos at piano stores or from piano technicians , with a warranty given.

In some cases we have omitted the Rebuilt price because we would not expect rebuilding to be cost-effective for pianos of that general age and type. In every case, prices assume the least expensive style and finish; prices for pianos with fancier cabinets, exotic veneers, inlays, and so forth, could be much higher.

However, even Worse pianos should be playable and serviceable. This offers an opportunity for the less furniture conscious buyer to obtain a bargain. For the purposes of this chart, however, we have adopted the requirement that a piano has not been rebuilt unless its pinblock has been replaced, and that a piano that has been restrung, but without a new pinblock, is considered to have been reconditioned.

Note that these definitions are not precise, and that both the quality and the quantity of the work can vary greatly, depending on the needs of the instrument and the capabilities of the restorer. The depreciation method of determining fair market value is based on the fact that many types of consumer goods lose value over time at a more or less predictable rate. A depreciation schedule , such as the one here, shows how much an unrestored used piano is worth as a percentage of the actual selling price of a new piano of comparable quality.

Thus, this method of figuring value is best used for pianos of relatively recent make when the model is still in production, or for older pianos whose makers have remained under relatively constant ownership, location, and standards, and for which, therefore, a comparable model can reasonably be determined. Do pianos appreciate or depreciate? It depends on how you look at it. Imagine parking a sum of money in a savings account earning 2 percent interest at a time when inflation is at 3 percent.

Each year, the balance in the account grows. It can be determined using the idealized-value-minus-cost-of-restoration method, but discounted, like trade-in value, to allow the commercial seller to make a profit. This form is for comments and feedback about our articles. Please do not use it to post ads for pianos for sale or donation. Use our Classified-Ad section instead.

For questions about the value of a used piano, see this article , or use our Seller Advisory Service. For other piano-related questions, e-mail us at [email protected]. Your email address will not be published. Thank you for this post.

It gives clear information about criteria used to value a piano. I have an old piano that I plan on giving to one of my family members. Sometimes the piano tuner will even buy it from you. Be careful if you ask a piano dealer or shop to value your piano. The shop is usually interested in buying secondhand pianos and will probably give it a low valuation in the hope that they can buy it off you on the cheap.

Never call someone that advertises that they buy pianos. You usually see these adverts in Yellow Pages or your local newspaper. Highest prices paid in cash. These guys make a living from picking up decent pianos from next to nothing and selling them on to piano shops or private buyers for a high profit.

So you can guess that they will value your piano extremely low and find as many faults as possible to justify their low offer. Some of these faults may not even exist! You will not be able to value a piano yourself, unless you have the time to go on a piano tuning and repair course for at least years.

The only way to know how much a piano is worth is by acquiring the expertise knowledge. Pianos consist of at least 5, parts — MUCH more complicated than a car — and if one part is overlooked it can be the difference of valuing a piano at a high price or a complete write off. A good looking piano, casework has been French polished, the sound is OK but the piano needs tuning, the parts inside look new, the piano is not that old, no problems seem apparent.

This piano could be valued at a fairly high price?