If my brother-in-law is any indication, a Shadow is just fine if you
keep up on maintenance.  His went 195,000 miles as a daily commuter with
very few problems.  He bought it new in 1992, a cheap, low-line Shadow
America with the base engine, and maintained it by the "severe"
maintenance schedule, but has used the Motorcraft FL-1A oil filter,
which fits just fine but is larger, adding 1/2 quart to the oil fill.
He put in a timing belt at 65,000 and another at 130,000, just to make
sure it didn't break and cause damage.  Replaced the water pump at the
same time; why not, it's right there when you do the timing belt.  Had
to replace a voltage regulator module at something like 90,000 because
it was overcharging his battery.  The usual and expected replacement of
struts and bushings in the front end tightened it back up at about
140,000.  He got a Jeep Cherokee and sold the Shadow to his neighbor's
kid, who is still driving it, now at 215,000.

On the other hand, one sees Shadows and Plymouth Sundances that are all
clapped out, mostly due to owners who treated them as cheap, "beater"
cars, had them break, then blamed the cars instead of themselves. You
know the kind of owner.  Their idea of "maintenance" is that when the
red oil pressure light stays on too long, they buy a quart of the
cheapest stuff sold at the 7-11 store, and add it so the light will go out.

My wife drive a '93 Dodge Shadow which I maintain.  It just turned over 200K
a few week ago.  It has major chipped paint on the forward sections of the
entire car and even some along the sides and rear. Many of the Chrysler cars
of this era have bad paint.   I've been thinking about doing a hand paint
brush job on it.  The door panels are starting to rust along the extreme
lower edge. (normal for most vehicles around here in New England)  But there
is also a rust hole about the size of golf ball right through the front of
the hood in an area approximately over the radiator.  And the rear support
frame for the stabilizer bar and upper shock absorbers is rotting away.
This is somewhat abnormal and is peculiar to the Shadow design I suppose.
Meanwhile, my 88 Horizon still has decent paint, (except for a couple of
rusted areas) and the supporting framework is still all okay.  So good car,
but not as good as the older Horizon as far as paint and body rustout
resistance is concerned.  Oh, and gas mileage is good as long as you can
keep the all the emissions gadgets working.  These seem to be more critical
on the Shadow than on the older Horizon.  For example, some time ago the EGR
valve rotted away on my Horizon and became completely non-functional, yet
after sealing it up for vacuum leaks, it still runs fine and even passes the
emissions test.

Good car.  My 1992 2 door hatchback 2.5 auto runs well, but the heating/AC
is marginal.  Comfortable, gets 25 to 28 mpg, no rattles, and other than oil
changes, new battery,  and one tune up, it has had nothing else done to it
at 68,xxx miles.  Paint is still good, no rust, and nothing has fallen off.
Wait, the headliner is drooping, but I'll fix that myself.
The 2.5 engine is NOT an interference engine, which puts it way ahead of the
Japan stuff, IMHO.
If you find one thats been well cared for, go for it!

Deke