Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum is this a good price for a new Kawai K3?

I am new to PW. This is only my second post after having lurked around for a number of weeks.

I've been quoted a price of CAD$6,400 for a new Kawai K3 by a Kawai dealer serving the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The price includes all taxes (13% federal and provincial), delivery, height adjustable bench and the standard one free in-home tuning. I can appreciate that it is difficult to compare prices for different markets, but I would welcome any comments on whether the price I've been given is reasonable.

The piano is for my nephew who has been taking lessons for about a year. Since he can already pound out a few tunes, we had him try a number of different pianos including Yamaha, Hailun, Baldwin, Grotrian, Young Chang and Rittmuller. He chose the K3. He said he preferred the sound of the Kawai over the Yamaha U1 (new).

Thanks!

Can't comment on price, but we recently played a K3 next to a U1 and completely agree. Touch and sound definitely better (for us) on the K3.

if you join some group purchase (10 people buy same model), the price will be CND 600~700 cheaper, but it takes time, i am also waiting for the group to be organized

this one already going on for 2mth, but no result yet, i am watching it:
http://www.rolia.net/f/listSingleThread.php?isHot=1&tno=602918&f=0&b=20&c=2450&

Hello, KRT and welcome,

CAD$6400 would be about $5820 US. Compared to other prices I've seen here, that's pretty good, especially since you're paying higher taxes and you're getting a better bench. I don't know anything about import taxes or other costs that would be different in Canada. Just be sure the nephew's had ample opportunity to sample as many pianos as possible. Then, compare the top choices. I like the K-3. If it's indeed his pick, it sounds like a better than fair deal (from a US point of view.) Maybe there's someone here with better knowledge of the Canadian market.

Charles

In Southern California, $5820 in US dollars would be overpaying for a K-3. I've seen them marked at two different dealers for $4990.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

dong_xin00, I will check out the link you provided.

ChasT, I thought the price was quite fair as well, but I wanted to see what PW posters thought. After all, I did all of my research about piano buying from PW and Larry Fine's book!

Gary, thanks for the info about the K-3 in SoCal. It's always interesting to see the difference in pianos prices in different markets. Problem with Toronto is that there is only one Kawai dealer, so there isn't much competition!

I will post an update when we decide.

KRT,

Check with other Kawai dealers in the neighbouring cities. You can get a better price.

Good luck.

That does make a difference. Within 40 miles of my home there are at least 4 Kawai dealers.

Be careful comparing to $US prices - remember you have to remove taxes and convert from $CDN - I put your piano offer at around $5100 $US. There used to be an import duty in Canada that did not apply in the US. I'm unsure what the current situation is. Long & McQuade had their K3's recently listed at $5995 - which I thought was a good deal for a fine piano.

Hello,

I noticed this thread precisely because I'm considering a Kawai K3 for my sons. They have all outgrown the perfectly workable starter piano (a rebuilt Wurlizer for $500). Hey, when they started, we didn't know if they would stay interested for more than a year. After 6 years, well...I guess they are interested. Of course, their piano teacher said, "Get a grand piano if you can." But we just don't have the space or the budget.

The geek in me likes the idea of high-tech composites in the Kawai pianos and, more importantly, my sons seem to like the sound of them more when we compared a couple of Yamahas with Kawais.

So, this is the latest quote from a dealer near us.

-Price: $4899 (if in cash)
-No sales tax
-No moving charge (in exchange for the starter piano)

It seems to be a very good price. Opinions?

Oh, and we took a look at a K5 too but I think it is probably out of our budget (although it sounded really nice).

Mr. Peabody

Good piano. great price.

Do you get any free tunings?

Try to negotiate a lower price, it can't hurt. Any savings you get off the dealer's offer can go towards tuning it later in the year.

Howdy again,

About the tunings, it is now at 3 free tunings. I appreciate the comments. It is such a huge financial and emotional purchase to buy a better piano for my boys. I may have made a mistake in letting them try out the K5 at another dealer. They really liked that one but the K5 would really stretch our budget.

Earlier in our search we found a new Baldwin 52" upright (B252) that one dealer quoted as being $5200. We were very tempted as the tone of that piano was best of the moderately priced uprights (probably because of it was the tallest upright in the store). My wife and I are a bit leery about the Chinese-built Baldwins as there really isn't a track record on durability (and thus its resale value). Hey, it might turn out to be a great piano but we didn't want to be the test group for that. So, we decided not to go that route.

Unless something dramatic happens (I keep looking at Craigslist), we may just go with the Kawai K3. I'm just wrestling with the price. I'm sure that is true of anyone buying pianos.

Mr. Peabody

Update.

With the help of a fellow PW poster, we were able to locate a Kawai dealer outside of the GTA who quoted us CAD$6,000 for the K-3. This price includes all taxes, shipping and first in-home tuning.

Thanks to everyone for your comments, and thanks especially to the PW poster who PM'ed me with the name of the out-of-town Kawai dealer.

KRT,

Great to hear that you finally found a good deal, congratulations to your nephew who has a lovely aunt that found him a piano that he likes !

Regards.

Hi KRT,

I am thinking about to buy the K3. I was quoted CAD6350. Can you please email me your dealer? My email address is wynwyy@hotmail.com.

Thank you very much.

Hi KRT,

Thank you very much for your information.

Best regards.

Just wondering if anyone has experience purchasing a K3 in Vancouver, BC, Canada? I only know of one dealer in the area and the "sale" price of the K3 is around CDN$6700 plus tax if I remember correctly.

I am an adult beginner and am still debating whether to get a digital (waiting for the Kawai CA63/93 to show up in Canada) or an acoustic (K3 is a possible choice).

Thanks,
Tony