Give this some thought - how long has she been taking lessons? Is this likely to be a passing fancy and she might loose interest soon? If this is the likely case, dont do it! Buy an electric piano from Argos, etc. for her to practice on. If she is still keen in a year or so's time, then perhaps persue the piano. Keyboards can be sold on relatively easy but upright piano's cant.
Bear in mind that a new upright is going to cost you €2-€5k, so it's an expensive shelf for ornamenets f she looses interest in it. You'd be better off to consider a 2nd hand one first and perhaps should talk to her teacher and she what she thinks is best.
We were in the same position a few months ago. My daughter had been having lessons on the keyboard for over a year but the piano teacher felt she'd outgrown it and needed the feel of a real piano. We looked on Buy and Sell for a second hand but it was mostly rubbish. Unless you know something about pianos (we knew nothing) it's very difficult to get a good second hand. I spoke to a piano tuner who advised me to buy new if possible - pianos are not like violins, old is not better. He suggested a few places but we eventually bought in Tynan's in Rathmines. The service was excellent, unlike some of the more well known places we tried, and we bought a really nice looking Schiller piano (this was important as it takes up so much room) for 2.5k. I have 2 other children who will also play (have to get value out of it) so I hope it's a good investment. I'm even thinking about taking it up myself!
we got a great electric piano in waltons for about 900. the advantage of this is that you can plug in earphones when practicing, which is very handy! also it looks identical to a proper piano (full stand with pull down lid etc) so it looks nicer in a room than a keyboard
We got a piano in Pianos Plus I think they're called, you can see them from the m50.
It's a Yamaha, quite small, but has great technology (Silent or something it's called). It's a proper piano but when you plug in the earphones and depress middle pedal it goes silent because the electronic gadgetry moves into place inside. But otherwise it's just like a normal piano, so best of both worlds. Great services.
One thing to bear in mind if you do buy electric buy an electric piano and not a cheap keyboard. If you daughter is going to stick with it (even to just a level for her own entertainment or for a few grades) then she will need weighted keys which cheap keyboards will not have, well not to a proper piano standard. Also some will have keys that are smaller then standard and she may have problems if she then sits down at a full size piano. You can get good electric pianos which do not take up much room and as previous posted pointed out have head phone sockets for "silent" playing.
I think e600-800 is a good price for a reasonable one. If she sticks with it to a higher level she may well one day need a proper piano or a much more expensive electric piano.
I agree. Electric piano ftw. They have full-size, pressure sensitive keys. Preferably a second-hand one that will hold its value when you sell it (if it doesn't work out for your daughter)
I did Piano lessons and my dad wouldnt let me play because it was too noisy. The room it was in was pretty damp and it was out of key. You can't exactly push a piano from room to room for convenience.