steinway back

[James Grebe]

Hi Wim,
You can see the variety of opinions.  He told her it was worth about $1500
now, and before the damage around $18,000.  The piano was not exactly
pristine before this happened either.  The straight side was dried and
bleached out from the sun coming in the window.
    It will be interesting to see how this played out.  She bought it
originally when I worked for Mr. Hand for a little over $3,000 in the early
70's.  Pretty good appreciation of price, huh.

James Grebe
R.P.T. of the P.T.G
pianoman@inlink.com
Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups and Practical Piano Peripherals in
St. Louis, MO
-----Original Message-----
From: Wimblees@AOL.COM <Wimblees@AOL.COM>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Thursday, November 12, 1998 9:25 PM
Subject: Re: steinway


>In a message dated 98-11-11 20:31:42 EST, you write:
>
><< To my knowledge the owner of the Steinway store has still not had a
> technician look at this piano.  The other competitor she called is on this
> list.  So what my question is, is this.  It used to be said that Steinway
> would not rebuild their own instruments older than 50.  I'm thinking now
> that me this was never so.  If it was and is, when did that policy
change?.
> I wonder how piano store owners can accumulate all this much more
knowledge
> than technicians and come out as the ultimate authority.  This whole deal
is
> starting to smell to me.  What do you think.
> James Grebe >>
>
>
>Jim:
>
>I did look at the piano, and I recommend that the piano get a new pin block
>and strings, and be refinished. I find water had dripped on a part of the
pin
>area, and that not only would the strings rust, but if enough water had
gotten
>into the pin block, it would be effected. As far as the finish, I told the
>lady that we could refinsih just the parts that were damaged, but the rest
of
>the piano would not look the same. She never questioned me about it. The
other
>thing that needs to be done is the keys cleaned and polished. I don't think
>they need to be rebushed.
>
>She talked to me at great lenghts about the value of the piano, and if it
was
>worth restoring, as oposed to buying a new one. I told her that if she
wanted
>to spend the extra money to buy a new one, she would have that option, but
>that it would be much less expensive to restore this piano, and she would
have
>an excellent intrument. And besides, I told her, the insurance company
would
>never pay for a new piano. The value of the piano, in my opinion, before
the
>damage was about $10,000, and that after the repairs are made, would be
around
>$15,000. I told her the piano would be worth around $3500 in its current
>condition. As I was leaving she told me the Steinway dealer had stopped by
and
>told her the piano was totaled, and that she needed to buy a new piano. She
>did not appear to want to do that.
>
>Willem
>