Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum How much is a fair price for a new Kawai GX-3

The list price is like 49,000. I know these pianos are sold for significantly less than the MSRP. I saw a shop around here selling them for 34k. A huge undercut off the MSRP. I dont want to low-ball a local piano shop but at the same time, I also don't want to pay excessively. I'd hate to pay 34k for it at one shop if I know that another shop sells new for 31k. That is too much of a difference for me. Does anyone know a fair price for a new one? If I go to my local dealer to buy a new one, what is a fair amount for both the dealer and myself so that we both are happy?

Welcome to Piano World! Personally, when making a very significant, long term investment in a fine piano, I would first choose the new Kawai GX-3 that I liked most as a musical instrument rather than go for something that I could get for the cheapest price. Of course, this advice does not stop you from negotiating a fair price with the dealer.

There is always variability between new pianos of the same make and model. You could find a heavily discounted Kawai GX-3, but maybe it is a particular sample that the dealer is finding harder to sell for whatever reasons.

In brief, I would work within the price parameters for this particular make and model. Try as many as you can. Then choose the best one and negotiate from there.

Kind regards,
Robert.

Hi. Thank you for the welcome! I want to place an order with the company and buy one brand new. I have my own color that I want so my goal is to go to a dealer and order one straight from Kawai. Does this sort of thing change the price significantly? I do not want to buy any showroom model. I dont see any reason why a brand new GX3 ordered from Kawai would not be able to play as beautifully as one that I would hear in a showroom, or am I wrong? But my real reason for the post is price negotiating. I know how to haggle car prices so that both myself and the dealer get a decent transaction, but how much 'room' is on the Kawai GX line? Anyone know? I would love an idea!

A dealer who I came friendly with once told me that some buyers start at $0 and increment $100 from there until he says Yes. He didn't much care for that approach though.

The street price varies depending on where you are, the dealer, if he has a car payment, kids in college, mortgage, an expensive hobby, another job, etc...

Yes, if you order one and the piano does not have to sit on the showroom floor, you should be able to get a more favourable price.
In your case, as you want to order a special finish, then you would have to accept the piano which is delivered.

Kawai do have an excellent reputation for consistent quality control and of course your new piano would be covered by warranty

In my previous post I stated that if you can select the particular piano you prefer, that is an advantage. However, if you want to order a special finish that option is probably not available to you. Some finishes may cost more than the standard ebony gloss.

All the best for your new piano. The GX models are very favourably reviewed as they have a longer key than the RX models which improves the action response.

Robert.

That would be a mistake, IMHO. Pianos are organic. They are all a bit different from each other, even Kawai and Yamaha. If you get one that's been on the floor, it's probably had a few tunings, and some sort of regulation. That's a plus, not a minus.

"...In my previous post I stated that if you can select the particular piano you prefer, that is an advantage. However, if you want to order a special finish that option is probably not available to you. Some finishes may cost more than the standard ebony gloss..."

About four grand, last time I looked--- there goes your price advantage. Also, if you ever intend to sell, special-order finishes do not help, but may make a piano harder to sell. White, in particular, may become a white elephant. (Personally, I spent the extra money on going up one size, and sticking with black--- and it looks nice.)

But having said that, you should get what you want, and make the best of what you get. If you have negotiated a fair deal with your seller, you will have a good ally when it comes to taking care of any issues that come up--- this is an advantage that can help you out for years--- and getting a referral to a really good technician for the continuing care of your new piano.

On the other hand, if you have beat the dealer out of a fair return, he may not be so happy to see your face again later on...

An excellent tech is the big key to getting the best performance out of your new piano. If you get it fresh out of the box, all the tuning, regulation, and voicing will come out of your pocket, and almost none out of the dealer's. But, you can see that as an advantage in rearing your newborn infant instrument's developing voice through the early years, into a robust maturity. Both piano and tech will become adapted to your touch and yours alone, and to the acoustic space of your music room.

