CRACKED PLATE!

This cracked plate was found on a BRAND NEW Chinese-made baby grand and it was only discovered because Cordogan's goes through all of their new & used pianos so thoroughly that the attending technician discovered this during inspection. Cordogan's promptly returned it to the manufacturer before it ever had a chance to get to a customer.

This particular plate crack masqueraded as a crack in the paint. We chipped away the paint to discern that the crack did indeed go much deeper -- through the plate. Not good -- especially when it's a NEW piano!

Don't be deceived! When a dealer promises you that they will "uncrate the new piano right in your living room," you should walk out! A gross defect like this can, and likely WILL be missed. Many factory defects don't manifest themselves as problems until much later. Some problems, such as this one (the detection of a plate crack on the bell end of a baby grand) are impossible to discover in a home. A technician couldn't have even seen this without the lid being off of the piano and without the brilliant shop lights used during inspection / uncrating.

In this case it's possible that the crack could have gone undetected for years -- even past the warranty period before spreading. Cracked plates can also be caused (or spread) by a rough move, so a manufacturer would certainly (rightfully) contest the origin of a cracked plate once the piano has been moved into the home. Cordogan's inspection process nips problems like this in the bud by ensuring that pianos arriving with a defect like this go right back to the manufacturer.

As for OUR Used Piano Inventory? Well, they don't stand a chance of being resold with problems of any kind since the same inspection process is used whether the piano is new or used.