Where can I buy a second hand guitar that will be tuned?

[DodoDido]

My teenage son wants a guitar but I suspect it'll be a phase as he's had one before and lost interest and it was sold.
Where can I buy one second hand that will be tuned as we wouldn't be able to do that.
Do guitar shops sell second hand guitars?
Help!

Download an app like guitar tuna.

It doesn't matter if it comes out of the shop tuned because it can easily change, for example if the weather is all over the place that makes the strings change, or you can knock a peg. It's easy and a necessary skill for playing anyways.

You need to tune it each time you play. But you can get very inexpensive tuners, which make it super easy. They’re little digital devices - no need to do it by ear! Any music shop can help, or buy one off Amazon for a fiver and watch a YouTube video. Honestly, it’s very straightforward!

Yes guitar shops will sell second hand ones, they will also tune a guitar for you. But surely if your son wants one to play he will need to know how to tune? I mean, they don't stay in tune so it will need adjusting even if it's tuned when you get it.
It's not that difficult though, just buy an electronic guitar tuner and watch a few videos on YouTube about how to do. Or rather, your son should be doing this, if he isn't interested in the basics I'd not be getting him a guitar TBH.

Or nowadays you can use an app on your phone!

Anywhere that sell guitars will tune yours for you...usually costs about £10 plus the cost of new strings which you buy there... they will help you get the right ones:)
I've taken mine in for restringing (I can do it myself but sometimes can't be bothered) a few times!
Guitar shops do second hand but tbh you'd be just as well off buying off FB marketplace..much cheaper. Then if he commits , get a new one.

I can’t help with where to find one but stringed instruments go out of tune and need the tuning checking every time they are played. The guitar is one of the easiest to tune - get an app for your phone and I’m sure there will be a guide on YouTube.
maybe try Facebook - we have a local ‘buy for nothing’ type group where I’m sure if I asked someone would lend me one for example (we live rurally though and people tend to trust each other/ know everyone). If it’s to try to see if he likes it the e quality really doesn’t matter!

Where are you located? I know of a guitar shop in Surrey (Guildford) that sells second-hand guitars.

West London

So not all that far. www.andertons.co.uk/browse/second-hand/

Which type of guitar? Electric, or Acoustic?

If it's electric and he can't be bothered figuring out how to tune it each time he plays, then I wouldn't be bothering to buy him one, because the strings will need changed frequently which will knock tuning and intonation all to hell, so if he's not interested in learning how to just keep it in tune, there's no chance he'll be interested in learning how to change strings, do basic set-up, intonate it and so on, and you'll end up constantly running back and forward to the shop.

Acoustic is a bit less fiddling, but a cheap, badly set-up acoustic with a terrible action will kill his interest in days.

One of the first things you are taught when you start to learn guitar is tuning, it's something that needs a fair amount of tweaking as others have mentioned.

https://www.w12music.co.uk/
or just look online gumtree etc for a local second hand one and get a guitar tuner, or download an app. There are loads of tutorials on youtube showing how to do it.

Guitars don't stay tuned. Strings stretch and the pegs loosen. You can buy an autotune machine or he can probably download an app on his phone so he can tune his guitar to that.

My son tunes his with an app on his phone .

He donated one of his old guitars to the Charity Shop , I made sure he tuned it first and hopefully , someone looking to start playing would get a bargain that either set them on the right path or didn;t cost a lot of £ to find out they didn't like guitars !

I'd encourage going to a reputable dealer - Andertons as mentioned are just that. Cheap guitars that don't play nicely, have faults or don't stay in tune can be very discouraging. Dealers will have a much wider range than FB of course and a reputation to maintain AND they want you to come back for more later.

I hope your son has fun.