Ian - don't worry about the handbrake, it soon becomes like second nature. I've grown to prefer it to a normal one.
As for costs - MMC didn't give me a confirmed price on my car until I got the final invoice - few days before the build was completed.
Then it was £3k over what I expected but, happily, once I explained how I had calculated the figure I had been expecting the accounts dept. agreed and sent a modified bill.
