Used 1993 Dodge Shadow Consumer Reviews
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We have a limited number of reviews for the 1993 Shadow, so we've included reviews for other years of the Shadow since its last redesign.
Good Small Car
Glenn, 08/04/2010
1992 Dodge Shadow Highline 4dr Hatchback
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I had one of these I bought new in 1990 and put 100,000 trouble free miles on it. I bought a new one in 1992 for my mother-in-law and she drove it until she passed away. She loved it and it has sat the last few years as we just could not sell it. I started driving it again recently and it runs like the day we bought it. These were good cars for the money, this car has 77,000 miles on it without a single problem.
Still Going
Materialman , 03/27/2022
updated 04/07/2025
1992 Dodge Shadow Highline 4dr Hatchback
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
We still own our 92. I wrote a couple of reviews on this car in 2008 and 2010. It now has 92,000 miles on it and still runs great. The 2.5 engine has been as reliable as the old SlantSix Chrysler sold for years. This car still looks new and I’m surprised the interior has held up so well. When I get gas, people come over and want to look at the car because you just don’t see them anymore, some want to buy it. It’s not for sale. Update: the car continues to perform well. It starts, and runs fine. The paint still shines and the interior looks like new. Update: not much new to report. The car still keeps going. 92,000 miles. Starts every day, doesn’t burn oil, gets decent mileage. Cars been worth every penny we paid for it. Update: Had a head gasket failure at 95,000 miles. Researching the internet, I see that can be an issue around 100,000 miles. Being we bought this car new, for my wife’s Mother, and she loved it, it has become part of the family. We knew we had to fix it. Refurbished the head, new head gasket, new timing belt, full tune up, new belts, new water pump, thermostat, and all filters. $1750, but worth it. Car runs like new again. Paint and interior still looks like new. It should run for a long time now. Update 10/24: The car is running perfectly again since the head gasket repair. It was worth the $1750.00 dollars it cost me. The car still looks very close to new, inside and out, and has a lot of sentimental value to us, so sending to the junk yard was never an option. The car is a testament to good maintenance and good engineering by Chrysler Corporation. A plumber that was at my neighbors house walked over to look at it while I was washing it the other day and wanted to buy it. Of course, I declined the offer. Update: The car has 97,000 miles on it. Running great since the repair of the head gasket. I’ll get it inspected today and it will pass with flying colors. I guy wanted me to take a picture of him standing by it in a gas station the other day. He said his Mom used to take him to school every day in one just like it. It’s still going!
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
1993 Dodge Shadow for sale near you
Showing 1 of 1 listings
- Base 2dr HatchbackMSRP: $5,997768 mi away
93 dodge shadow
emily's car, 01/17/2010
1993 Dodge Shadow 4dr Hatchback
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Excellent car, nearly 200,000 kms on it and still going... Very comfortable and fun to drive, most reliable car, can sit for 2 weeks at below zero temp and still have no trouble starting. Not many repairs needed over the years. Love this car and will miss it when it's gone some day. Doesn't seem like that will happen any time soon tho!
Fun to drive, wish it was more reliable
kickspro, 01/21/2010
1992 Dodge Shadow America 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Got the car in May of 09, loved it. Drove good for about a week then the engines belt started squeeking, very annoying. Got a new belt and it was gone, car is very underpowered with a 2.2 4 cylinder in it. Car got good gas millage at the start of my purchase and got worse as days went on. The tranny leaked alot of tran fluid and had to refill it every few months. Car overall was very stock and basic but was a enjoyable ride. Didnt want to risk the engine and tranny going so I sold the beast.
great car
scatpack, 07/18/2002
1992 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Convertible
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
only had minor problems-fuel pump, no a/c, timing belt
Way fun to drive
dale, 03/01/2002
1992 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Convertible
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
3.0L V6 that will spin the 205's and still get 25MPG. It's just a fun little car and cheap to maintain. I've not had any major problems, just the little things that happen to a 10year old 128000 mile car. I Solo II race it for fun. At the point where you can find them in junk yards so parts are not too costly.
4 DR Hatchback
mandy20, 02/14/2003
1992 Dodge Shadow America 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
It is so much fun to drive. Very reliable and good mileage. About 21+ in the city. Excellent exterior quality and comfortable seats.
