Today’s Cayman comes with both some modest mods and all the original parts those replaced. Let’s see if it can overcome that “other people’s project” burden with perhaps a not so burdensome price.

I’d like to point out that there really aren’t many bad engines offered these days. Modern technology has blessed us with engines that pump out power to displacement ratios unheard of just two decades ago. Most do so without fuss or muss.

That being said, there still are a few cars and trucks that have been poorly matched to one of those not so terrible engines, and yesterday’s was just such an example. That truck’s 2.5-litre four is woefully inadequate for anything more than pacing sloth races and that, along with an annoyingly analog top, dimmed the otherwise tidy TJ’s prospects. When that was taken in the context of its $8,000 price, not even a new clutch and windscreen—and Drew Barrymore—could improve the outlook, and it fell in a 75 percent Crack Pipe loss.

One of the selling points of yesterday’s Jeep was that it had been slightly modded by its current owner. Those subtle changes were for the better, and could perhaps be construed as being in the Jeep’s favor. Not all mods on used cars are given as much slack.

Take for instance this . The Cayman is, in most ways, a perfect sports car. This one, however, has had some massaging to make it more to the present owner’s taste, and that could sour it for some potential buyers.

Now, it goes without saying that the factory-spec Porsche Cayman S is about as close to ideal as one can find in a sports car. More than just a Boxster with a roof, the Cayman’s incredibly well balanced and rigid platform works to make it one of the world’s most rewarding cars to drive. And of course when we’re considering Cayman models the S is preferred way to rock. These have a larger flat-six than the base cars, and that could be mated to a six-speed stick rather than the lower model’s less-shifty five-speed. The original S, which debuted in 2005 sported a 276 horsepower 3.2-litre mill. Porsche kindly bumped that to 3.4-litres and 295 horses in 2007.

This one presents in Basalt Black Metallic over a black leather-clad interior. It comes with 114,000 miles on the clock and a clean title. It also comes with a slew of updates that engenders the car’s description as being “lightly modified.”

The changes wrought are both visual and practical. The former includes LED lighting for both interior and exterior night duty. Those include the headlamps and a pair of aftermarket tail lamps that sport sequential turn signals. Multi-color fog lamps round out the lighting updates.

On the more practical end of the mod madness, there’s a set of spider spoke Vorsteiner wheels in what’s described as carbon graphite. Those are wrapped in Hankook Ventus that are claimed to still have about half their tread life left. The wheels run on spacers and sit hunched under the wheel arches due to the car riding on a set of chassis-lowering coilovers. The plus side of that is that the car has a hunkered down and purposeful look from far. The downside is that the lowered suspension makes the rear wheel misalign with the surrounding arch.

You may not notice that once the car fires up. The factory exhaust has been replaced by a set of what the seller says is competition headers and a Remus SPORT exhaust. That likely sounds pretty sweet and should be loud enough that your next-block over neighbors can enjoy it too.

The car itself looks pretty decent, with paint that’s holding up well and no obvious imperfections in the bodywork beneath that. For some reason, the seller didn’t think it necessary to include any shots of the interior in his ad. He does note in the description that it features heated seats and a BOSE stereo. Those are both great features but I’d still like pics.

Instead, we get some beauty shots of the car, including a couple in which it’s wearing yellow gels over its headlamps. I don’t know about you, but that’s not something I find very appealing. It’s an easy fix if not, however.

In fact, pretty much every one of the “light mods” the seller has made to the car can be undone. That’s because it comes not only with the updates but all the original parts—wheels, lights, and exhaust—along for the ride. That might make the mods, and the car’s $20,000 asking price a bit easier to take.

We’re now going to take that one way or the other. What do you think, is this “lightly modded” Cayman S worth that not so light $20,000 asking? Or, do you think that price needs some major modification?

You decide!

San Francisco Bay Area, CA , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to onlytwowheels for the hookup!

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