And data plates don't mean so much anyway. Eurocopter has a sneaky way of getting machines into the market.
Whenever a data plate is created, a tax must be paid. So, they buy write-off wrecks, remove the data plate, build a new helicopter, as long as it is a clone of the original, and a certain number of components came from the original machine. This almost-completely-new machine doesn't attract the tax. It can be sold much cheaper.
I knew an owner who picked up a B3 like this, the only original bits were the engine and one blade, and they had only 100 hours on them anyway. Saved hundreds of thousands on the new price.