Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Value of a Used Steinway Model M?

Hi everyone, I'm a primarily classical pianist, fairly seriously as a high school student but now in my mid-30s working as a physician. Just bought a house and I can finally consider getting a grand piano. I finished the RCM grade 10 exams as a teenager and hope to one day challenge the RCM ARCT performer's exam, though right now with establishing my career, I'm only playing casually, maybe 45-60 minutes a day.

There's a walnut-colored Steinway Model M near me for sale, built ~1990, all original parts, asking C$27,000 (~22,000 USD). Wondering what people think in terms of value for money for such a piano? It would be placed in the living room of a roughly 2,000 sq ft home.

I'm currently playing a Roland FP-7F digital piano which served me through medical school and residency, but I'm looking to upgrade, as I find the sound and expressiveness somewhat lacking. I've also considered the Yamaha AvantGrand N1X and Kawai NV-10 (though the latter is expensive enough in Canada that I'd rather consider a small used grand).

Straytoven:

The only way to determine the value of a used piano is to have a qualified technician examine and assess it. The M you are asking about is 30 years old which is not necessarily "old" for a quality instrument, but its current condition is paramount, and that depends upon the environment on which it has lived, the effect that environment may have had on the instrument, and the care and servicing that the piano has had over the last 30 years.

You don't indicate whether you have played this piano; if it interests you, that would be the first step. If you like the tone and the action, then the next step would be to have it examined and evaluated by a technician to ascertain whether there are any potential near-future problems. That technician could also (perhaps) help you determine whether the price is good for the piano and for the demand for such an instrument in your market area. Keep in mind that prices can vary from market to market depending upon supply and demand.

Regards,

An hour a day is nothing to scoff at!


Assuming that's a private seller, they've probably done their homework in terms of what people are asking for a piano that meets that description. That would be in the asking range in my area (metro DC). I say "asking" because one never really knows what they ultimately sell for.

Best way to get to it's true value would be to hire an independent technician (i.e. one who represents your interests) to check it out. Ideally he or she will know your local market, and also get to the bottom of its actual condition, because that's the most significant factor.

It is a plausible price-- depending on what this particular specimen looks like.

A new Steinway M in walnut costs around 99K. So using Fine's depreciation table
https://www.pianobuyer.com/article/buying-a-used-or-restored-piano-how-much-is-it-worth/
with a value of 25% of the current selling price for a 30 year old Steinway in average condition would give a value of 25K. So the price seems to be at least reasonable. As others have said your local "going rate" and condition of the piano would be major factors in deciding its value.

My comment is less about the specific piano and more about looking at a variety of options. I feel like I’m in a comparable stage of my professional life. I had truly ‘lapsed’ from the piano much more than it sounds like you have. But when I decided I was ready to buy a grand piano, I found I had quite definite preferences, and it was incredibly valuable to visit most of my local piano dealers and play as many pianos as I could, to help me understand what were the piano characteristics that I found most appealing/inspiring. I think that if you’re ready to make the upgrade, you will learn a lot, have a lot of fun, and reach a better decision FOR YOU if you invest some time in the search.

N.B. If you find a piano you love, you are likely going to play it much more than you’re playing your current DP! Or at least that’s been my experience. My new piano just makes it really hard to stop playing!

Friends:
The important question here is - are we discussing a Hamburg or an Astoria-made piano ?
In over sixty years, I've never played an American M that I liked. Never.
Karl

If you love Steinway Ms it's probably a good price if it's in good condition. I don't like American Ms either. We have a 2016 M in one of our practice rooms and it's absolutely terrible, so it's not as if the quality is getting better. I can cope with Hamburg Ms, they're generally much better than their US counterpart but it's still not a piano I would choose.

But since you've asked......

The price doesn't seem to be unreasonable, the piano is still fairly young although by 30 years old you can expect it will need at least some regulation and voicing. Check it hasn't been heavily played because that changes things somewhat. You'd best call a good technician.

I think 90+% of the pianists in the world would be thrilled to be able to own an M and it would be far better than the piano they own.

At that price level I would indeed play some other pianos for comparison to your tastes. I have a 5' 8" 1916 Mason & Hamlin. I played a 1926 Steinway M everyday for about two weeks straight. Thoroughly enjoyed the M, but my Mason outperforms the M in many ways(at least to me).

Addressing your actual question of cost. If it's a nice condition M 27k seems certainly fair. However Dr., I would prescribe you play a few pianos or at least spend hours with that M before you purchase. Congrats on your accomplished levels!

Well, I spoke up quickly re. the asking price. But since there's discussion of preferences and value, let me expand on my earlier answer.

When I mentioned the seller doing their homework, I meant that there seems to be a coalescence of asking prices in that range (people get on Craigslist--or whatever their local second hand market is--see what others are asking, and price accordingly). I didn't mean to say that an S&S M is necessarily "worth" that much. It might be, to some people, depending on condition, etc.

In that much of that number is owing to the brand name, however, a buyer would certainly be wise to see what else their money will buy. I'll provide some comparative examples, and I'll use Baldwin Artist prices for two reasons: 1) I follow Baldwin Artist prices pretty closely, so they're accurate, and 2) since they're second-hand American-made pianos, they’re reasonable apples-to-apples comparisons.

Assuming a Budget of USD 22k...

Baldwin R -- at 5'8" this is the obvious first comparison. It's a high quality piano, and good specimens are readily available for about 1/3 of the budget.

Baldwin L -- at 6'3", this model is 8" longer than the S&S M, and good specimens can be found for about half the budget.

Baldwin SF-10 -- 7 feet long! These semi-concert grands* are readily available for about 3/4 of the budget.

*Larry Fine rated the SF-10 equivalent to the Steinway B. Price aside, I can’t imagine any serious pianist who wouldn’t prefer an S&S B to an S&S M, and the SF-10 was objectively rated equivalent to an S&S B, and they’re available for 3/4 of the budget.

The market is fickle. A smart buyer can find better value. The above are just some typical examples. There are likely other examples, perhaps even Canada’s own Heintzman.

If you're in Canada, there's some Heintzman restored grands for <Can$15k at westendpiano.com in Montreal.