Hasselblad 503CW - worth it over an older model?

[Tzelet]

I have been offered a Leica R8 for a really nice price, but there is a catch: The guy wants to sell all his film stuff in one go. Other than the R8 there is a Hasselblad 503CW with WLF, A12 back and an 80mm f/2.8 CFE lens. I have owned an older Hasselblad, but never a "newer" model like the 503CW. Is there any downside to getting this model, and is the 80mm CFE Planar better than the older models?

The Hasselblad kit will cost me around $1400 which seems like a reasonable price for a more or less mint camera/lens?

Sorry for being a complete noob, but my old Hasselblad sort of fell in my lap, and I sold it on - not without agony: I loved the negatives. I'm just wondering if the new-ness is worth it, or if I could save myself a few hundred and go with some older stuff.

 

[sevo]

The model differences within the Hasselblad 5xx series are rather small, the more so if you don't use them in a studio setting/with digital backs. Personally I'd consider any of them from the 500C on fully useful.

Condition is more critical - the majority of them have been through pro use, and may be correspondingly wasted. The 500C of some dentist, used for a holiday film a year over four decades, can be in a much better shape than a three year old 503CW from a successful pro camera rental place that has already gone though the hands of a thousand photographers and done its 200,000 shots.

 

[bobbyrab]

I went for a mint 501cm, cheaper than the 503 but much the same camera I believe, and the 501 is still relatively young.