Enthusiast builds priced to sell

This week: A Cayman built with care, plus 5 other rapid-fire recommendations

January 15, 2026

The year starts busy chez Pepita, with lots of work and travel ahead.

But the good cars keep popping up. So there’s no time to rest.

Starting with a Cobalt Blue Cayman S from an enthusiast who built it with utmost care and attention to detail. Plus several other excellent finds that didn't get the full write-up but are worth your attention.

Onwards!

—RF

Someone's baby, priced like it's not

Cobalt Blue Metallic 2006 Porsche 987.1 Cayman S manual transmission with enthusiast modifications, upgraded suspension, and documented build history, priced at $22,000 in Seattle, Washington
PROS

  • Extensive list of tasteful mods and upgrades

  • Clean borescope and PPI

  • Priced better than most vanilla cars out there

CONS

  • PASM dash light

  • Over 100K miles

As someone who goes over tons of listings every week, finding one with personality is a treat.

This owner calls his 2006 Cobalt Blue Metallic Cayman S his "baby." It sports a healthy number of tasteful modifications and performance upgrades.

Yet he kept every original part he removed. Every modification is documented. The attention to detail in the listing tells you everything about how this car was maintained.

And here's the best part: despite investing serious time and money building his ideal mid-engine Porsche, he understands the market enough and priced it fairly in the low $20Ks instead of trying to get the next owner to pay for the upgrades.

That’s a great seller and enthusiast right there.

Market Report

Silver 2007 Porsche 987.1 Cayman with aftermarket wheels and enthusiast upgrades, sold for $21,000 as comparable example to Cobalt Blue build7

This Silver 987.1 that recently sold for $21,000 is an extremely close comp, down to the same build philosophy and even choice of rims.

Both cars are high-mileage 987.1 models with extensive enthusiast upgrades. Both owners documented everything and disclosed the imperfections upfront. Both priced their builds in the low $20Ks (below the average vanilla dealer-lot 987.1 out there.)

That's the paradox of enthusiast builds like these: someone invests thousands in making their Cayman better, then sells it for less than a bone-stock example because "modified" scares away casual buyers. Your gain if you know what you're looking at and the build was done right.

What You (and Your Mechanic) Should Know

This owner knows S models need attention. He did oil changes every 3,500 miles with premium oil and proactively ran a borescope to confirm clean cylinders. The car passed a PPI at a local specialist (he'll connect you with them).

The only issue: one PASM strut throws a dash light. He's driven it for a year without problems, but he'll swap in a new strut if you cover the part cost (around $350).

That kind of transparency is appreciated. He could've fixed it and rolled the cost into the asking price. Instead, he disclosed it and gave you the option.

Best of the rest

These cars also passed the Pepita filter this week:

🔗 This manual Arctic Silver 996.2 on PCA Mart for $31,000: clean, with Advanced Technic and Design Packages, IMS upgraded and transparent history.

🔗 This always-garaged 987.2 manual Cayman with just 88K miles, asking $25,500. An excellent deal for an elusive .2 manual Cayman under 100K miles, which normally orbit the $30K mark.

🔗 This 987.1 base Cayman. While not a steal at the asking price, it’s finished in an uncommon color, has a manual transmission and lower mileage at just 83K.

🔗 This stock 2001 996, a Tiptronic car in excellent condition with just 32,514 original miles for $29,950.

🔗 This 996 C4S for only $30,500, the lowest-priced C4S you'll find right now, with recent work, detailed list of options and an alleged IMS upgrade but no documentation to back it up.

Porsche Problems

See you next week with more affordable picks!

Take care,

—RF