Lens cleaning or repair.

[Designer]

.. are the mold spots really detrimental the image quality of an inexpensive lens or am I just being knit picky.

"Inexpensive" can mean a wide range of quality/desirability to different people. I am an inveterate tinkerer, and I am continually repairing/modifying something. For me, a cheap lens that is one step above being a paperweight could be something I would enjoy tinkering on. If the thing works when I'm finished, then I would consider it a "win".

Anyway, spots on the front element will not show up as spots because they won't be in focus. Image degradation would be manifest in such aberrations as loss of contrast, or color fringing, for instance.

But how would you know if you improved the lens unless you could compare the IQ with the repaired lens with one that was pristine and had not been fiddled with? I would try it for the experience of it. Better to mess up a cheap lens than an expensive one.