Buying a used piano?

ok, potential budding musician....  Beginning to research used pianos.  

I know a little about pianos, we always had one at home, and took on rebuilding the felts and action when I was in my teens - but I don't play other than plinking around.

Are used pianos like used cars?   Is a used piano under $1,000 say going to be a money pit of repairs?

There are lots on Craigslist, even locally on eBay - could use some direction!

Thanks / p

I know nothing about purchasing pianos (or choosing them for that matter) but I know Seton Hall usually has a used piano sale earlier in the spring. 

There is a huge glut of used pianos these days. Nobody is buying pianos any more and dealers are going out of business. The New York Times had a heartbreaking article a year or so ago about perfectly good pianos ending up in landfills. You should be able to find an excellent used piano for a very good price. 

I got a great piano for free through the MOL classifieds for the cost of moving. It would be a good idea to check out the Seton Hall sale mentioned above. I would also consider asking the local piano tuners. I'll bet they know if people are looking to sell their piano.

We ended up buying a 350$ full size keyboard with weighted keys for our son.  It is why pianos are free now.  Less space, sounds good, and no maintenance or moving costs.  

It's easy to get a quite decent piano these days for a song (all puns intended!). In fact, if you want a nice one, I will be selling my mother's piano in the near future as we finish clearing out her house because I don't think I will ever play it again and my brother and nephew both have their own. Most likely we will do what a lot of other folks are doing and let it go for free as long as the "buyer" pays for moving it. It has led a very gentle life and has quite a nice tone. It was also tuned annually until very recently. A Hamilton upright, medium brown color (not sure what wood finish).

PeggyC email me at meg.mcgrath@gmail.com when you're ready to get rid of your Mom's!

PeggyC said:

It's easy to get a quite decent piano these days for a song (all puns intended!). In fact, if you want a nice one, I will be selling my mother's piano in the near future as we finish clearing out her house because I don't think I will ever play it again and my brother and nephew both have their own. Most likely we will do what a lot of other folks are doing and let it go for free as long as the "buyer" pays for moving it. It has led a very gentle life and has quite a nice tone. It was also tuned annually until very recently. A Hamilton upright, medium brown color (not sure what wood finish).

The cost of moving pianos diminishes their values, so it is normally a buyer's market. I didn't know about the glut kthnry speaks of, so that is further to your advantage.

Yes, it is very hard to get rid of a piano these days, so definitely a buyer's market.  Be prepared to pay for transportation (and best to get a mover who knows how to deal with pianos as they can be damaged if mishandled during transport.)  Once it is in your home, have it tuned and then you will probably need to have the tuner back fairly soon to retune it as it "settles in".  The tuner can also provide advice on care of the instrument and possibly on selecting one as suggested upthread.

I use and recommend Bob Dowling 973-743-6050 

(And this reminds me that we are overdue to get our piano tuned.)

Because of depressed piano prices it may be worth a trip to Altenburg Piano in Elizabeth to see what is there. They have new and used pianos. A used piano from them would come with a warranty. Call first to confirm hours.

For anyone who is interested in my Mom's piano, please know that it is in a house on Long Island, so that would have to be factored into moving it. Not a horrible distance from Maplewood, but there. Also, I have to double check with my brother, who owns half the piano, to make sure he's OK with letting it go on these terms. I suspect he will be, but wanted to put that caveat out there.

Other than that, I will have to look at whoever is still interested and figure out who spoke for it first. Thanks for the interest I have received!