[FastCarFan]

About 9 years ago we bought a small grand. My wife is a great piano player. We wanted a small grand & we went to the local Steinway dealer to see what (non-Steinway) pianos they had. We had heard great things about Steinways, but we didn't want to spend that much. I think at that time the cheapest Steinway grand was $26,000.

I am not easily "sold" by salespeople's pitches. But, wow, this guy was good. By the time he was done, with all of his cut-aways & other props showing the construction methods (& comparing it to mass produced Asian pianos), we walked out of there thinking you would be an idiot for buying anything other than a Steinway. Their construction is really quite impressive. They are hand-built in very small numbers, compared to the Asian pianos which are factory built in huge numbers. In a nutshell, the high price of a Steinway is justified.

We still didn't want to pay that much, so we started looking for a used Steinway. My wife spoke with a piano technician & he warned us about used Steinways. He said many people want to have a Steinway for the snob value. Some don't even play piano -- they just want a Steinway as a piece of furniture. But over the years, as something needs to be repaired or maintained, they don't want to pay the relatively high cost of genuine Steinway parts, so they fix it using cheap parts. Or, they simply do not maintain the instrument properly. Over time, it becomes something less than a Steinway. Like putting cheap AutoZone parts in a classic 911 or not maintaining it properly.

As previously recommended, any used piano should be thoroughly checked out before purchase. A PPI, like with a used Porsche.

Interestingly, I think of a Steinway much like I think of a Porsche. Both are worth the $ & can cost a lot to maintain. But both offer true excellence & satisfaction, qualities often lacking in products today.

So what did we buy? We ended up getting a new Boston grand. Boston is a joint-venture project between Steinway & Kawai (sp?). Essentially the piano is designed by Steinway & produced by Kawai. It is not hand-built, so it is significantly less expensive. But the quality & design is very good. You can read all about Boston pianos & where they are used on the Steinway Website.

My wife loves it. She likes the action & responsiveness of the keys & the warmth of the sound. Plus, if we ever want to trade it in on a Steinway they will give us 100% for what we paid for it toward a new Steinway. She is very pleased with her Boston. It sounds & looks beautiful.