A Maybach seems expensive, but if you look at the price per pound for various vehicles, it seems less outrageous. Here's a quick comparison:

Space Shuttle: Costs $2.1 billion, weighs 170,000 pounds = $12,000 per pound

Photo courtesy NASA



Gold: Approximate 2003 spot price of about $400 per ounce = $6,400 per pound

Lear jet 45: Costs approximately $10 million, weighs 15,000 pounds = $650 per pound

High-end carbon fiber bicycle: Costs $3,000, weighs 20 pounds = $150 per pound

Segway: costs $5,000, weighs 80 pounds = $62.50 per pound

Photo courtesy Segway, LLC



Maybach: Costs $300,000, weighs 6,100 pounds = $49.10 per pound

Photo courtesy DaimlerChrysler

The new Maybach with its predecessor model, the DS 8 Zeppelin, dating from 1930



Harley Davidson VSRC motorcycle: costs $18,000, weighs 600 pounds = $30 per pound

Photo courtesy Harley-Davidson Motor Company

2003 VRSCA V-Rod?



USS Ronald Reagan (nuclear-powered aircraft carrier): costs $4.3 billion, weighs 90,000 tons = $24 per pound (plus, it comes with a 20-year supply of fuel already in the reactor)

Photo courtesy Northrop Grumman Newport News

USS Ronald Reagan under construction



Hummer 2: costs $52,000, weighs 6,400 pounds = $8.13 per pound

Ford Focus: costs $14,000, weighs 2,600 pounds = $3.57 per pound

What would it cost to lease a Maybach? The key to understanding the monthly payment for a lease is to realize this: A lease factors in the resale price of the car (the residual value) at the end of the lease. With a car like a Maybach, the residual value will hold up fairly well.

For comparison, let's take a "normal car" like a new Ford Focus. Its sticker price is $14,000. You drive it for four years and it loses 70% of its value, so the residual value at the end of the lease is $4,200. Assume that during the lease, you pay 8% on the money you borrowed during the time of the lease. That means that you are dividing the $9,200 in lost value across 48 months and then adding in the interest payment. The monthly payment for a lease on a Ford Focus is therefore is $267.25.

If you lease a Maybach that costs $300,000 new, let's say that its residual value is going to drop to $200,000 over 4 years. At 5% interest, the lease payment will be $3,134.38 per month assuming that you put no money down. If you assume that the residual value falls to $150,000, then the lease payment is $4,079.39. If you assume a residual value of $150,000 and an interest rate of 8%, then the monthly payment is $4,661.94 -- both the residual value and the interest rate make a big difference in lease payments. See InfoChoice.com for a leasing calculator that will allow you to play around with these numbers yourself.

How much house could you buy with $4,600 per month? Assuming a 7% mortgage interest rate, you could buy a house that costs about $700,000. That's because the term of the mortgage loan is stretched over 30 years.

If you would prefer to buy your Maybach outright and pay for it over 48 months, at 8% interest, your monthly payment will be $7,323.88.

For lots more information on the Maybach and other high-end automobiles, check out the links on the next page.



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