One thing I found to be very important is to have a mechanic without any interest in the plane do a pre-buy inspection. That saved me thousands. The owner of that plane thought it was in great condition, but they found some un-airworthy work that the owner's A&P had performed among other issues. It does sound like it's been maintained well.
As for the cost comparison, don't forget the safety and convenience of owning. The plane is ready to go whenever you are. I had a couple scary experiences in rentals and just about stopped flying until I bought 40S. Then I finished up the PPL.
