Alphamatt,
I'll try to be positive here, so as to be helpful....
Any type certified aircraft, produced by an established manufacturer, well maintained, skillfully flown by a well trained pilot, within the accepted safe practices, will be as safe as any other. The "extras" won't make it much safer than it left the factory, unless very specialized operations require them - then they're required anyway!
Diesel engines are fantastic in machines which operate on the surface of the earth, they seen to have not yet established themselves well for aviation use. I am presently contracted by an airframe manufacturer to evaluate for approval, the replacement of diesel engines with "old time" gasoline engines in their prime model. If it's good enough for them, it should be for you. Diesel will find it's place in general aviation aircraft - eventually...
Parts do not fall off well maintained, properly flown aircraft. Parachute not required. Heavy and expensive, and a false sense of security. Once you deploy it, you are no longer in control of the aircraft. If you were not committed to be in control of the aircraft for the whole flight, you should not start one. I would never want to surrender the opportunity to control the aircraft during a landing.
Don't let the GPS distract you from safe flying, and traffic avoidance. If you're flying off shore a raft is not only a good idea, it's a requirement. Other than that, it, and the parachute, equal one person you will not be able to carry in the aircraft.
Budget 100% of the cost of normal maintenance, and accomplish normal maintenance well, without missing any opportunity to get it right.
Get good training! Practice. Get more good training. Practice. Realize that no matter how well you're doing, you have made mistakes, and should have scared yourself. Be scared, you'll remember what scared you, and get it better next time.
Let's use, as an unfortunate case study: JFK Junior. I'm sure that we can all agree, that he was probably not limited in finances to apply to his hobby of aviation. He flew a safe, well maintained aircraft, with proper safety equipment? I expect so... Well trained? Perhaps... Practiced, apparently not enough!
The pilots who have scared me the most, while I have flown for the purpose of mentoring them, were those who presented themselves, with their very expensive, well maintained, safely equipped aircraft, and then behaved as though all of that expendature would keep them safe, whether they flew well or not. This is not sensible behaviour. Even the most expensive aircraft can be crashed by an inadequate pilot. Even a defective junker has a good chance of being safely landed my a skilled, prepared pilot.
I observe that many of the cheapskate pilots, who fly the "modest" aircraft, seem to actually be safer (in terms of fewer accidents, and injuries). They're (we're) the "mongrals" of aviation, and seem to be paying more attention to the things that really matter. The guy I bought my plane from, was buying a bigger, better one. He had (and has) never had a license, or an accident. He flew sensibly (unless you think it's sensible to have an actual license!). It was a statisical fact for many years that pilots who operated their aircraft illegally on Mogas in the United States, were much less likely to have a fuel exhaustion/mismanagement accident. They were simply paying more attention to what they were doing, so as not to get caught! The pilots spending the big bucks on Avgas, seemed to pay less attention...
I own a proper liferaft. I wore a parachute for a few hundred of my many thousand hours of flying (when doing so was a legal requirement). I never used either.
Enjoy reading and learning here, and all of the other great places to grow your skills. Leave the fancy stuff for much later, it justs distracts you, and tricks you into false security. Train for real security instead!
Pilot DAR