I am so confussed

[tim-adams]

Hello
I am rather new here, been lurking and reading for awhile.. never posted, I joined after I built my AR, I am now looking to diversify and get an AK

I have been reading up on AK's on a few boards and its just confusing me more and more..

It looks like i missed the boat on buying an AK74 and they blocked imports and the prices jumped, I have also been hearing "by an arsenal or its crap" I heard the same crap when I built my AR "buy a Danial Defense or a spikes or a BCM or its shit"... well I call BS on that, I build my AR and it runs like a champ..

so a few points..
I want a mid level working gun, something that I can take to a class and drive it hard, and it just shoots so I can enjoy the class not troubleshooting my gun.
the price of 5.45 vs 7.62x39 ammo has balanced out to 1-2 cents per round difference so its not a factor. (makes me waffle on which one to buy)
I like the gentle impulse of the 5.45, as will my wife, however I recognize the tactical abilities for the 7.62x39.
the price of mags ak47 is much cheaper then ak74.
I am having trouble finding a relatively nice AK74 unless I want to spend 1k, or I am leary to spend $600 on a cheap Bulgarian ak74, that may or may not run worth a damn.
the new c39v2 tactical looks really nice, melonite barrel, small rail on the front, and at $600 its priced to move. it says AKM furniture,

AK's seem to be a bit inflated right now, is there a decent discount AK out there?
or if I buy the cheap will I be tearing it down for a polishing? just to make it run? or can I make it run well?

I am not opposed to buying a kit and building my own from parts, I did that with my AR and I am happy with the results.
however I am not sure I have the tools or knowledge required for an AK, presses and such.
it appears from posts on this board that there are a few people out there who have the knowledge to scratch build AK's (not what I want)

any books suggested?

thanks for reading this, and any reply's..
have a great day.