New Kawai K300 or 1985 Kawai KG 2D?

[musica notturna]

I´m about to buy my first acoustic piano. After a fair amount of research, I locked on the Kawai K300, a new piano with decent reviews that fits my budget. But now I have found a 5'10 baby grand Kawai KG-2D for the same price. Of course, a grand piano will be superior to an upright, but being a 35 year older instrument will it be in need of repairs and extra care shortly down the line? What would you personally go for?

[dogperson]

The first thing is: you need to play both of them; how do they sound and feel to you?  Which one do you prefer?  I would never assume that a grand is going to be superior to an upright.  Play the same music on both. Listen from the lowest notes to the highest notes by playing all the keys.

If you are still interested in the grand, You must get an independent tecnician to evaluate the piano. Condition is everything but no one can tell what that will be just based on the age.  You will find out what work the piano has had and what it will need. Expect to pay between $100-150 USD.   If you live in the US, you can search for a technician who is a member of the Piano Technician’s Guild at PTG.org.  You should do this even if you were buying from a piano dealer.

[musica notturna]

Thanks for the input. I will go and play them both. But being my first acoustic piano I'm not too confident about my feeling for the instrument.
I'll take your advice with the technician.

[dogperson]

Thanks for the input. I will go and play them both. But being my first acoustic piano I'm not too confident about my feeling for the instrument.
I'll take your advice with the technician.

In addition, but not a substitute for your playing them yourself, get the salesman to play them for you so you have one more exposure to listening.