Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Would you buy 1973 Yamaha C3 grand-lightly used for $1600?!

Is this the deal of the century, or a potential money pit? I just responded to an ad on Craigs list for a Yamaha C3 grand, purchased in 1973 and, according to the ad, "in excellent condition with very little wear and tear." They are only asking $1600! The photos showed it to look very nice,(satin ebony finish), and sitting in what appeared to be a nice, spacious living room, so I assume it was used in a home setting, where it did not get overused or abused. It sounds like they were the original owners. However, I realize that this was pretty early for yamaha pianos in this country. Was the quality high back then--is it likely to have aged well?
We were originally shopping for a good used full-sized upright, but I keep seeing good deals on grands on CL. And this is the best one yet.

By the way--I just have to tell you all about a fantastic, unbelievably beautiful piano performance we just heard this evening that has made us really salivating for a good grand piano. It was given by a 10 year- old, very gifted boy at a local Kawai dealer's store. (We just happened to be there today when they told us about the free concert at their store.)This young boy, who, by choice practices 7 hours a day, gave a magnificent performance of Chopin, Brahms, Schumann and Rachmaninoff on the store's C. Bechstein concert grand. It was unbelievably awesome! It made me (almost) ready to mortgage my house to buy a top quality grand piano! (What a great marketing strategy for the store, LOL, --and they announced that they were opening up a third store location, too, so evidently they are doing very well (while the Bloomingdales in the same mall is going out of business!)
Well, I realize that a $1600 yamaha c3 grand from 1973 isn't a C. Bechstein (nor is my daughter's playing ability ever likely to get close to this young boy's (she only practices 30 minutes to an hour each night, afterall LOL) I wonder if it would be better than a good used upright, like the new Kawai K3 my daugther tried in the store and loved.
What do you all think?

Almost every seller says their piano is in "excellent condition". Few actually are.
For that price, it could well be a scam, or a piano that's got a serious problem, or a seller that honestly doesn't know what they have.

Was the C3 even a model in 1973? I thought it would have been a G3, but I could be mistaken. I know both lines coexisted for a period of time.

Anyhow, I would proceed with caution, and hire an independent technician to evaluate the piano prior to purchase if you like it after auditioning the instrument. Be sure to budget appropriately for ongoing maintenance of the instrument, and the possibility of some repairs if it's an older one.

Forget "aged well". It will have been played in, sure, but at that age condition is very important. If it was played moderately throughout its lifetime, it may well have had some wear and tear. The price, well, it seems so good (if it is in good condition, no defects) it could be almost a scam Definitely get a tech to check it out, and you will have to go and see it in person and play it. Lots of people say that older Yamaha pianos are all too bright and tinny and thin sounding, you will have to decide that yourself. I don't think so though. The quality would have been very similar to today's new C series, although the designs have been updated since then. Yamaha's are very nice pianos, although you will need to make sure it will not be a potential money pit. This piano has potential. Good luck

Yes. I'd jump on it, as long as you have money to bring it to proper playing condition.

Be careful, because a similar ad that turned out to be a scam, made the rounds on here a few months back. If they want you to purchase sight unseen, forget it, it's a scam. They will have some excuse such as it's wrapped up in a warehouse, etc. They will want you to pay what you think is a fantastic price and it will turn out to be $1600 spent for nothing. I could be wrong, but proceed with caution.

Ask for a serial number and its location. If its in their home and the serial number matches the supposed date, check it out ASAP, with a technician.

The same ad is running both in the Charleston WV Craigslist - as well as the Mohave County, Arizona Craigslist. Looks very much like a scam to me.

http://charlestonwv.craigslist.org/msg/2796194589.html

http://mohave.craigslist.org/msg/2796626190.html

Rule of thumb - never buy or put money down on anything like this sight unseen.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-C3-C..._DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e691fc7bd

San Francisco in the ebay, also on York PA and Seattle craigslist

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/msg/2795917180.html

That same or similar ad pops up on the Atlanta CL quite often.

One way you can tell if it is a scam or not is to contact the seller and tell them you are interested, have cash in hand and a mover in tow. See what they say.

A smokin deals does come up on CL occasionally, but you really have to be careful.

