New vs Used: 2006 Ferrari 430 Spider vs Porsche 911 Cabriolet

You’re a keen driver but love the feeling of the wind in your hair (or would if you had any). With a budget of $250K, there’s no shortage of choice – everything from the Aston Martin V8 Vantage to the BMW 650i to the Jaguar F-Type R.

If you truly want to combine sports car dynamics with open air motoring though, it’s tough to go past the Porsche 911 Cabriolet. You might get laughed at by your GT3-owning mates, but in its latest twin-turbo 991.2 guise, the 911 Cabriolet is seriously rapid and massively accomplished.

Shift your gaze to the used car market, however, and the selection becomes significantly spicier. For similar money to a new drop-top 911 you could land a Ferrari F430 Spider, at which point you’re shifting into supercar territory.

We found this highly specced F430 in Melbourne for $229,888, though a similar car was recently listed at $209,990. For comparison’s sake, a new 911 Carrera Cab starts at $239,000. The two are lineball in terms of speed, the 911 claiming 4.4sec from 0-100km/h and the F430 4.2sec, though the Italian takes top speed honours.

Surely running a 10-year-old Ferrari is akin to tearing up $100 notes? Apparently not. As long as the car has been cared for, the drivetrain is reportedly bulletproof, with the major problems being cracking exhaust manifolds, fragile wheel rims and weak exhaust and engine mounts.

There’s the odd electronic bug, the clutch (manual or F1 paddle-shift) doesn’t like abuse and be wary of any car fitted with carbon ceramic brakes; they last longer but are horrendously expensive to replace.

All in all, there seems to be no reason not to enjoy an F430 regularly and the prospect of that engine and badge for less than the price of a new 911 or F-Type is seriously tempting.

Here's one we found on Trade Unique Cars

2006 F430 Spider

16,769km, F1 shift, $229,888
We found this Grigio Silvertsone 430 Spider at Lorbek Luxury Cars in Melbourne. Full service history, electric Daytona seats, full interior carbon fibre package and reportedly in as-new condition.