Having a few hundred hours in these planes that is a fine description.
EDIT add on:
I only know of three gotchas for 182s so long as they are opperated within spec (gross weight, TO distance no ice etc)
1) Icemaker O470s on the 182-182R, carb temp guage a good idea and proper use of carb heat makes it a non issue. Starting with the S a fuel injected engine was installed reducing the chances of ice related power reduction.
There are also some differences between model letters of the O-470, most notably the jump from the "S" to the "U" around 1976 (?), the "U" turns slower with higher compression, and heavy and light cases, etc. There are fans of all of the variants, really. O-470's a big dumb lug of an engine that won't fly LOP at all unless you're god-awful lucky and like beading with partial carb heat in cruise.
The "S" he refers to is the C-182S which since Cessna was bought by Textron, Lycoming's parent company, it would have been politically incorrect to hang a Telledyne Continental on the nose. The Lycoming is fuel-injected and derated from it's maximum possible power to match the horsepower of the Continental so Cessna didn't have to re-certify the aircraft.
The Lycoming can be operated LOP like most injected engines.
2) In the interests of having the cargo compartment useable the CG is forward with no cargo and empty rear seats, don't let the heavy flare supprise you. This isn't unusualy as you step into bigger planes, you aren't flying a 172 anymore.
Trim, trim, trim... Trim some more.
Really hamfisted pilots whack the nosegear down hard enough to pay for a minor Skylane weakness, that big heavy engine out front is hung from the firewall as is the nosegear bracketed to it.
Wrinkling the firewall is an expensive thing to fix and happens when you slam the nosegear on or fly onto the runway nosegear first and push down wheelbarrow-style. Proper flare technique and touching down with the weight on the mains is required.
As he said, it's not a Skyhawk.
3) Water in the fuel system. Flush mounted caps on older models allowed water into the tanks. Impropper installation of fuel bladders can result in wrinkles preventing the water from draining during preflight. Planes with "killer caps" should have umbrella type caps installed and bladder equiped planes should be checked for wrinkles. Cessna "solved" the problem with the Q model with the move to a wet wing. Solve in quotes because some folks don't like the mess/labor involved in repairing them when they leak, as all fuel tanks will eventualy.
The Cessna "umbrella" caps also work fine if well-maintained and the rubber grommet on top and the orange silicone vent are kept in good shape. The Monarch STC is nice but not 100% necessary. The recessed "push outward to seal" caps are the killers. Only one owner in a recent CPA "legacy" C-182 tech course still had them on his aircraft, and was going home with the intent of replacing them after what he learned in the course. (By the way, the course is highly recommended. It's a steal for the price and you learn a ton about maintaining your 182.)
Bladder tanks on the older birds all eventually fail and must be replaced. We had a premature failure of our left tank at 7 years, and replaced it this year with an Eagle. Current warranty is 10 years, when ours was purchased prior to us owning the aircraft, 5 years. Competition has heated up. Plan $3000 all-in with labor to buy one and replace it. If the bladders are more than 10 years old, especially. The original bladders in our airplane went almost 20 years according to the logs and failed within one year of each other, the second set, one went 7 and the other is still going so far.
You'll know when they go. Blue all over the side of the aircraft and a puddle on the floor. Messy.
Our mechanic likes Eagle bladders, but there are other options. We were okay with Eagle.
Eagle also makes an STCd fuel drain that is built better than the originals, and we installed one with the bladder and put the other on the shelf for when the right bladder eventually fails. It's nicer than the originals and worth the extra $150 for the pair.
Thing to watch on the pre-buy... Often mechanics change a bladder and don't replace the little rubber hoses that go from the tank to the fuselage. We had leaks in those prior to the left bladder failure on both sides and replaced all of them.
Same problem with rear air vent tubing and avionics cooling tubing and other rubber, tubes, etc... all over the aircraft. The stuff is 30+ years old - replace it. Get the orange scat stuff and do it right.
Baffles are another thing to look at carefully with the cowl off. Should be flexible and not folded over or cut.
Another common expensive item: Carb air box and door. Keep it in good condition and get the $150 stiffeners/braces from I believe, McFarlane. The box cracks, it's $4000 or more to replace. The cowl pushes on it and deforms it. Stiffeners solve the problem. Cheap. Do it.
Cowl flap hinges. If you let them get bad, the flap will depart the aircraft and probably beat a few holes in the fuselage before the control cable linkage lets go. It'll be a minimum $5000 in repair costs. Replacement hinges from McFarlane are about $150. Another simple fix if you're ahead of it.
Lighting: the models with cowl-mounted landing/taxi lights burn out at a horrendous rate due to being mounted where engine vibration is the worst.
Options include finding a friendly FSDO that'll let you substitue 100 hour halogen bulbs for "safety" reasons, LED bulbs, or HID bulbs.
We haven't done ours yet, but we're tired of changing bulbs. There are some drawbacks to LED, but they're far better than burnt out bulbs. Far cheaper than HID and less problems with noise from a ballast. HID are awesomely bright though. So pick your poison but the 25-hour tractor bulbs Cessna put on our bird were the cheapest thing the could find 35 years ago and they're outdated now.
Both work well with a flasher system, might as well install one of those for daytime use too, once you're not counting the minutes of "on" time with a halogen.
There's more but that's enough for now...
Oh, one way to get the carb temp gauge as well as individual CHT/EGT, fuel totalizer, and other goodies is to add a JPI. It's on our wish list. Easier/cheaper to install at engine overhaul time but not hideous in between engine cycles.