Good luck.

Rick

Thanks so much, everyone!!!!! IT is definitely a SCAM then--I checked out the links some of you posted from other areas' Craigslist, and they are exactly the same as the one I saw posted on the Baltimore Craigslist! I will report them to Craigslist, and include the links you gave me. What a shame that Craigslist is becoming so full of scam artists, either that post scam ads or that replay to them.
Shortly after I posted my original post, I went to Rick Jones web site, and sure enough, they also had a C3 from 1973 listed at about $15,000! So I started wondering if the ad's poster had just forgotten a zero on the end of the price! Well- now I know better. Thanks everyone so much. Forewarned is forearmed.
And you saved me from chasing after the impossible dream.

Well, if it is any consolation to you, I’ve chased a few impossible piano dreams myself!

A few months ago I saw an ad on CL about a Mason & Hamlin Model 50 upright from the early 1960’s for $900; needless to say, it caught my attention. It was not too far from my location, maybe 35 miles. So, I call the seller and he tells me this story about the piano being in his family for years and now he has no room for it in his downsized new house.

There was not a picture on the ad and I assumed the owner knew what he was talking about… a M&H model 50 is a 50" upright… I don’t know of another M&H model 50 that is not 50” tall. So, I schedule an appointment to go look at it and, low and behold, it was a M&H alright, but a 36” spinet from the 1950’s. So much for a 50” upright. Don’t know here the guy got the idea of model 50.

Of course, I’ve been on more than one piano wild goose chase!

Rick

Looks like it "sold" on eBay for almost $9K (seller claims to be in San Francisco area). I agree that it seems like a scam with all of the identical CL postings around the country, but what exactly is the scam that this guy is pulling? Thanks for any info!

The fact that it “sold” on eBay means nothing. I had a piano advertized at auction on eBay once, and it “sold”… got a notice from eBay that the buyer was suspicious and to be careful. I got an email from the alleged buyer that he needed my PayPal account and password to send me the money. Wow… I was born at night, but it wasn’t last night.

One of the common scams is for the fraudulent buyer to offer to send you a bogus but real looking cashier’s check for more than the amount of the sale and request legitimate funds back to them. Another is to get you to send earnest money or full payment without ever seeing the piano.

Those are the ones I’m familiar with, but I’m sure there are others.

Be careful out there...

Rick

I am wondering if these scam artists just copy photos and the info off of a legitimate ad from ebay, and then post them on Craigslist. (I say this because the ebay ad actually had a name and phone number of the seller and offered that people could come and try the piano out before bidding. The seller had 59 positive ratings, as well. ) Wow. Afterall, the scam artist probably doesn't have a piano of his own to photograph.

The ad for this piano makes a good first impression. It identifies the make, model, year and condition. $1600 is an excellent price, so much so it sounds a little too good to be true. If it has been tuned and you don't notice any defects you can call the last tuner for a conditions report. If he says it is ok, it is probably good.

So Sock Puppet - I'm assuming you didn't take the time to read the entire thread .......

That's a good story Rickster. I once responded to an ad that was advertising a "Knabe Grand" piano. I called the number, the guy just didn't know anything about it but said it was a piano and I could come over and look at it. When I got there, which was a 20 mile drive btw, it was a "Grand" brand piano (one of the worst, cheapest American made pianos ever) and it was a spinet piano. I asked the guy where he came up with Knabe since the piano didn't say Knabe and on the fall board was the word Grand. I could sort of see why he said it was a Grand piano, but Knabe? He said, "What, didn't I describe it right? What should I have said?" This guy was truly ignorant of anything piano. I actually wrote down a proper description for him and told him he should resubmit the ad with this wording and a photo or two. Some people know absolutely nothing about music. But on the other hand, I know absolutely nothing about Astrology, Physics, Engineering, and many other subjects.

Oh yes, the notorious “Grand-Brand” upright… I think there has been more confusion with that particular “brand” than any other that I know of…

I too have seen some ads for the “Grand-Brand” uprights… is that the same as an upright grand?

And, you are right, some sellers know little or nothing about music or pianos they may find themselves in possession of… others know and distort the facts… some are downright fraudulent.

Rick