Star RV Motorhome Hire Arvostelua 

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!
A list of issues. DO NOT BOOK

The vehicle we were provided is in an unacceptable, unsafe, and unhygienic condition, and does not reflect the standard promised in your advertising or expected from a professional rental company at over $2,000.00 for less than a week. The condition of this vehicle represents a major failure under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

Despite completing your “pre-check-in” process, which was intended to streamline our pickup; we waited over 45 minutes to receive the vehicle. Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated further once the campervan was handed over to us.

We identified the following serious issues:

Severe interior deterioration: Most seating surfaces throughout the vehicle have significant peeling and damage, exposing material underneath. This is clearly visible throughout the cabin and living area.

Poor hygiene: The vehicle smells extremely unpleasant, and the interior was noticeably dirty upon pickup. This is not acceptable for a vehicle intended for accommodation, also indicating the vehicle was not cleaned or prepared to any acceptable standard before being supplied.

Missing equipment: The rear bed had no cushions, and your staff were unable to provide a complete set until we specifically raised the issue, however this further delayed our departure until something was found.

Mechanical concerns: The moment the vehicle was turned on, an oil level warning light illuminated on the dashboard — indicating the vehicle may not be safe to drive. This raises concerns about roadworthiness and safety. Your staff provided no proper solution and no alternative vehicle.

General neglect: The entry area and cabin floors were dirty, worn, and in visibly poor condition.

After arriving at destination, we discovered additional serious issues with the motorhome that further confirm this vehicle is unsafe, unroadworthy, and completely unfit for hire under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

Rear bed cushions do not fit the bed setup:
The cushions your staff eventually located, after initially failing to provide any, do not fit the rear bed configuration at all. They appear to be taken from an entirely different vehicle layout. This means the sleeping area cannot be used, leaving us without a functional bed.

Front left tyre is severely damaged and close to delaminating: Upon inspecting the vehicle further after arrival, we discovered the front left tyre is visibly deteriorated, cracked, and nearing delamination. This is an extreme safety hazard. Driving this vehicle any further places us at immediate risk of a tyre blowout and serious injury.

Providing a motorhome with a tyre in this condition is unacceptable, unsafe, and a clear breach of your duty of care. This alone represents a major failure under the ACL due to the vehicle being unsafe to operate.

It is unreasonable and unfair to provide a vehicle in such a neglected state, and even more concerning that no alternative resolution was offered.

Do not book with this company!
From the outset we were let down by the company.
3 hour wait to pick up at arranged time.
Van not full of fuel
No hot water
Broken cupboard door
Warning lights on dash
Broken glassware, missing crockery
Kettle not working
No attachment on hose
Emails to the company were not responded to for several days by which time my partner had fixed the hot water, we purchased missing items . They literally did not care, very disappointing.
If you do book with them check everything is working before you leave the depot. Not a professional service and would be we use them again.

Picked up the first Polaris 6 in Auckland ,discovered only one plug worked ,aerial on roof not connected, windscreen wiper split, staff didn’t know what ad blue was.Managed to arrange a van swap for a more “ modern “ van at Christchurch,then our problems really started.
Gas bottles empty ,dump valve for the grey water broken ,wiper washer hanging off, dining table couldn’t secured so banged around, cushions missing for rear bed, 240v lead broken, electric heater test a year out of date.
A company who clearly put taking your money first before thinking about any kind of quality control.
Mainly inexperienced front facing staff. No response from multiple emails , now taking it up with credit card company.
Worse service ever ,avoid.