Best used car I have ever bought
Spendaddy, 12/24/2005
1992 Dodge Shadow America 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Bought this car in Vegas with 85,000 miles in Jan of 2004. Drove 2700 miles in 3 days to Florida and not one problem. Car has 102,000 and I can't beleive that every option still works! Just change oil and repack bearings regularly and you will be fine. Paint is not the best, but who cares it's 14 years old!! Best used car I ever bought for $1000!
MY RELIABLE SHADOW
SHORTY, 08/01/2004
1992 Dodge Shadow America 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
MY SHADOW HAS BEEN WITH ME FOR 12 YEARS , AND IT HAS HELD UP PRETTY GOOD...IT IS A 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION, EASY SHIFTING...HAVE HAD NO MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH IT...STILL HAS QUITE A BIT OF ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT...HOWEVER, I PRIDE MYSELF IN THE FACT I HAVE TAKEN CARE OF IT...IT HAS ALLMOST 112,000 MILES ON ITS 4 CYLINDER ENGINE...THE FIRST FEW YEARS, I DROVE QUITE A BIT ON INTERSTATE H IGHWAYS AND THE MILEAGE WAS OK, IF YOU DIDN'T FLUCTUATE YOUR SPEED UP AND DOWN...I WISH IT HAD BEEN A DIFFERENT COLOR, AND INCLUDED A SPOILER...HOWEVER, AT THE TIME, IT WAS IN MY PRICE RANGE...THE 2.5 ENGINE, HAS NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS...I WOULD BUY ONE AGAIN, IF I COULD!
Very inexpensive to own
Bnad, 09/21/2004
1992 Dodge Shadow ES 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I paid about $8,500 for this car in 1993. I'm very happy with the repair record; until just the last year, the car just has never needed repairs. The car is a V6 with plenty of power and I've never had a major problem with it. The body metal has lasted very well; the clutch has nearly 100,000 miles on it. The biggest problem right now is a squeak from the sway bar bushings, which the mechanic has convinced me is harmless. This is really the requiem for my car as the paint is faded, the clutch has started to slip, and I don't think it's worth it to replace it. But this has been a very cheap car to own, and great performance for the money.
1992 dodge shadow america
kottonmouthking, 04/05/2005
1992 Dodge Shadow America 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I love this vehicle because you get over 300 miles on a full tank. It handles great.
Don't buy this car
braklvr, 03/22/2003
1992 Dodge Shadow Highline 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I bought the car in August/2002. Three weeks into my purchase, the head gasket broke. Two months and $800 later, the cam shaft broke. $300 later, it broke again. I have a good mechanic who didn't charge me the 2nd time but he said it will break again because the engine isn't holding the cam shaft in place right.
92 Shadow ES
Bespin, 12/31/2002
1992 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Love the car, has a lot of potential to be even more fun. Never had a problem mechanically, but I work at a mechanic shop and do all of the maintainance early.
Dodge shadow 3.0 ES 2DR
Mopar41, 07/07/2003
1992 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
This car is one of the fastest stock dodge cars ever made. Its a great car to drive.With the 5spd, the car has much better acceleration than the auto.My car just happens to have a cold air intake and the turbo's 5spd tranny. It makes better 1/4 mile times but top speed is somewhat slower. Who needs to go fast on the city streets anyway?...ME! With the nitro, the car has 223hp. making the 1/4 mile in 13.8 sec!!! I've cut the car down 2.5'in, in the front and 2.0'in in the rear. I only did this to improove handling in high spd cornering.It has virtually no body roll at all. HAVE FUN!!!
My 450 dollar decison
Jacob , 03/20/2020
1992 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Convertible
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I bought this car (convertible model) for 45o bucks, needed a new head cylinder because of a blown head gasket put about 500 dollars in it. I could not be happier! The car is such a smooth ride, and the comfort is amazing, but most 90's cars are! I have it going on 90 k and it runs great!
