Be careful of free pianos. Some are scams; others aren’t worth the hassle.

I get it. A piano for free? WOOHOO!

Yes, there are legit offers out there, and you can find a decent beginner / work-horse / practice piano for free if you look hard enough. But a couple things to consider:

1. You’ll want to hire piano movers. They’ll cost anywhere from $250 to $500. They’re worth every penny. Here’s how not to move a piano:

2. After you have it moved, you’ll need to have it tuned. If it’s a piano that’s been kept up well (unlikely if it’s free), you’ll only need to have it tuned once. $100-$150. If (more likely) it’s a piano that’s not been well kept, then it’ll need to be tuned at least twice, and possibly the first one will cost more because of the extra work involved in bringing a piano up to tune that hasn’t been tuned in years.

3. Watch out for scams. They’re usually too-good-to-be-true grand pianos in excellent condition. They say somebody died and they’re giving it away, or they’re moving but they didn’t have the space. You contact them and then they offer you some cockamamie story about having to pay their movers. They’ll want the money up front, and then you’ll never hear from them again. Don’t fall for it.

4. Compare free pianos to free cars. Legit free pianos might be in good condition, but they might have problems as bad as a car transmission going out. In the end, it’s probably not worth the hassle. But if you want to chance it, try to grab a piano technician (google piano technician’s guild) to go with you to check out the piano, just as you would take a mechanic to get a car.