We have to hand it to Daimler: when the Maybach project didn't go as well as planned, they went back to the drawing board and came out again with a better business plan. In the process they created a new market segment in between the S-Class and where the Maybach stood, instead of taking on Rolls-Royce and Bentley as they initially planned.
What that tells you, though, is that the first-gen Maybach saloons were higher-end than the new ones. And if you don't believe us, just look at this example.
This is a 2004 Maybach 62, which was the larger (and more expensive) of the two versions offered. It's going up for auction in Santa Monica later this month under the auspices of RM Sotheby's and Auctions America, which expect it to sell for $120-150k.
Does that seem like a lot of money to you for a luxury sedan that's now old enough to celebrate its Bar Mitzvah? Maybe it is, especially when you consider that its successor now starts just a smidgen higher than that at $166,200.
That only goes to show, though, that when juxtaposing the old Maybach to the new one, it's like comparing apples to oranges. For one thing, the Maybach 62 was bigger than the new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class – bigger even than the new Pullman. It also boasted a V12 engine where the new model, at the price quoted, starts out with a V8.
At the end of the day, the old Maybachs were higher-end, more exclusive, and more expensive. In fact a Maybach 62 like this one would have cost a good $430k when it was new, for which you could now get yourself a small fleet of Maybach S-Class sedans.
For your money, which would you pick: a new Maybach S-Class or a used Maybach 62? First class on an older airplane, or business class on a newer one?
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