Nice V6 torque
Revman, 04/17/2002
1993 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I bought this car new in 1993 and it cost around $11,500. Tell me where you can get a new car today for that kind of money that has 170 lb. ft. of torque availible as soon as you put your foot on the gas. It handled pretty well also. The hatch back great, even though it doesn't look like a hatch, and the rear seats folded down. The brakes could be a lot better to match the engines performance. When things did go wrong, they were minor and inexpensive. After 8 years of owning it I bought a new car, but I would do it over again if I could.
Awesome Car
nickmatt8191, 01/21/2009
1993 Dodge Shadow 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Great car. Has some rust & some body damage seeing as it had hit a deer when i bought it. but,it still runs great. Just needs a belt replaced.
28,866 and STILL GOING!
Sharon, 05/07/2010
1993 Dodge Shadow 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
This was the 1st vehicle I ever purchased without a daddy or husband...and at almost 29K miles, a daughter has driven it, a son has driven it, and now a grandson has driven it. It still runs GREAT. The 5-speed manual transmission makes it FUN to drive and I've been loving my Shadow for over 17 years. The BEST purchase I've ever made!
My First Car ans an awesome one at that
ken, 08/02/2010
1993 Dodge Shadow 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I loved this car it was fun to drive all my friends loved it. For a small car it was powerful with a v6 3L engine. The only things that weren't so great about the gas was the gas mileage but wat do you expect from a 16 to 17 year old car And there's little room. This car was amazing but about 2 weeks ago coming home my back right tire snapped off where the axle met the rim so i don't know if I'm going to have it fixed because it might not be worth the money but it was an amazing car and was reliable until this one incident and i got the car from my grand father when it had only 46,000 miles on it in 08 and when i was done with it it had 68,000 so i used it well and it was a great FAST car.
Wish they still made them
mrshadow, 07/11/2002
1993 Dodge Shadow 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I bought a 93 shadow new for $9200. I now have 141,000 miles and the only repairs have been a horn, one set of brakes (at 120,000) one set of plugs, 3 sets of tires. DODGE please stop making the piece of crap neon, and make this car again. I wish I could hop in my time machine a buy a few more of these new.
good reliable car, and cheap.
Darkness, 08/04/2002
1993 Dodge Shadow 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Bought car for bout 1400 off someone on college campus, so its now a 3rd hand car, has no history problems, and the only thing replaced by the former owner was a set of tires, and brake pad. Car makes some engine noise, but its a reliable car, and i've no problems for the past few months. I intend to keep it for the next few years until i have a real job =)
Wish it was mine
Tomcat, 11/07/2002
1993 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I bought a '93 ES 2 door hatchback for my daughter from a dealer friend of mine who took it on trade from the original owner. This was going to be her first car and of course my main way of thinking was to have something reliable for her so I didn't recieve calls about breakdowns. I have known several people that had these and I never heard a complaint. Her car has every option except the sunroof and it all still works perfectly. It runs like a top and I never hear a word from her. I wonder where she's at . . . . . .
great cheap car
gsxrter1994, 02/13/2002
1993 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
runs great
The Shadow Rules the Road
DrShadow, 02/27/2002
1993 Dodge Shadow 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Seriously, how many of these do you see out there on the road. Probably a ton, yeah so the paint jobs on these are pretty worthless but they will outlive your car anyday. So far I have 146000 miles with original clutch(original d/t warranty 7yr/100K miles) and tons of other originals such as hoses and stuff. Nothing at all wrong. Seems to be fairly sound. I intend to drive it until it falls apart in about 100K more miles
never left on side of road
mamasplat, 02/28/2003
1993 Dodge Shadow ES 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I bought this car used off of my mother, and she bought it new off the lot. This car as been so reliable, we have used it to go far distances from our home, and it has never left on the side of the road. And we have 150,000 on it, and it is still going strong. The engine makes a few noises (belt I think) and I think it needs a new head gasket. But for it lasting 10 years, and never had a major problem, I like the car, I would definetly by another one if they were still around.
