A few years back I was in the position of looking at this same question. Spent a couple of years looking and researching - ended up buying a used R22. Overall that was the a better financial and mechanical choice than buying a new Rotorway kit. That must say something!
This was a common thread on the the rec.aviation.rotorcraft newsgroup when I used to frequent it - so common that instead of writing out the same stuff over and over I put it on my website. have a look at:
http://helipics.homestead.com and go to the "To buy or Build" page