Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Etc., Safety, Maybach, Mercedes-Benz
Fixer Upper: Maybach 62 for only $159,000
What's worse? Wrecking an Enzo, of which we have documented several in the last few months, or a Maybach 62? Most certainly the Enzo, but either incident is guaranteed to put a serious ding in your savings account and garner mixed reactions from your insurance agent.
Check out the price for this jewel, discovered at a NJ salvage yard for a mere $159,000, complete with a salvage title. If you have the mad skills required to repair the Maybach and can get into your dad's awesome set of tools, you could buy the 62 and repair it to for nights out with your friends at the drive-in and have enough left over to buy a low-mileage F360 Spyder for yourself.
One thing we did find odd is that the airbags did not deploy. Good for the person who ends up buying the car to repair, but potentially bad for the previous driver and passenger. Maybe the impact wasn't as bad as it looks?
Check out more pic's after the jump.
Thanks to Shoaib for the tip!
[Source: Elite Motor Cars]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
M3 4:17PM (12/21/2006)
The impact was to the front side, so the airbags didn't need to deploy.
For 150 that car is a rip off. Go out and buy a new S65 or something.
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DC_1 4:34PM (12/21/2006)
It looks a mess.
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Graham 4:43PM (12/21/2006)
How could that car have been written off? Is the depreciation that awful?
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Kamil 4:50PM (12/21/2006)
I have seen Jay-Z being chouffered (sp?) around in a identical vehicle in midtown Manhattan several months back.
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Jay Evans 4:52PM (12/21/2006)
I vote it was a deer strike.
Totaled probably because they can't get parts in a reasonable amount of time.
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fordman 4:57PM (12/21/2006)
The car loses half its value in 1 year. According to CPI and KBB.
currently mercedes sells them for 350,000 and there is a 50,000 cash back on them plus low intrest rate.
Secondly, people that can afford these cars buy them new. They dont buy used. so a gap developes between new and when it becomes cheap enough for others to buy it. Which is around 100,000. After that the depreciation is much slower.
I recommend getting an S65 also. Thats actually why Maybach failed. S65 is faster plus half the price.
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Kamil 5:04PM (12/21/2006)
http://www.elitemotorcars.com/inventoryDetail.php?req=3801&cat=1/ROLLS%20ROYCE/CONVERSION
Buhahahhahahaha^^^^^
I saw a streched version of one of those; horrible!!!
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Jayson 5:08PM (12/21/2006)
If there ever was a marketing fiasco people wanted to learn from is this.
They introduce the Maybach with huge fan fare. They price it at $350,000. They give it a 550hp engine with 612 torque. Then they offer right away an S65 for $150,000 with 604hp and 738 torque.
Then they realize "oh oh" we have a problem. Then they put the engine of the S65 in to the Maybach. Problem solved? no. Why? because then they take the styling of the Maybach and copy it for the new S-class. Again, the s65 becomes a better and cheaper alternative and looks identical to the Maybach and has the same engine for 55% off.
Its beyond funny.
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Kamil 5:15PM (12/21/2006)
jason, fordman,
all valid points... but people dont buy these cuz of what's under the hood. Car failed cuz it's ugly; otherwise the RR Phantom would have been a failure too.
Having said... this thing can be probably fixed with one-off hand made body panels and MB parts. :)
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fordman 5:26PM (12/21/2006)
I always did find the back of the car ugly.
159,000 is seriously too much to fix this. They will not get that. The car probably just got to the yard. Wait 6 months and it will be a 100,000.
On the other hand it is a Maybach 62. This is the big version. I looked at the mercedes sales for 2005 and 2006. In 2005 mercedes sold 105 Maybach 57 and 11 Maybach 62 in USA. in 2006 its 93 Maybach 57 and 14 maybach 62. This is an extremely rare car. Maybe 1 of 30 in USA.
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retsel 5:38PM (12/21/2006)
i could buy it with a 30 year mortgage and live in it...
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Paul 6:50PM (12/21/2006)
Chances are that the reason that the AB's did not deploy was the lack of seat belt useage. Alot of times people attempt to sue automakers for faulty AB's when in reality it is a safety measure to prevent deployment if the seat belt is not connected. Just wear your belts and everything will work as expected.
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bepsf 7:05PM (12/21/2006)
Salvage?
I'm just betting that the fool who owned it was a Hedge-Fund Director with his fingers in the Insurance Industry - picked up the phone while he was still in the back seat of the car and told his "pal" that it was in a "bad accident". Insurance Executive/pal probably put in a call to his claim's department himself (no e-mails - they're tracable) to write out a check to his pal that afternoon because he "totalled" his Maybach - no questions asked.
My bet, some limo company will buy and fix the car - you'll see it rolling around Manhattan again soon...
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MikeP 7:33PM (12/21/2006)
@Paul,
If I am not mistaken, the airbags will deploy at a lower speed without seatbelts. This is because you need to be 'saved' even more from flying forward.
Agreed with the others. This car does not really offer anything over the new S-Class. I am normally a BMW/ Audi fan, but I have to admit the S-Class is amazing!!
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MikeP 7:35PM (12/21/2006)
Another reason the airbags probably did not deploy is because this looks like a very slow speed accident. I think most of us would be amazed how much damaged would be done in a 15mph accident!!
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JIm 7:53PM (12/21/2006)
Yes, a 30 year mortgage and live in it. Then you take out a home improvement loan to fix it - or buy new tires.
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Maybe... 7:57PM (12/21/2006)
Maybe the airbags didn't deploy because the car wasn't moving? Maybe someone else hit it (parked or otherwise). As I understand the insurance industry (which, honestly, isn't much) if someone else hit it, it would be more likely to be counted as totaled.
Just a though.
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JJ 8:29PM (12/21/2006)
Let it DIE! ugly, ugly vehicle, go spend the money buying a couple of S classes, same car without the fuzzy (so 70's van retro) glove box.
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tigerpb 8:57PM (12/21/2006)
Some duct tape and bondo, you've got the perfect "Boston Bomber" for up here in the Notrheast! It's only going to get dented by the rotten drivers aound here, so let the first owner eat the depreciation. Couple of snowplow lights held on with bungie cords and that front end's good as new.
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jacqueusi 10:02PM (12/21/2006)
Since it's the 62and not the shorter model, I think it's safe to say somewhere out there, there is a chauffer looking for a job.
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