Buying an upright piano

My daughters are both pretty serious about their lessons and I want to eventually move them onto the real thing instead of their Yamaha digital.

Their teacher I'm convinced has some kind of deal with Steinway because when I asked, she immediately forwarded my email to some Steinway rep and told me I could get one for "as little as" $5000 but the "good" ones are $10,000 or $15,000. I know pianos are expensive but I find it hard to believe I can't do better than this. What brands should I look out for, and if I'm buying used, what are the key things I need to check for (i.e. wear and tear that's expensive or impossible to fix)?

oh lord never buy an upright piano, I guarantee there are ppl on Craigslist who will give them away if you get it moved

I had to pay this charity $200 to take mine

otm

If you want to drive to VA you can have my old upright piano for free.

Yeah, it seems like there are always free pianos available. The cost is in moving them and getting them tuned.

I'm really excited about the prospect of getting a piano in our new house, just have to figure out where it will fit (or rather, where the dog will live once his kennel gets displaced by the piano).

if your daughters are young and still beginners I would really, really hold off on spending $$ on a piano. If they ever want to quit it will be another reason to persuade them to stay with it. I took lessons for 8 years and probably hated 7.25. years of it. And that piano is still a permanent fixture of my parent's house.

Just from Craigslist I could have an entire room of upright pianos and old organs in a week if I could move them (and/or had the room).