It's a great unit, have one in my car and love it. They are highly sought after on ebay and go for more than some units that are much more modern.
That said, it is a serial interface, whereas the newer models have USB, and if you are a Mac user (I am) then the Garmin beta software to convert your maps to Mac won't support the older serial models. I am also not sure if the V supports the Topo 2008 maps.
I love the form factor of it and the III+ (my III+ just died) and was looking for another V myself until I discovered the lack of Mac support, so I ordered a GPSMAP 60 for $109 from
http://www.edgegps.com/eCart/default.html (refurb unit, but I've read good things about the Garmin refurbs).
Because of the price of some of the refurb units found at the above site, I've thought about selling my V and getting the value out of it and upgrading to something like the Quest or 2610 for the car. Depending upon the price you found the V for, and of course the uses, you may want to consider a bit more modern unit since the V's demand a price premium.