I have to agree with drunkinminer on this.
I wanted a nice strat as a base for a project guitar. I tried many, many MIA's and MIM's and eventually found a MIM that played just great, and suited me fine. The only real problem with it I have to say were the pickups, but I intended to swap these anyway, so no big deal.
The neck is lovely to play, I am really happy with my new main guitar.
Dont be a snob about choosing a strat, take the time to try as many as you can, and if you find the nicest playing one for you to be a MIM, so be it!