Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Knabe-new or Yamaha-used. Which one to buy

I am looking at getting a Grand Piano, but I am at a loss as to what to get. I don't play much, and my daughter is just now learning, so I don't know anything technical about Pianos.

I have two that I am looking at right now and I am wondering which one is the better option (yes I know that is a loaded question for some).

One is a brand new Knabe WG59 for $8,500 (plus tax since it's a store).
The other is a Yamaha G3 for $5,700, but they don't know how old it is (private seller, no tax).

Ideas, input...?? I know I am looking at two different prices, but I am wondering if the new one is worth the extra money, or if the Yamaha is a good deal in comparison with the Kanabe.

Thanks for your help!

Newer is usually better, and a G3 would be pretty old. The Yamaha should be checked out by a technician.

Has your daughter tried them? Which does she prefer?

Check out these websites: All you need is the serial number of the G3.

http://usa.yamaha.com/support/finding_age_of_yamaha_piano/
http://www.yamaha.com/ussub/piano/serialnumberlookup.html

whattobuy, maybe you should describe your priorities, budget, etc.

My daughter tried them and she likes them both. I can tell a difference (the Yamaha sounds brighter) but not dramatically so. I can't tell enough of a difference to buy one over the other based on sound (on these two, I tried a Suzuki that was awful, and I prefer these two over some others I have tried), so now I am down to value. I am hoping to get a piano between 5'4" and 6' in size and I need to stay below $10,000. I am hoping to get a piano that I won't have to replace for a long time, if at all, but I also don't want to spend more money than a Piano is worth.
I have asked the sellers of the Yamaha for a serial number so I can look up how old it is, but they haven't gotten back to me. I just wasn't sure if either of those prices ($5,700 for the Yamaha and $8,500) was good prices, fair, bad....

On cars I can look up NADA and car reviews and get a good idea on what I am getting for what I am paying. I just don't know on Pianos.

What to Buy

Here is a link to the Piano Buyer page for the current Knabe you are mentioning. The price you are reporting is quite a discount so the piano may have been around a while but still be new.

http://www.pianobuyer.com/spring14/234.html

There is a lot of information in the guide that you can use. It is advertised on this page to the left. Start there.

I'm not sure if those pianos would be the last stop.

Thanks, that link is helpful.

Michaelha, what other Pianos should I be looking at if you think those two shouldn't be the last stop? Utah doesn't seem to have many used (that is where I am looking) and most that I have found in that range of size are about $14,000 for new. I would love some other options, I'm just not finding them. Ideas? Thanks for the help by the way, I appreciate it from everyone posting. I haven't looked at Pianos before this, so I am definitely a newbie (and feeling like I am in over my head).

For that budget I'd look for a used Yamaha C2 or higher, Kawai RX2 or higher, Boston (whatever the cm conversion for 5'10" is) for Japanese pianos. Yamaha & Kawai also make some lower end, made in China or Indonesia, baby grands. I'd skip those. For European check out Petrof, Estonia, Schimmel, those are good and not too expensive. ~ 10 years old is perfect, but like a broken record around here "always hire someone that calls them self a piano tech to look at it." Around 30 years you'll probably need to do some work unless they already did. $10K might take some professional haggling skills though, but it's possible.

The Yamaha sounds like it may be old, have it checked out.
Pretty low price for the Knabe,does it have a new factory warranty? That would be a plus, also check the age.