My son is in 5th grade and just started band. The teacher recommended sax and clarinet for him, but the school doesn't have a free saxophone for him to use. I told the teacher that I'd buy him his own, since he prefers it, over the clarinet.
What should I be looking at in the used market, for an alto sax? I have no clue about instruments, so have patience please!

Yamaha.  

The thing about a sax though, is that the springs and seals go bad after a while.  

Getting a re pad job done, is expensive.     So, if you find one, make sure it's checked out by someone competent.  

Or rent.  You pay double over the long haul, but it might be worth it.

Fwiw- the newer low end Yamahas are made in Taiwan.  Ours has been GTG.  

Some of the China sax's have good reviews, but I don't think any of them are up to par yet, as a school instrument.    Ask the music teacher.

He recommended Yamaha, Vito and Selmer. The prices on craigslist are all over the place, like $200-3000. I don't mind paying $1k, if I know that I can get a decent chunk back on resale. Hopefully he'll enjoy it and stay with it though. In that case, I'd be glad he had a good instrument.

If looking at used, Get something that has been overhauled.  If you get something for cheap, it may not play and may be bent or need a repad.  Then you are going to sink more money into a horn that you could have spent on a better one in the first place.

Just a few.


https://reverb.com/p/yamaha-yas-23-alto-saxophone?gclid=Cj0KCQjw557NBRC9ARIsAHJvVVOmrLroYpVQnEny84GAG76fGyuzvS8pbO3bCQ0kAXfc7xH-fRMv_hAaAjGnEALw_wcB&hfid=5734788

Can't go wrong with a Yamaha YAS-23, or whatever their beginner horn is.
I play their 82Z Custom, a pro horn.
Repads are expensive. My repair guy charges $600 for an alto, $650 for a tenor and over $1k for a bari.
If you get a good quality beginner horn it'll last a long time. I played mine up until my sophomore year of college.