11. The day has come and gone so fast.

Day 1 drive - started from Schulte Subaru and went directly to Walmart to buy some water for the radiator and some engine oil. This was just a precaution in the event of a warning light or unusual smells and sounds I might encounter on the trip. The best insurance is being prepared. I filled the tank with fuel at Shell. I didn’t need to check tire pressure because that was checked during the PPI. I got on the 29 South and first thing I see is speed limit 80! If I hadn’t got the PPI I might have nailed it. I wanted to! Instead, I eased my speed up to 65 and just listened for about an hour. You can learn so much by just driving. Using all the senses (ok not taste) I can get a good or bad feeling about the car. This was a good feeling. The temp gauge was holding steady and the car was just humming along. I made it to Wichita KS on the first day of driving. Having flown in at 11:30am and leaving the dealership at about 1:30pm. So, only a half day of driving. Great day and feeling good about the car.

Subaru South Dakota PPI - A big thank you to Schulte Subaru of Sioux Falls South Dakota. I had them do a PPI (pre purchase inspection) on the 2.5rs before I bought it. Found out some things that the seller didn’t know. I did know the radiator had a crack in the top plastic. (who makes a radiator out of plastic? More on that later) I found out that the head gaskets were leaking. That concerned me more than the radiator. Brakes had 3mm on front and 5mm on the rears. Not a deal breaker but I needed to take it easy on the trip. Also found out that the steering has a slow leak and needs attention. Again, not the worst but needs to be looked at. All in all it’s drivable but not a spirited drive. More like a cautious slow and steady drive home. This also had one positive result. The PPI helped me renegotiate the price as well. Saved me almost 35% of asking price. Well done Me!