Every piano is somewhat different; that is inevitable. But before you order, give a piano of the same model and size a very thorough try-out on the dealer's sales floor, even going so far as to request that they move the instrument from the main floor into a room closer to your living-room in size, if that's possible. And certainly, request that it be tuned--- no real evaluation can be made on an out-ot-tune instrument. Best would be to give it three auditions on three different days, testing every key, every pedal, every combination, and every moving part. Be sure that you like the touch and tone as it is. These can be adjusted somewhat, but not radically, and not for long.

A skilled dealer will tell you what his best price is. And you can see that you do receive some value for it, compared to having a shipper leave you with a box on the front lawn.

I've found that most dealers are willing to take a significant amount off the MSRP for Kawais. I don't think 30-40% off list price is unreasonable. So for this one, I'd say shoot for $34K-$30K. Maybe you can do even better.

The Piano Buyer guide suggests $42,390 as the maximum price to pay, but that seems high. I'm sure some others on here have bought GX3's lately. Maybe they will chime in.

Please read the pricing information before the lists of prices in PB. You will find out that:

1. The MSRP is irrelevant.
2. Expect to get at 10%-30%off Fine's SMP.

This is true, but I've seen some dealers who will try to sell it for MSRP. I wouldn't say it's irrelevant. If you see a price on the piano, it's probably the MSRP. Most dealers aren't going to put Larry Fine's SMP on the sticker. I'm just glad there are books like Piano Buyer, and forums like these, to keep people from overpaying. Piano buying is worse than car buying. And then there are the companies (whose name I won't mention) who refuse to take anything off MSRP. Ugh.

Good luck, Marshill. I'm sure the Kawai is a great piano.

To me, this is so important that it really bears repeating. Because of the organic materials in a piano, they are all different, each has its own "voice" and touch. This is true even between two samples of the same brand, size and model. Remember, you are not buying a new car where you would expect a special-order vehicle to be identical to the new vehicle in the showroom.

You could risk being just a little disappointed that the model you order directly from the manufacturer doesn't quite measure up in tonal and touch characteristics to the model you tried on the showroom floor. As has already been stated, it is very frequently a plus buying a piano that has been on the floor and, consequently, that has been tuned more than once and perhaps has even had some regulation done to it - depending on how a dealer preps his stock. Of course, this prep can be done to any new model you order directly through a dealer, but you won't know what you're getting until the prep has been done. If it doesn't totally satisfy you, you still - most likely - may have to own the special finish piano.

Buying a "new" model from the floor, you know exactly what you're getting, not one "just like it."

Regards,

It's been a while since anyone has contributed to this thread. How about some 2023 updates! How much did you pay? How much do you feel one should pay for a GX-3? Most dealers in my area are asking $45k and some change before negotiations (but that will probably go up with the next batch).

About 30% off so roughly $32K

Sorry ... maybe I should have been more clear. The $45000 to $46000 price quote I've received from two different dealers is their discounted price that they quoted right away, prior to any attempt at negotiatons, not the MSRP of $59495 or the SMP of $54590.

So you're saying $38K which is 30% off the SMP?

Having shopped/browsed across several of the Kawai models over the last few years, including some price negotiations, I would say getting a new GX-3 in the mid-$30k’s USD is probably achievable if you go through a high-volume dealer, but probably not much lower than that. If you’re not local, the dealers will usually insist that you travel & try the instrument to ensure you like it before going the last mile on price negotiation.

Damn, it's impressive (i.e. shocking) what a difference the GX-3 is from the GX-2. I bought a 2021 GX-2 for $30k, $32k after tax, just over a year ago.

I'm in the Midwest, USA. If you managed to negotiate mid $30ks for a GX-3 in my area, I'd consider that an incredible deal. $40k-$42k or so seems much more realistic IMO.

Larry Fine gives about ten factors to explain why the sale price of a piano of a given make and model can vary from dealer to dealer (and even at the same dealer). No one except the dealer knows what the last ten people who bought a piano of a given make and model paid. And the price paid by two different people, even with the same negotiating skill, could vary at a given dealer depending on other factors.

Fine's 10-30% off SMP(MSRP is irrelevant) is a good ballpark figure for a reasonable price. If one had ten verified recent prices paid for a given piano from actual buyers, one would know what a reasonable price for that dealer would be. But no buyer has those figures.