182Q upgrade Avionics, or upgrade to 182T?

Regarding 6 seats...

My before purchase flying was 4ppl more than 50% of the time with car seats and all the kid crap you could stuff in. Now it's 5ppl, so I need the extra row. If my flying had been different, I would have gone with a 182-182D.

Don't "upgrade" to a 6 seater unless you absolutely have to. Insurance is higher, fuel burn is higher, and landing fees can also be higher.
 
I have a 182P - in my view the best of the 182s. Have had it for 15 yrs, and in those 15 yrs always thought about “what’s next”. Was a great family hauler all over the country, now the twins are 16 and grown men size-wise. Always thought I’d end up needing a 6-seater, but turns out I just have to give some thought to loading that I didn’t have to before. I can’t just fill up long-range tanks, stuff everyone and everything in it, and go. But turns out it still fits the mission pretty well with some planning. Now I have a run-out engine and need some panel upgrades - well, needs and wants. My gps is an unsupported gx50, so really need an upgrade there. So do I do all of this engine and panel work or decide something else better fits the mission? I think about the fact that the twins will be off to college in a couple of years and the mission changes to more of my wife and I traveling or I’m going to pick someone up. I dream about how perfect a 33 Bonanza would be for that. But really all that much better than the Skylane?

in short, turns out I did it right the first time (well technically 3rd time - 150, 172) and I’m starting to accept the 182 as my forever plane. Really tough to beat for general utility in one half the country, with occasional forays into the rest of it.

TL;DR - keep the 182Q
 
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