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2006 Maybach 57S. Sticker when new: $385K. Current mileage: 36k. Current price: $169,900 or . . . less.
20 Comments on “Maybach 57S: Now That’s What I Call Depreciation!...”
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When I went to the NYC auto show last month, I stopped by the local Mercedes dealer. The had a 2005 SLR for $265k – new $500k +. Ouch!
It’s still quite hilariously expensive.
Christ that’s still about 2/3 of my mortgage!
Rolls, Maybachs, Aston Martins, etc. all depreciate like monsters. The problem is that maintenance costs are just as high for the used bargain shopper as the hedge fund manager that can afford to buy them new.
Just watch that episode of Top Gear where Clarkson and May compare the Mercedes “big” to the Rolls Mulliner Park Ward. Neither car was that expensive to buy, but the M-B’s service bill came to the equivalent of about $25K.
Call me when it gets to 50K$
The price is still too high. It is the price of a 2 bedroom townhome in a decent neighborhood in my area. In this economic climate you will want secure the basics before you job is gone. I would be interested to see who would end up buying this.
As a percentage the depreciation isn’t that bad. While retaining 43% of value over three years isn’t incredible, it is far from the worse out there.
I’ve often wondered about the astronomical service bills for cars like that. It seems to me that aside from a few key model specific parts that hopefully would not fail with any regularity (internal engine bits, transmissions, key electrical or computer systems, gauges and other displays) most anything else the car needs should be able to be done at any decent service station using aftermarket parts. Even if the car needs pure synthetic oil, a Jiffy Lube can handle that oil change, and one would think that rotating the tires would be the same as any other car. While the brakes might be big or a non-standard size, someone has to make aftermarket parts that would fit, etc.
It’s amazing what car makers approved and sold when times were booming and this is probably Exhibit A (or really close!)
I’m probably not the only one that says Maybach was doomed from the start. It had a name that most people couldn’t say (or remember) correctly, the styling was odd at best…ugly at worst, the engine/transmission combo was not unique, and it seemed that it really didn’t fit well in the auto market. It was named after a very old nameplate that didn’t have already known models that start with “AMG” or “M” so for the most part, most of the public probably didn’t see it as something special. When you combine that with the typical falling off of a cliff depreciation, the results were expected.
In a couple of years, this might be a nice, (somewhat for the car class) inexpensive used car that still has a high level of comfort and luxury. Just cross your fingers that the quality doesn’t take a dive.
These high priced cars are crazy expensive to keep on the road. Complicated, failure prone, and shockingly expensive parts. Run away!
57 is the short wheelbase, and $169K is still a lot for a three year old S class.
It looks like a Cadillac DTS.
I can get a black one of those, same vintage and mileage, for less than $12,000, and it rides as nicely.
While the brakes might be big or a non-standard size, someone has to make aftermarket parts that would fit, etc.
I don’t see an aftermarket company tooling up to do Maybach parts. Just how many Maybach owners do their own servicing? For that matter, just how many Maybach owners are out there? The market is truly miniscule.
On the other hand, you might get lucky. The bits intended for an S-class might fit. MB has been very tight lipped on just how much of the Maybach is bespoke and how much of a badge engineered wonder it really is.
It depreciates much like the Lincoln that it resembles, the numbers are just an order of magnitude higher.
At least the Lincoln costs bupkis to repair, aftermarket parts are plentiful, and pretty much any mechanic out there can deal with one — the Panther platform is ubiquitous here in the U.S.
About the only unique / difficult part in the Lincoln Town Car is the rear air suspension, and there’s even an aftermarket conversion kit out there which allows one to replace it with more conventional springy bits, when it fails (and it will) and the $1200 dealer estimate seems too steep.
That depreciation rate is about the same as a Chrysler product.
@ ohsnapback: a DTS? Don’t be so generous! The DTS has more distinctive styling than that, and you know it’s a Cadillac from the front.
This Maybach, with its gaudy headlights, generic grille, and nondescript body style is Hyundai Genesis all the way. And the Hyundai has a better warrantee.
gslippy said “That depreciation rate is about the same as a Chrysler product.” I had to laugh, The 2006 Maybach IS a Chrysler product. It was made by DaimlerChrysler!
I just don’t get it.
If you want a big luxury sedan, buy a Lexus LS. If you want to show off your wealth, use gold body panels on that Lexus LS. Why buy this Chrysler crap?
BTW, 20 years later, that gold LS would have some real residual value.
It will sell to a guy who otherwise might have bought the small Bentley. B&B discussion of dynamic merits are meaningless. This is a badge.
Over priced crap isn’t even worth $69k to anyone with a brain.
Yes, but does it come with free Nitrogen for life?