So, I went yesterday to my MINI dealer to place my order. As it turns out, my guy wasn’t there, but I thought that I could still place my order anyway. So, I got there, was greated by a new salesman who was fairly nice. We chatted a bit, I schooled him on some of the more noteable features of the MINI (he was selling Hondas last week). I did have some questions about the wheels that come on the ‘S’ with the sports package, so he went in to make sure he was telling me the right thing. He as the sales assistant, who is very knowledgeable about these things and I got my answer. So, I asked her about placing my order and she ran through the process, finishing off by telling me that there is a $4,000 add on by the dealer for Perma Plate (whatever that is), LoJack and floor mats. This is all stuff that I would probably want anyway, but to not have a choice in the matter, I told her that I didn’t want it and expected to pay MSRP, especially since I was going to have to wait until mid January for delivery. She said no, you have to pay the premium. Then I remembered that I heard that Long Beach MINI sells at MSRP when they are ordered, so I asked her if that is where I was going to have to go. She actually told me to go to Long Beach! Unbelievable! I will probaby still get mine there, but after hearing the price for an ‘S’, I will probably end up just getting a MC instead. My guy comes back to work on Thursday, so I will give him a call and see if he can help me out.