Buying Guide and Rental Price Chart
RENT OR OWN?
Rental Price Chart
The greatest fear of many parents is that their child will lose interests and give up on an instrument soon after picking it up. If you're renting and this happens, you can just close the rental contract. Similarly, with stringed instruments in particular, if your child starts with a smaller sized instrument like a 3/4th-sized violin, renting lets you easily exchange for a larger size in subsequent years.
In addition, if you’re concerned about the high price of purchasing a brand new musical instrument for your child, you may wish to consider taking part in our rent to own program. Designed for those who are unsure about their child’s future in music but who don’t want their rental fees to go to waste, our rent to own programs are a cost-effective way for your child to try out a musical instrument without the up-front purchasing cost. With our rent to own programs, you can rent an instrument month-to-month with the option to return it at any time. If you do decide to keep the instrument, each payment is applied towards the purchase of the instrument until it’s paid in full. Once you’ve paid the instrument in full, it’s yours to own.
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Question: How Much are the Monthly Fees?
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Answer: Since our rent to own programs include a wide variety of instruments ranging from piccolos to tubas, the monthly fees vary from instrument to instrument. In most cases, you make a one-time initial payment of $59.95 that covers the maintenance and service and your monthly payment. After that, you keep making low monthly payments until the instrument is paid in full. If you return the instrument, your monthly payments will stop. If you decide to purchase the instrument before you pay it in full, the instrument is yours and the monthly payments will discontinue. Below is a list of our rental prices:
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Question: What if My Child Damages the Instrument?
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Answer: You are covered. With our rental plan, you pay $59.95 upfront when you rent the instrument and it covers 100% of all the repair and maintenance of accidental damage, or wear and tear of the instrument. Whether it’s just routine maintenance or a major mishap and as long as the damage wasn’t intentional, you’ll be covered under most repair and maintenance programs.
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Question: What About Instrument Quality?
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Answer: Since you’ll one day be owning the instrument, the instruments you’ll gain access to in our rent to own program are new or for $6 less a month, “like new” condition. If you choose to rent a used instrument for extra savings every month, although they’re generally lightly used, they’ll be free from scratches, dings, or other visible damage. Depending on the specific program chosen, most instruments will meet or exceed the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) standards for musical instruments. If you’re concerned about the quality of the instrument you’re about to rent, ask us about the specific criteria each instrument must meet. Also, if you notice your instrument is damaged, we’ll repair it free of charge.
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Question: Can My Child Upgrade the Instrument?
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Answer: If your child needs to upgrade to a larger instrument, you can easily trade up without having to sacrifice any of your previous payments. For example, if you upgrade to a larger saxophone a year into your payments, you won’t lose those payments- they’ll just be rolled over into payments towards the new instruments. The same goes for switching instruments completely. If your child decides to switch from the clarinet to the saxophone, you won’t lose any of the payments. Since freedom is a key component with our rent to own programs, your finances won’t be affected if your child decides to try something new.
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Question: Does Hillcrest School of Music Have a Rent to Own Program?
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Answer: When you rent a musical instrument through Hillcrest School of Music, you can earn “credit” towards the purchase of a student instrument. When you’re ready to purchase, please contact a Hillcrest School of Music Associate at 404-374-2023. we’ll discuss the specific details with you and answer any questions you may have. Below watch my good Ron Kennebeck from Rieman Music gives some good solid rules parents can follow when renting an instrument.