appraising Estonia 190

[J Patrick Draine]

I looked at an Estonia 190 for a potential purchaser yesterday, and
was hoping to get others' impression of the model. The serial number
is 5062 (Pierce indicates manufactured late 1994). Purchased in 1995
(from a Boston area dealer).
MSRP at time of purchase $22K; current list price (according to Fine)
$35,650. Seller hasn't named his price; his friend's daughter is the
one considering the purchase (and contacted me to help her compose a
reasonable offer).
Touch is rather heavy -- a lot of the friction in the keys; a number
of keys & hammers don't return properly when released slowly. I didn't
have the time for detailed analysis of the action problems, but 1994
appears to be *just before* Estonia started a serious upgrade of their
line of pianos.
So,the prospective buyer needs to balance the potential price of
addressing friction, leading, and geometry problems against the price
she's willing to offer.
Strings are quite rusty, bass strings tarnished, bottom octave
suffering from rattling windings.
Other than these significant problems, it's rather nice. Decent tone,
good pin torque, nice case, no defects in soundboard.
I've worked on some very recent Estonias which were very, very nice.
So, any advice from our European friends, and those of us stateside
who have experience with Estonias of a slightly earlier era (13 years
ago)?
Price range?
Thanks,
Patrick Draine