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I've decided on purchasing a used Boston baby grand and have found a few options from a well known local authorized dealer as well as craigslist. Trying to gauge which option is best. I've played all 4 pianos and they all sound / feel good, but I'm not a professional musician so I'm not really sure what to watch out for. I'm just looking to purchase a piano for my new home as I played when I was younger and hope my kids will also enjoy playing. Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!

1) 2014 Boston GP 163, performance edition, $19,990 (pre-tax), sold by local dealer so assuming its been professionally inspected

2) 2013 Boston GP 156, performance edition, with player, $15,000 (pre-tax), sold by local dealer

3) 2006 Boston GP 163, $10,000 (no tax), sold by private dealer on craigslist, first owner and assuming its in good condition. but i haven't gotten it professionally inspected. she bought it in 2007 for $19,900

4) 2015 Boston GP 163, $16,200 (no tax), sold by private dealer on craigslist, first owner and assuming its in good condition. but i haven't gotten it professionally inspected. and its currently sitting in storage (i think for about a month). she bought it in 2016 for $28,000

One question: for the CL pianos, what do you mean by “private dealer” — do you just mean private seller?

Ok now to the pianos... I live the Boston grands a lot, but I liked the 163s a lot more than the 156... so just plug for the slightly larger one

The CL pianos definitely need to be inspected by a professional. Most people will recommend that a used piano sold by dealer should also be inspected by an independent piano tech, but I know not everyone does that.

For the pianos at the dealer’s, have you tried negotiating? Have you confirmed whether the price includes warranty, delivery, first tuning?


Beyond that, what did you do to test-play each piano?

What is the maximum size you can fit in your music room? The only reason I mention this is I feel there's a significant "bump" in performance once you get to the model 178 over its smaller siblings. The years where these pianos saw design/hardware updates were 2009 and 2016, according to this brand profile:

https://www.pianobuyer.com/brand/boston/

If you're looking at the 163 sized Boston, I would expand your search to also include the one inch longer Kawais: GE-30, GL-30, RX-1, and GX-1 (the models varied based on year and feature set), or the next bigger size, including the GX-2, RX-2, and GL-40. For that matter, you could also include the 5'8" Yamaha GC2/C2/C2X and the 5'3" GC1/C1/C1X. I'm a lot more open minded about brands, though, and in all my piano searches have never focused on shopping only one brand of instrument.

It's hard to evaluate a used piano over the internet, based on a sentence or two description (sorry-- not trying to be dismissive). Pictures and recordings could be useful. Playing the piano in person and hearing it being played are most important, along with an independent tech inspection of your top contender (if used) to ensure all is in order, prior to purchase.

I was wondering about the "private dealers" on CL as well, Dr. ShiroKuro. There are piano dealers who advertise on CL frequently, and sometimes pose as private sellers. But there is a big difference between private sellers and private dealers, on CL, I would think.

Also, if the CL dealer doesn't charge sales tax, that sounds odd to me, and not necessarily above board. Makes me think if they are skirting around the tax laws, what else are they skirting around, or misrepresenting.

If it is indeed a private seller, I can see not charging sales tax.

This may be getting OT here, but not long ago, in the state of Georgia, lots of people were selling used cars/trucks out of their homes/yards. They would find a good deal on a used car, buy it, and flip it for a profit. This was happening a lot. So much so, that the state legislature changed the motor vehicle tax laws so that even if a private seller sold a used vehicle, the buyer would have to pay sales tax (on the value of the vehicle, not the sales price) to the state to get the tag and title work done. That helped to curtail the back-yard used car sellers a good bit.

Back to this thread, and private sellers vs. used piano dealers, CL or otherwise, there is a big difference.

To the OP, welcome to Piano World! I'd go with the Boston grand piano you like the best, whether it is the lowest price or the highest price.

Good luck!

Rick

Sorry, I meant private SELLER, not dealer. So hence, no sales tax.
For the local authorized dealer, the prices that i've provided have NOT been negotiated on and include 3 year warranty as well as 10 year opportunity to fully trade in for Steinway upgrade.

If money is an object, and you have a tendency toward being frugal, I'd take a close look at this one:


3) 2006 Boston GP 163, $10,000 (no tax), sold by private dealer on craigslist, first owner and assuming its in good condition. but i haven't gotten it professionally inspected. she bought it in 2007 for $19,900

That is, if you have no interest in the 10 year Steinway trade up policy from the dealers. As for the warranty, if the piano was going to have major issues, it would likely have revealed itself by now on the 2006 GP 163.

You would be looking at roughly half the cost of new, yet still a later model piano and a one-owner. By all means, have it inspected by a qualified piano tech.

Good luck, and keep us informed!

Rick

Just chipping in: it is ~67% of the original price, not 50%.
buying from private seller with no tax means you have to compare to the original NET price. SO if she bought it for 19,990 incl. tax, then the net price was around $15,000. So she is selling it at ~67% of new price ($10,000/$15,000) - not such a good deal for a 13 year old Boston.

The prices seem rather high to me.

$15K for a a 160 cm grand, I don't think so.

I would shop some more.

Don't put too much emphasis on the Steinway upgrade unless you are willing to pay top dollar for them.

I think once you mention full value trade in there is very little room to negotiate.

Personally I’d go for option 4. Get your tech to inspect it and if it’s a go, arrange delivery have it tuned maybe 2 months after delivery and enjoy. It’s only 4 years old. I’m assuming you like it as much as the others. After 4 years, if there’s anything wrong that would be covered under a dealer or Boston warranty, it would have happened already. Best Wishes on your piano journey!

That just means you don't like short grands. I think the more relevant question is if the price is good/reasonable for the make/year/condition of the piano and if the OP likes it.