We made two mistakes with upright pianos.

Got one for free off the neighborhood listserve that had a broken sound board and could not be tuned and between moving it in and disposing it spent $500. I test played it before offering to take it and it sounded fine - no obvious problems just sounded like it needed tuning.

Then paid $1000 for another piano that is fine but not really a good piano and one we will take a loss on if we sell.

People seem to be giving uprights away every few months on some local listserve or another but not often enough to rely on it but I bet if you asked on some local listserves and offered to pay moving costs you'd get some offers.

Or maybe your seller will come down on the price.

Absolutely!

The price for the piano should be $0 not $300. There is almost no market for old upright pianos since the new digital pianos have improved so much in quality and are much less cumbersome. We are paying to get rid of our piano (I tried and couldn't give it away) because of an upcoming move.

Just play it a bit - if it sounds okay, and you want it, get it! Pianos are difficult to get rid of. I've purchased two from craigslist. It's more expensive to move them than buy them.

Anonymous wrote:A piano technician as opposed to a tuner would be the appropriate profession to evaluate the piano.

I assume this is an upright piano?? How high is it from the floor to the top? I would go for 48 inches or more. If any of your children become even moderately proficient with piano, you don’t want a smaller piano.

Thanks. It is an upright. I'm going to see it this afternoon, so I can measure it to check it's height.

A piano technician as opposed to a tuner would be the appropriate profession to evaluate the piano.

I assume this is an upright piano?? How high is it from the floor to the top? I would go for 48 inches or more. If any of your children become even moderately proficient with piano, you don’t want a smaller piano.

Go for it -- we did exactly this.

Kids played and learned on it for few years, and then we eventually upgraded to a nicer piano (a used grand from Rick Jones).

Get it tuned after you move it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone purchased a used piano? A woman in my neighborhood is selling hers for a few low price, but she's doing it because she just wants it gone. It is in perfect (as far as I can tell) condition. It is 30-40 years old. It is a Cable-Nelson, and she's asking $300.00 for it, which seems to be a steal. Would you buy such an old instrument? I have 3 kids, and I want them to learn on it. Should one of them develop a strong interest, we'd upgrade at some point in the future. Right now, they are all under 6, so who knows what will happen in the future.

That era of Cable-Nelson means it's likely a Chinese-built Yamaha piano. Not that that's BAD, but it's worth researching the history of the brand...

http://www.total-piano-care.com/cable-nelson-pianos.html

No they made the chinese models in 2007; american made ones halted production in 1981

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone purchased a used piano? A woman in my neighborhood is selling hers for a few low price, but she's doing it because she just wants it gone. It is in perfect (as far as I can tell) condition. It is 30-40 years old. It is a Cable-Nelson, and she's asking $300.00 for it, which seems to be a steal. Would you buy such an old instrument? I have 3 kids, and I want them to learn on it. Should one of them develop a strong interest, we'd upgrade at some point in the future. Right now, they are all under 6, so who knows what will happen in the future.

That era of Cable-Nelson means it's likely a Chinese-built Yamaha piano. Not that that's BAD, but it's worth researching the history of the brand...

http://www.total-piano-care.com/cable-nelson-pianos.html

I’d get a tuner to look at it first (we did this, buying one used). Then decide. It could be a piece of crap if it hasn’t been maintained and tuned regularly.

30-40 years old is not old for a piano.

I agree with the PP- if you don't know anything about pianos, then get a tuner to go look at the piano. You don't want to pay to move the piano, and then it turns out that the soundboard is cracked or something.

I couldn’t give mine away. And it cost $500 to move it to my house initially. Piano movers charge per stair so get a price first.

A 40 year old piano is nothing. The one I play on is almost 100 years old. Have a tuner look at it if you can. Most of the guys of a piano can be repaired or replaced.

Just FYI though, there are many free ones out there, with the condition that you haul it.

Sure. Get good movers ($$) and hire a tuner. Ideally hire a tuner before you buy the piano to go look at it first.

Has anyone purchased a used piano? A woman in my neighborhood is selling hers for a few low price, but she's doing it because she just wants it gone. It is in perfect (as far as I can tell) condition. It is 30-40 years old. It is a Cable-Nelson, and she's asking $300.00 for it, which seems to be a steal. Would you buy such an old instrument? I have 3 kids, and I want them to learn on it. Should one of them develop a strong interest, we'd upgrade at some point in the future. Right now, they are all under 6, so who knows what will happen in the future.