Yamaha U3

[honda]

I got a letter about a school of music (university) that's selling Yamaha pianos of various kinds. I'm planning to see if they have any U3 that are in good conditions. The letter I received said that most pianos they're selling are less than 1 year old, have been "meticulously maintained", and come with "full manufacturer warranties" (not sure for how long).

How much would be a reasonable price for pianos coming from music schools that may be extensively used within 1 year? It feels like buying an one-year-old car that has been used as a rental - pretty new but high mileage. I'm located Baltimore/Washington area.

[lhorwinkle]

It's my understanding that these music school/university sales are a poor choice for buying a piano.

Pianos at such institutions are heavily used, and they take a beating.  Many of them will get more use in a couple of weeks than a home piano might get in a year. The pianos they show might be polished and shiny on the outside, but only a piano technician can properly evaluate the condition.

Also, I doubt that many of those pianos are only a year old.

And how can you be sure you'll get a warranty?  The warranty comes from the manufacturer, not the music school or the local piano dealer who sold the pianos to the school. So who can speak for the manufacturer regarding the warranty? The warranties on most pianos are NOT transferable to a second owner.

Finally, I've often heard that the prices are no better than what you'd find at a piano dealer.

Considering all of the above, I would never consider this buying scheme.

[honda]

Thank you very much for the reply. I just found that these pianos are on loan to the schools by a dealer, so it's actually the dealer who's selling them rather than the school, that's why warranty can be provided.

A link below talks about the college sale that is actually not done by the college:
https://www.keyartspianohouston.com/college.html