*Zastava M91 - including optics, around $3000
Zastava Arms M91 Rifle for SALE - AtlanticFirearms.com
*PSL - new batches have just came in, around $2200
Romanian PSL-54 Rifle-Century Arms RI3324N - AtlanticFirearms.com
*x54r or .308 Veprs do take some SVD furniture like the buttstocks but do a lot of research into this - around $2000. Zenitco is coming out with a new line of Vepr furniture specifically for the "big bore" guns
*Zastava M76 or M77 - depending on if you buy a parts kit or a whole gun, parts kits + receivers are around $2000 not including gunsmithing to put the kit together
Or just buy a SVD. When you add up the amount of useless crap people buy, from coffee to snowmobiles to boats, you can find places to cut costs and save money. Or sell some other guns, maybe making up the cash difference. Anything is possible if you really want something, just takes dedication and effort.
Whether a gun is "worth it" to you is up to you. All of the alternatives are going to be a minimum of $2000. I've handled a new M91 and it was cool, but not cool enough for me to buy at this time. All of these guns aren't as accurate as modern DMRs, like say a SR-25. The optics are garbage in comparison to modern optics but its just really cool to look through them and see that iconic reticle. RobSki on AK Operators Union was able to get 1MOA with a PSL, with handloads, but he's been to US Army sniper schools. Compare that to modern DMRs where 1MOA is the bare minimum for accuracy.
I've owned a x54r Vepr and it was great fun but it'd take a lot of work to get one into a DMR - remember, these were designed as hunting guns. I'd go with a new set of Zenitco furniture (probably a grand there, including a dust cover scope mount), a KNS adjustable gas piston for use with a suppressor, maybe swap out the muzzle device, and a modern optic. Note that I said DMR, not a SVD clone.
I would say your best option right now for a completed, off-the-shelf, non-kit gun SVD clone would be the Zastava M91 at $3000 or so.