Investment Analysis of the LEGO Technic 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400

Very impressive name for a LEGO set! But does the set itself live up to its 'grandiose' name? Also, will the set, after it is retired, appreciate like a Mercedes-Benz or will a YUGO come to mind when you think of this set's investment potential? Let's take a look...

The LEGO Technic theme was launched back in 1977. It was one of the first 'themes' of LEGO. Along with the Space and Castle themes of the mid-1970s, the Technic line helped introduce LEGO bricks to AFOLs such as myself. One set in particular, the 853 Car Chassis, got me hooked on LEGO bricks. This set was spectacular. It had moving engine pistons, working steering, two speed transmission, and an independent rear suspension. For a LEGO set in 1977, that was one impressive design. Over the years, the Technic theme took a back seat to much more popular themes. The STAR WARS, Bionicles, and Town themes...just to name a few, overshadowed the Technic theme in popularity and exposure. But if you take a closer look at the Technic theme, you find a group of sets that are well designed, creative, and accurate in appearance, use and playability. Technic bricks have been used in standard LEGO sets, to bring unique and necessary design elements, where standard bricks were insufficient. I am a huge fan of Technic sets, yet I even ignore them, but should I? Are these sets worth 'investing' your LEGO allowance on? Let's take a look at the 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400, the biggest and most expensive Technic set ever created.

Here is what Lego.com says about the 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400:

Take on any tough task with the high-tech Mercedes-Benz Unimog U 400!

No job is too big for the multi-purpose Mercedes-Benz Unimog U 400! Featuring a pneumatically powered, articulated crane with working grabber and a recovery winch on the front – this mechanical monster is driven by LEGO® Power Functions. The high-tech design features working steering, 4-wheel drive and suspension, a gear block for extreme ground clearance and a detailed engine with moving pistons. Rebuild the crane and winch into a huge snow plow.

• Features pneumatically-powered, articulated crane with working grabber and winch powered by LEGO® Power Functions
• Includes a gear block for added ground clearance on any terrain
• Maneuver over anything with realistic steering, 4-wheel drive and suspension
• Watch the detailed engine go to work with moving pistons!
• Rebuild into a Snow Plow!
• Blast through any weather with the powerful Snow Plow!
• Measures over 19” (48cm) long and 12” (30cm) high

Sounds like a quite an impressive LEGO set. I'll tell you how impressive it is from a build and appearance standpoint...It has FIVE instruction manuals. Heck...it weighs close to 10 pounds. But will this “Flagship” of the LEGO Technic theme be impressive on the secondary LEGO market, such as EBAY, when it heads into retirement, or in LEGO vernacular, EOL(End of Line)? Does size really matter? Let's take a look at some comparable retired LEGO Technic sets to see if that helps give insight to future appreciation of the 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400.

When comparing LEGO sets for future appreciation potential, theme and piece count are the two main categories I use to differentiate from other LEGO sets. The 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400 is the largest 'Technic' set ever created for sale to the public, so I tried to locate the four largest Technic sets that were released over the past several years and came up with these four: 8421 Mobile Crane, 8285 Tow Truck, 8258 Crane Truck and the 8275 Motorized Bulldozer. These sets range in piece size from 1384 to 1884 pieces, slightly smaller than the 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400's 2048 pieces. From an appearance, build, and playability standpoint, they are all very similar. Big models, motorized functions, tons of pieces...these sets are the “Big Bad Boys” of LEGO Technic sets (Let's call them the BBB sets for future reference.). Take a look at the chart below of these four super-sized Technic sets:

THE BIG BAD BOY (BBB) LEGO TECHNIC SETS

	Year Released	Investment Age (from year released to now)	Pieces	MSRP (US$)	Current Average Price (US$)	% Change From MSRP	% Change Last Year	Average % Increase Per Year
8421 Mobile Crane	2005	7 years	1884	$149.99	$458	206%	11%	17.29%
8285 Tow Truck	2006	6 years	1877	$119.99	$464	287%	15%	25.28%
8258 Crane Truck	2009	3 years	1877	$149.99	$218	45%	17%	13.27%
8275 Motorized Bulldozer	2007	5 years	1384	$149.99	$438	192%	19%	23.9%
		5.25 years1				182.5%2		21.41%3

1. Average Investment Time(from release to now)

2. Average Total Percent Increase, from release to now, for all four BBB sets.

3. Average Yearly Percent Increase for all four BBB sets.

  The chart above illustrates what the BBB sets' MSRPs (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) were when released. It also shows their current average price according to www.BrickPicker.com. Also on the chart, the BBB sets' % increase from MSRP, % increase in the past year and the average % increase per year. Both individual set data and group totals are shown. The first thing that stands out in my mind is that all four comparable BBB sets have “increased” in value, over both the short term(one year) and long term(3-7 years). If you take into consideration the investment age of the BBB sets(LEGO set release date to now) when calculating the Average % Increase Per Year for all four BBB sets, you come up with an annual 21.41% increase per year. Now, this is an average annual return for all four BBB sets. Individually, the 8258 Crane Truck comes in on the low side with only a 13.27% annual increase from MSRP. On the high side, the 8285 Tow Truck comes in around 25.28% as an annual increase. Now the 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400 is the largest of all the LEGO Technic sets, so I'm going to make an educated guess and say that it will appreciate towards the higher end of the spectrum.

Past performance is no indicator of future results, but if you were to extrapolate the future appreciation data for the 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400 using the Average % Increase Per Year of 21.41% and the MSRP of $199.00, you might be able to conclude that the 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400 will appreciate $42.60 in the first year after EOL. Of course, this is just all guesswork and there are no guarantees of anything, but the one continuing trend I see in LEGO investment data is that “big” sets appreciate quicker and higher than most mid sized to smaller LEGO sets. That being said, with bigger being better, it would not be surprising to see an annual increase similar to the 8285 Tow Truck's, or an annual increase of approximately 25.28%. This would result in an increase of $50.56 in the first year after EOL. That would be quite a nice bump up in value for a MISB 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400 and I know of few other investments, if any, that can possibly match that.

So, in conclusion, I have to say that I was impressed with the BBB LEGO sets and their % returns over the last several years. These sets definitely “fly under the radar” when it comes to discussions among LEGO collectors and investors. A set like the 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400, which compares favorably with the BBB sets, is one impressive set in all categories...pieces, playability, accuracy, building techniques, display qualities, etc., yet I don't read about this set on any of the major LEGO forums or blogs. Well, I'm here to break that trend and tell you that the 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400 should be included on any serious LEGO collector or investor's “must buy list.” Although it is a little pricey at $199.99(US), sometimes you have to spend big to reap larger profits later on. If you are tired of STAR WARS and Modular Building LEGO sets and want to diversify your LEGO collection and possibly make a few dollars in the process, buy a 8110 Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U400. In this case, bigger is better...