Kees, in some ways it makes more sense to rent, but at the end of your ownership, you will still have a possesion with value, so in the long run, with enough use, it would actually work out cheaper?
Rod, i'm not IFR so no need for anything fancy, GPS as a back up nav would be nice, but not vital. I am night rated, but there should be no major differences there? Most aircraft have panel lights or dome lights.
With regards to maintainance, I can do quite a bit myself being an RAF Aircraft engineer, and I will hopefully be doing my EASA B1 soon, so might be able to cover more than most people..