How much should I pay? As far as used, you could pay anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. The asking price is often not proportional to it's condition. You have to look at it carefully because the seller may have no idea of it's actual playing condition or value.

• Open it up and see how dirty and worn the moving parts are. We found a piano few years ago that had set in a farm house for about 25 years. The case looked typical for it's age but the inside was like new. This instrument had hardly been played (and probably never tuned). It took 3 tunings to get it up to pitch and hold solid. But it was a real bargain.
• If the hammers have deep grooves in the felt or signs of moth-eaten felt avoid it or plan on spending $200 to have the hammers reconditioned.
• If the tuning pins (where the strings attach to the round pins) or strings are rusty avoid it. If it looks like someone has put any liquid on the pins (to cover rust signs) it's ready for the trash.
• If some keys don't play it could be anything from an easy fix to a sign that other keys are about ready to break also. This one is difficult to call and we can't always tell without a lengthy examination of the instrument. In the majority of cases, a few keys that don't play are a very minor problem.
• Look in the moving parts from above and below the keyboard (If it's a vertical-style piano, remove the big board in front of your knees by pushing up on a lever at the top of the board and tilt it toward you and lift up). If you see any plastic pieces, this may indicate a problem potential. There are some models that had plastic parts that will fail after some time. If it's only the elbows, (that hook onto a wire attached to the end of the keys) they can be replaced effectively for about $150. If there are plastic moving parts down in the action you better skip this one. If it's a grand piano, you will need a flashlight. Slide out the music shelf and look down into the hammers and moving parts noting excess wear.
• Look at the sound board (pull it away from the wall and take a flashlight behind it) to see if there are any significant cracks. Cracks can be dealt with to some extent. If there are any cracks, it certainly gives you bargaining power. Cracked sound board affects the sound but doesn't necessarily render it useless. If you see any cracks in the sound board, you will want to get a professional opinion before making any financial commitment to this instrument.
• Try the keys to see if they are sluggish. If so this could cost about $50 to $100 to remedy.
• Press the key slowly while watching the hammer. If the hammer does not move right away, but starts moving after the key has gone down a bit, this will require some action regulation (usually $75) to adjust each key to respond as designed.
• Press the right pedal (sustain), play all the keys, then release the pedal. If some of the notes keep sounding after release of the pedal there are problems with the dampers. Damper regulation is tricky and can be very time consuming. Cost of damper replacement varries by model.
• And finally, you may want to have a tuner/technician evaluate the instrument. We've seen people pass a bargain by for relatively minor problems. On the other hand, we've seen people purchase a used instrument that cannot reasonably be repaired. Good advice can be a bargain.