Petrof 6'4"

[Fingerz_Xtrodinair]

I am a Student at the Univeristy of Miami and I am in the market for a new piano. I have a couple pianos on my mind, a Petrof PIII which is 6'4" in length, and a Yamaha C3 which is 6'1". Both pianos are in very good condition the Petrof is brand new and is on sale for 17,000 where as the Yamaha is 8 years old and is on sale for 15,000. I was wondering if anyone had any information on what kind of prices i should be looking at for these pianos.

[Axtremus]

Are you Ron56's student?
Anyway, I added my Petrof comment HERE.

In your case, the Yamaha C3 has the advantage of being (1) a time-proven war horse (meaning the model has been around for a long time and has established a good long-term track record) and (2) cheaper.

The Petrof III have the advantage of being (1) three inches longer (size does matter) and (2) new.

The C3's price should be largely determined by its condition. Based on that, it may or may not worth $15k. (Assuming good condition, my gut feeling, still, is that you should still have a bit of room to negotiate further.) Also, if you're going to buy a used piano (ANY used piano), hire an independent piano technician (one not affiliated to the seller) to check it out for you before you buy (just like you'd hire an independent mechanic to check out a used car for you before you buy).

New Petrof III -- compare that to new RX-3 (6'1") going for around $18k and new RX-5 (6'6") going for around $20k, you're probably okay at $17k.

Price is one thing, but I think it's more important to buy the one you like best -- because you'll have to play it for years to come, probably long after you've forgotten what price you've paid for the piano in the first place.

Good luck.