I had a lot of other big technic sets at the time. I remember this one, and I also remember my parents telling me it was too expensive.

They were not joking.

Not too long ago I wanted to gift a technic set and I was shocked at the prices. The fact that most modern sets also use a lot of custom parts was also something that goes against the lego mindset IMHO.

It would still be something that I would totally buy for my children, but not as a gift for somebody else.