It's cheaper to keep her...

[CJHoward]

......or is it? I've seen lots of requests for value of used pianos. Pianos dating back to the turn of the century in some cases. Many times, these request lead me to believe it is simply not worth restoring an old piano for playing purposes. Of course these questions are usually asked in regards to older mediocre or less than mediaocre instruments, and usually uprights.
   Does this thinking hold true today for your favorite Kawaii? Yamaha? Steinway? Bosendorf?? Is it worth the time and effort to restore a 1928 Steinway and Sons grand??
   

[Bob]

From what I've heard, the only part that is really "the" piano is the ironwork.  Everything else can be replaced.

Good pianos don't lose their value. 

I have no idea how much it costs to repair a piano though.  I'm am faily sure a 20k grand today will still be worth 20k in the future (maybe even more).

[wynnbear]

With the current market, it is probably only profitable to fully restore the top tier of instruments with big name recognition, Steinway, Mason & Hamlin (in the U.S.) Bosendorfer.  Perhaps some of the fine Europeans.

In the U. S. market, lesser known, but still fine pianos, like Chickering, Knabe, Sohmer,  Baldwin can be restored, but probably not much of a profit.  They are more often reconditioned and refinished.  By that I mean broken parts replaced, actions regulated and worn springs replaced, hammers & shanks replaced, new damper felt, new pinblock, restrung.  Fully restored is usually a new action and soundboard refinished with cracks shimmed at a minimum, more probably though a new soundboard too.

The older  run of the mill grand probably would not be worth the price of even a recondition and refinish.  They might make a fine instrument, but a craftsman would not do the work on spec (for sale) because he could not recover the cost of time & materials. 

If you already own such a piano, you may be able to have this level of work done for less than the cost of a new grand of good quality, but I'd think the cost would approach that of a new good quality grand.

In uprights, the story is the same, but margins are tighter, so you'll only find a few fully rebuilt Steinway and Mason & Hamlin uprights.