Average vehicle, good bang for buck
lrhs54, 09/17/2003
1993 Dodge Shadow ES 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Bought this shadow brand new. It has always been a suprisingly fast car. It was driven pretty hard, lost the tranny at 105k, alternator and distributor cap @ 80k. But it was in a serious wreck at 68000, and it never seemed to run like it did after being rebuilt. Now has 125k and oil is creeping in to the plugs, making for it to mix and misfire. I still drive it every day, and if you put your foot down it still moves pretty good. But the gas mileage has lowered to about 15-17mpg. Decent car for the money. Love American vehicles and believe in them despite this average score from the Shadow.
Poor Quality
fgdt, 01/10/2004
1993 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I've had to replace the altenator twice, I've replaced the battery numerous times. The clutch now needs to be fixed. The paint is chipping severly and the body is rusting. There is a leak in the roof when it rains. The sunroof wheezes when the car is driven. I've replaced both doors because they fell off the hinges. I've had to replace the water pump and numerous belts. This car is not reliable. Every time I got into it I worried about how far it would actually take me. I would not recommend that anyone who is mechanically inclined purchase this vehicle. If you like fixer-uppers and know a lot about cars this car is for you.
Good life
bzieba, 04/10/2006
1993 Dodge Shadow 2dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
This was the first of three we bought, and the last to go. It's on its last leg, but it's been a good car. For a 13 year old car and 155m plus miles later can`t complain too much. It's on its second tranny, the cooling system gave us a bit of trouble, the hardware is falling apart, the body is fair, minimal rust, paint held up very well, three accidents and still drives straight as an arrow. Mileage is fair, overall performance is down, but, I think these cars were made to "drive till they drop". Don`t see many of these on the road anymore. Nice while it lasted, but, time for the recycle yard.
THE LITTLE TROOPER
BLOND085, 05/03/2003
1993 Dodge Shadow ES 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I bought my Dodge Shadow ES with just over 100,000 miles on it. I was expecting the transmition to blow (since it is a dodge and on its original tranny) but at 135,000 miles she's still shifting smooth. It has a 3.0 V6 Mitsubishi motor under the hood and packs quite a bit of power. She is amazingly quick, even with no mods. A couple small problems have arose due to her age and mileage, such as a leaky trunk and a sticky door. I've had to replace the motor mounts and the belt tightener.This car is absolutly great, it's quick, reliable, and comfortable with surprising room.
The 300,000 Mile Beast
Czarina, 03/19/2008
1993 Dodge Shadow 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
The title of my review says it all. I am a 22 yr old college student who inherited the car as a hs grad gift in 02. My dad bought the car brand new in 93. This car always started, never died, and felt like a tank (I hit my 53 yr old iron/stone based mailbox @ 30mph day I got my permit, blasted it to pieces, and only put a small dent on the front bumper .. keep in mind plows have hit the mailbox tons of times ...) I miss this car, orig. auto. transmission started to go at 274,283 miles, and continued to run until it reached 275,963, then it froze up. I replaced it with a used one, and drove the car to 300,000 original miles b4 the used tranny decided to die on me ....
All I needed
Joe coughlon, 04/29/2017
1993 Dodge Shadow 4dr Hatchback
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Small under power cheap.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
um...maybe next time
Distressed owner, 10/13/2002
1993 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Hatchback
0 of 2 people found this review helpful
hate the car. Can't wait to get rid of it.
Good while it lasted
bzieba, 09/12/2005
1993 Dodge Shadow ES 2dr Hatchback
0 of 2 people found this review helpful
3rd shadow we have owned. nice car but watch out after you hit 100m plus miles, start your euology. These are what we call "throw away cars", after 10-12 years throw em in the junk yard. They will start to fall apart. Mechanically, body and hardware. Actually one is still going pretty good with 135m miles on it, the other two are done. Transmissions seem to be first, then cooling systems go haywire, and the usual minor repairs but will nickel and dime you . Gas mileage is allright, nothing to shout about though, ride is well, a ride in a small car, what do you expect. A pretty basic car, good for the high schooler or college transportation, not a family car though.
Good Little Car
materialman, 10/29/2008
1992 Dodge Shadow Highline 4dr Hatchback
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
We bought this car with 8000 miles on it in 1993 for my Mother-in-Law. She loved it and would not have traded it for a new Mercedes. She has passed away now and the car is in mint condition with 77,000 miles on it. We have never had a minutes trouble from it and it will never be sold.