Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Pondering Purchase of Yamaha GB1K

Hello Forum.
Newbie here...
Thinking about buying a GB1K for our soon to be 3 yr old, realizing that she may be a year or 2 away from playing, but thinking it will make a nice piece of furniture for our living room while waiting
Anyways, local dealer seems to be stuck at ~8900 plus delivery plus tax (~9700 fully loaded).
Seems about average from what I can tell from scanning the forum, but would love your input on this price. They also had a left over GB1 but only ~500 less (of course that was before negotiating that one).
I was tempted to think about a used one (i.e. 10 yr old Boston 156 that is a town away for about 8000) but we are to piano niave, so figured going the new route would be the safest.
thanks in advance and great forum!
ellie

Usually pianos depreciate in value, so I'm not sure why you want to buy one sooner than when you have use for it? Is it because you're afraid of price increases?

in addition to the decorative aspect I have this secret desire to learn how to play too!

Now that's a good reason!

It sounds like you've been at this a while. Was the Yamaha your preferred sound among pianos in that price range? I only ask because the GB1K is among the smaller grands made. There are several slightly larger grands from other makers (still new) in that price range, and we see many people who select grands < 5' who wish they'd gotten just a little bigger the first time around.

I thought it sounded great! but i also thought the cable nelson did, so what do i know???

If you check out the online edition of pianobuyer.com page 247, the SMP for a GB1K polished ebony is about $12.6K. So your quoted $9K is about 30% below the SMP, which is probably within the expected range of discount.

That's also a good reason to buy it. Enjoy your piano.

The GB1K is a fine instrument and you are getting a great price. The GB1 may be even a better bet as I think it may have been made in the US or Japan? A Yamaha dealer could confirm that. Therefore, you may be getting a better-assembled piano albeit probably with the same parts. The Cable Nelson baby grand is a Yamaha GB1K without the words "Yamaha", to my understanding.

I'd go look at the Boston. It's a little more technically sophisticated and a little larger. Is it from a dealer or a private party? If private party, you won't be paying tax. You'll have to allow money for delivery. If you like the Boston, have a tech with no connection to the seller check it out for you. That should cost around $75 - $150. There are four Boston 156's on Pianomart.com between 1998 and 2002. The asking prices range from $7500 to $12,000. (Good luck on the $12K.)

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Charles

PS: If you do like the Boston, be sure to get the serial number. Someone here will check the age for you. Sometimes, people miss a few years when selling a used piano. CT

Resist all tendencies of many on this forum to push you into a piano that cost twice your initial budget. It's pointless for a beginner to buy a big grand piano. Take your annual income and buy something no more than 10% of what you make. Pay cash. Drive a hard bargain at your dealer. If 10% of your annual income more than covers a GB1, then you should look at bigger pianos than the GB1. If 10% of your income only can buy you an upright, then get an upright. Piano depreciate in value. Buy what you can take advantage of in the next few years. Most beginners sound more or less the same on a $5,000 piano or a $50,000 piano.

I would prefer a brand new GB1 to a 10-year-old Boston 156. If the Boston 156 was brand new, then that's definitely better.

Pianos are not necessities. You should feel comfortable buying one and half to two of whatever you choose with cash, then buy one.

I wouldn't rule buying a slightly used or reconditioned piano as your first one. You can get more bang for your buck, then go for the dream piano down the road.

thanks for all the advice, your guys are great!

we just discovered a 1yr old GB-1 for sale locally.
if in good shape, should this be considered?

the bigger question would be if a new one is 8900 (and it is the "k" model, what is a fair price for a 1 yr old with no warranty, etc??
5000? 6000? thanks!!!!

Yes, make sure you spend the $100 to $150 or so to pay a technician to check the piano over. The amount of discount you can get from brand new depends on many things but I would say $1,000 less is reasonable, more depending on how motivated the seller is. Since you will not have warranty, you absolutely need an independent tech of your own to check its conditions. My only concern is to make sure it didn't come from a school or professional loan program. Those 1-yr-old pianos can get pretty beat up. I played one on loan to the San Francisco Opera and for a 1-yr-old piano, it clearly needed a full voicing and regulation (an expensive service). The dealer admitted those guys at the Opera really "played the heck out of that thing". The dealer would not sell me that piano, since he is not willing to do the additional service, and was counting on someone who couldn't tell the difference to buy it.

Yamaha has been making GB1K for several years. You should check its serial number and make sure it is indeed one-year-old and not many more. The Find Your Yamaha Age website (http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/Text_WithCatMenu_XC.html?CNTID=12173) is a good place to start for this. Look at the chart that says pianos manufactured in Indonesia.

ok, checked out serial # and it is ok.
will have tech pay a visit.
going forward at $5800 unless someone can tell me otherwise!
thanks again for all of your support.

To me, $5800 at a 1-year-old GB1-k sounds pretty good, I'd go for it. One thing to keep in mind is that you should get something that you like the sound of. Even if you're not an expert, and are somewhat "naive," that doesn't detract from the fact that you can have a personal preference of one sound over another.

Good luck, and congrats on your Yamaha!

I wouldn't worry about what Walkaway is talking about. If the technician checks it out and gives it the thumbs up...go for it. If you have preferences for sound/touch ask the same technician to do it for you. All pianos are somewhat malleable in their touch (e.g. deeper travel of the keys) and tone (e.g. brighter vs. warmer)

Thanks again...
Just for clarification, the used one is a gb1 (no k). Also, delivery is abt 900. So with inspections and tuning, in for abt 7000 and have no official warranty. Local dealer now at 8500 and free shipping and tuning. About 9000 with tax. This is full warranty, etc.
Does not seem as clear anymore to me!!! Help!?!?!
Thanks

$900 for delivery! you need to shop around for delivery charges just like you do pianos. You could probably get it down more. Part of me thinks yeah, the warranty is an issue, but, if quality technician checked it out, shouldn't be an issue. Plus, warranties usually cover catastrophic type of issues not anything more.

I agree with Choleric here. $900 is a rip-off for a local delivery. It looks like the seller is padding up his price on you here. Dealers normally charge around $200 for a grand piano delivery only. You should ask the dealers to put you in touch with their delivery guys to see what they'd quote you. I'm sure they wouldn't mind getting some extra business outside of doing it for the dealers only.

it is a long distance delivery (700 miles)...thus the high cost. called a few places and that seems to be the going rate!