This Wrecked 2004 Maybach 57 and Its Twin-Turbo V12 Are Worth Saving—If You’re Brave
If you’re the type of person who would rescue a 20-year-old ultra-luxury car, a little rear-end damage probably wouldn’t scare you off anyway.
Sick of whipping a boring commuter car into the lot at work while your boss tells his BMW to park itself? Then this might be your lucky day, as there's a 2004 Maybach 57 headed for auction that could put a twin-turbo V12 luxury car within a normie's budget. But there's a catch: It's listed on Copart and is a bit broken.
All the damage on this '04 Maybach is at the back, but it looks unusual. It seems as if the Maybach reversed into a bollard at 40 mph, as the dent in the bumper is deep but pretty narrow and the bumper itself is hanging off. The taillight bar that wraps around the rear and underneath the trunk lid is also broken. Finally, there's some damage to the rear fenders and C-pillars, but it's unclear if those are dents or crumpling from the rear impact.
From the rear doors forward, though, the Maybach seems to be roadworthy. Dare I say there's a chance this mid-'00s uber luxury car is worth saving. Maybach bumpers aren't exactly easy to find, nor are fenders, so they might be a bit pricey, especially when you consider the special two-tone paintwork you'd need to match them to the rest of the body. However, there may be a silver lining. The fenders look like they can be fixed with paintless dent removal and there's a chance the rear bumper is the same as a 2004 Mercedes S-Class', which is the basis of the Maybach 57. If an S-Class bumper works and the fenders can be repaired, fixing up this Maybach might not be too expensive after all.
There are only 54,761 miles on the car, so its twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V12 is still pretty fresh. I bet most, if not all, of its 543 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque are still present. Admittedly, this generation of Maybach is among the brand's weakest efforts, as it mostly looks like a rebadged S-Class from the weakest generation of S-Classes. Still, it's an incredibly luxurious sedan with a monster engine and a prestigious badge. It even has screens built into the seat backs for rear passengers to enjoy and enough leg room for shorter adults to fully stretch out, making it a true luxury limo.
Depending on what lies under the surface, such as potential frame or suspension damage, this could be an interesting car to fix up. Maybach 57s of similar years, with similar mileage, are selling for $50,000-$70,000 on Autotrader. If you can get this one and repair it for significantly less than that, you might have a luxury limo that will impress in the executive parking lot on a normal person's budget. Is that worth the gamble?
Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com
