A plan is beginning to form.
My daughter wants a piano for the gcs to learn on. Unless you get one with a guarantee of some kind, buying second-hand is always pot luck. It struck me that our piano probably has a fair bit of life left in it. It has a lovely tone and all of the keys/hammers/dampers do their jobs well. The tuner thinks it will be OK for a fair while yet. Its case, otoh, is very scruffy. The veneer has chipped in several places and the lacquer, which was applied when we bought it 39 years ago, has cracked in several places. It is, to be honest, the ideal piano for someone to learn on where it doesn't matter too much if something happens to the outside of the instrument. So I have suggested to daughter that, if I decide to buy another piano (and I would probably go for something restored rather than a new one) she might like to have it for her children. She likes this idea.
I like this idea because it means that I don't have to trade it in (and I doubt that anyone would bother to do the work on it to make it into a saleable item - Bechsteins are just too common) and it would grieve me to think that it would be about to have the
ESL treatment.
If it does indeed become untuneable in the near future, then OK, we have extended its useful life as long as possible and our grandchildren have an excellent instrument on which to learn. It may well be possible to get another 10 years or so out of it, in which case I will be happy.
And of course it allows me to apply n+1 to pianos, even though they are not being kept in the same county!