charcoal cannister
 

I am about to buy a 98 accord with 30 thousand on it but I was told it needed a new charcoal cannister. Is that something I should be worried abbout?

the charcoal canister is an emission device... It takes fumes from the gas tank and filters them before sending them to be burned in the engine. A bad canister will usually give you a check engine light, but it's not something that will the effect the way the car runs or drives. only real problem is that it will likely fail an emissions test if your area requires those...