Factors to consider;
- Budget
- Upright/Grand
- Privately or dealer?
- Standard
Our Advice
Lots of pianos offered for sale on a private basis may need more money spent on them. Many of unrestored instruments will be in some way not suitable and would require an expert to check them over. They may require major expensive overhauls! You’ll have to consider , paying for something you probably don’t know much about, getting it transported to your home, then tuning and servicing it !! Its certainly a big gamble !
There are a lot of cheap unwanted pianos on social media with the likes of Facebook Market Place and Gumtree selling them ! The truth is most of them are for the skip ! We get phone calls daily from people offering them ever for free, spare parts ,take away ! Only buying from a reputable long established dealer will give you a piece of mind and a warranty to go along with the piano !
Top Tips:
- Take along a qualified tuner/technician to check it over. This will require a fee.
- Look at least two or three pianos before deciding.
- Make an allowance of £300-£500 for repairs and transport.
- Don’t always take it for granted that if a friend or colleague is selling their piano, it is a good instrument. If the piano turns out to be useless, not only may you be out of pocket but your friendship is on the line!
- Never Buy At Auction and avoid social media sites.
- A convenient way for dealers and general members of the public to off load their pianos is to put it in auction. Ninety per cent of pianos in the auction are there for a reason – mainly because either they are in some way deficient or may have woodworm!
- Buying from a reputable dealer is probably the safest way to purchase a piano. Many give good warranties with their pianos and piece of mind is something that should be considered.