---
title: "Someone Buy This High-Mile 2005 Maybach 57 for $25k so We Don’t Have To"
description: "Come to papa you sweet, depreciated angel."
date: "2020-02-13"
modified: "2020-02-13"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/32188/someone-buy-this-high-mile-2005-maybach-57-for-25k-so-we-dont-have-to"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "For Sale"
  - "News"
---

# Someone Buy This High-Mile 2005 Maybach 57 for $25k so We Don’t Have To

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2020/02/c3cfdd7a9f979e94d76280045cd3f9a9.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Buying a used Mercedes-Benz is kind of like getting tipsy at the karaoke bar before belting out Journey's *Don't Stop Believing*. Inadvisable, probably played out, but still highly entertaining for everyone involved. Buying a used Maybach, then, is more akin to downing half a bottle of Hamilton 151 rum before trying to keep up with System of a Down's *Chop Suey*. We'll tell you not to, but if we can't stop you, then by God are we going to cheer you on. We say this because we've just found [a used, high-mileage Maybach 57](<https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/795492934/overview/?aff=fbsharapp>) for less than a tenth of what it originally cost, and while it's a terrible idea to buy it, we sort of want someone to anyway.

![message-editor%2F1581559914972-c30cb0281b33204dc86cb6796499c211-2.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1581559914972-c30cb0281b33204dc86cb6796499c211-2.jpg>)
*2005 Maybach 57, *Cars.com**

Before going any further, we need to explain what [Maybach](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/31137/2021-mercedes-maybach-gls-out-chromes-and-out-glams-the-competition>)

 *is*, a fact that its owner Mercedes no doubt hates. Historically, Maybach was very similar to Rolls-Royce; it produced heavy-duty engines and ultra-luxury cars, struggled to stay afloat on its own, and eventually fell into the hands of a large German automaker—BMW in RR's case, Daimler in Maybach's. Decades after its acquisition, Maybach became Daimler's super-premium marque, meant to compete directly with Rolls-Royce but the marque's half-baked revival resulted in laughable sales. Between 2003 and 2010, Maybach sold a mere 1,112 cars in the United States. Rolls-Royce? Almost 3,000.

![message-editor%2F1581558839742-4ab6520f234cf534f7b7f49b676af1df.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1581558839742-4ab6520f234cf534f7b7f49b676af1df.jpg>)
*2005 Maybach 57, *Cars.com**

The reason why Rolls prospered and Maybach flopped was because of how each company executed [the idea of the ultimate limousine](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/31922/a-crafty-madman-built-a-subaru-tribeca-limo-and-it-can-now-be-yours-for-35000>). Rolls designed the Phantom to be the world's comfiest car from the ground up, while Maybach took a Mercedes S-Class, redid the interior, ghoulified the exterior, and then had the nerve to ask $325,000 for the resulting car. It and the long-wheelbase 62 were far from spartan within, but what amounted to an up-badged S-Class couldn't hope to compete with the brand image offered by Rolls-Royce.

![2005 Maybach 57](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1581560591488-c050a8ad0dd42f0a92169f26ca9ee9fb.jpeg>)
*2005 Maybach 57*

*, *Cars.com**

![2005 Maybach 57](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1581560616256-b58653761b18ffe3f179a847d133da84.jpeg>)
*2005 Maybach 57*

*, *Cars.com**

![2005 Maybach 57](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1581560630137-1f74bb30cb05bd522ed517c814973a9a.jpg>)
*2005 Maybach 57*

*, *Cars.com**

And now, at $25,000, this Maybach may look like a steal, as you're never, ever going to find a Rolls or [Bentley](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/30430/the-2020-bentley-flying-spur-review-a-grand-tourer-with-no-wrong-place-to-sit>) of the same vintage in this price range. But the thing to remember with buying a used car is that maintenance will always cost proportional to its original MSRP—parts and service for this car will cost that of a vehicle that was $325,000 new, not $25,000. Odds are the eyes of whoever buys this car will pop whenever they get their first service bill.

Then again, [as every million-mile vehicle has shown](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/32105/nissan-giving-million-mile-frontier-owner-a-brand-new-truck-thats-pretty-much-the-same>), the key to keeping a car in good shape is to drive it, and this Maybach has over 162,000 miles on the clock—that's more than 10,000 a year. Maybe there's still life in its 5.5-liter, twin-turbo V12 after all, but we can't recommend being the one to find out.

*Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com*

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)