The vehicle (Polaris 6) was booked early in 2025 for a trip from Perth to Port Pirie (SA) on 19th Dec 2025. It was booked for 3 adults and 3 dogs. The process was relatively straight forward.
The vehicle was picked up on the 18th of Dec. The run through was straight forward - all the general do's and don'ts. What we didn't do was check that the vehicle was within service period, generally it would be assumed that the vehicle would be serviced and ready to go when being picked up. Suggest that when anyone takes charge of a hire vehicle that it would be fit for use and ready to go. In hind-sight this was not the case.
The trip to Port Pirie went without a hitch and the vehicle performed as expected.
Left Port Pirie on 27th Dec returning to Perth. Second day (Sunday 28th) started well. About 60km from Balladonia error message comes up on the dash "burn not complete" and throws the vehicle into limp mode. If you have not guessed yet the vehicle is a diesel powered vehicle. We pull over and check the paperwork on what to do next. It was suggested to google for a solution. It was suggested that the dust particle filter had not completed its burn to clean the exhaust. The suggestion was to travel in limp mode (60km/h) for 15 minutes to force the burn to occur. This did not happen. We called StarRV for assistance and was directed to their service center, which happens to be in Queensland. We were very lucky in that where we pulled over that we had signal and were able to use our mobile phones. The service center said they would organize someone to come out and look at the vehicle and get us going. This did not happen, we got a call from the RAC (based in Jurien - north of Perth). Had a chat with the technician about what we had done and were informed we had done everything that he would have suggested we do or he would have done. We were passed back to the service center and waited for another call. Finally got a call back to say they were trying to organise a tow truck to come and pick us up. Late in the afternoon get another phone call to say a tow truck had been organised and then informed that the tow truck can only take two people. This left us with 3 dogs and an adult left on the side of the road. When asked what would be done about that it was suggested we organise a taxi to come and pick the remainder up. The nearest taxi was Kalgoorlie (approx 300km away) and there was no certainty that they would pick up the 3 dogs plus one adult and transport them to Norseman. We organised a taxi to pick us up (arriving late that night). We then got a call to say that the tow truck could not pick us up until Monday. It was decided to stay with the van until Monday and the tow truck. It was also uncertain we would have accommodation in Norseman suitable for dogs and adults, on the Sunday night.
On Monday morning after calling the service center to find out what was happening we were informed there was no set time for the tow truck to pick us up and secondly there was no replacement vehicle within a reasonable distance to replace the vehicle we had for us to return to Perth.
Eventually the service center gave us an option to "Cease the Hire" and refund the money from the remainder of the hire to aid us in getting ourselves back to Perth. We accepted this as the other options were not working. This meant we got a taxi from Kalgoorlie to take one adult back to Kalgoorlie to get a hire vehicle and then drive back to the stranded van, transfer everything to the hire vehicle and drive back to Perth.
Issue 1: The Polaris 6 was due for a service at 151,000km. When we stopped the odometer was 157,982km, we had travelled a total distance of 4230km. This meant the vehicle was 2770km past the service distance when we picked up the vehicle.
Issue 2: It appeared during conversations with the service center that they really did not understand the remoteness of our location.
Issue 3: The ceasing of the hire to refund funds took way longer than it should have and we had to communicate with StarRV to find out where our money was. We were informed they had made a mistake and it took another 4 working days for the money to appear in the account.
Issue 4: On the day the van was supposed to be returned to the depot in Perth we received an email asking why we had not returned the vehicle. It is obvious that the communication between different sections of the organisation needs to be improved.

TERRIBLE DO NOT BOOK - wish I had the good sense to look here before booking. We had a Polaris 6 van and had to have THREE van substitutions over our 6 week trip due to various issues. The most concerning of which was a damning report from a mechanic stating the vehicle was unsafe to drive and posed a serious fire risk. The process to change vans was hideous and we spent over 5hrs on the phone to Star Rv throughout our trip plus another 8 trips to different mechanics to prove the various faults with the vans wasting time and resulting in changes to our planned itinerary. In addition to the unsafe wiring / fire hazard - one van was leaky so we were absolutely soaked on 2 nights when it rained, the fridge didn’t work in the other 2 so we had spoiled food, and we were unable to freedom camp as advertised as the vans didn’t charge whilst driving The compensation process and complaints process were appalling in my view these guys shouldn’t be allowed to operate. Honestly i was disgusted with the service and quality of vehicles - the worst £7000 I’ve ever spent and I wouldn’t wish this experience on my worst enemy.

HORRIFIC - van smelled, was filthy, and the car was unsafe to drive. We returned the car early and was advised to put in a complaint when we returned home but have had no response in a month. Scam company, disgusting treatment of their customers. Go anywhere else.

We hired a Polaris 2 from Christchurch for 4 weeks in Dec 2925 - Jan 26. Mixed experience. The booking system was frustrating with my eventually having to contact juicy head office to get a quote honored. Emails to weeks to be responded to. But on the other hand our pick up experience was very good. The pick up shuttle was easy to organise and turned up promptly. The staff were friendly and helpful.
The van was pretty poorly fitted out which was a shame. Blinds were difficult to use, the roof window leaked, a cupboard base was loose. We’d learned from previous van hires with other companies that it pays to bring a few things of your own so we went straight to Kmart and bought kitchen knives, tee towels, pillows, a mattress topper and extra mugs. Consequently the van felt comfortable to live in. We found it easy to drive and easy to park.
On our third day of hire we were contacted to ask if all was ok - a nice touch especially as it was Boxing Day. We mentioned the leaking room and the staff member was helpful. Some damage was done to the van in a Supermarket car park and the staff dealt with our report quickly and efficiently - we were fully insured and they assured us there would be no further cost to us On returning the van we pointed out the problems we’d had and they offered some compensation and apologized.
So on the whole our experience was positive mainly due to some nice kiwi staff. I would just have liked a better fitted out van. As we said to the staff if we’d paid hundreds of dollars for a hotel room and the roof leaked, the blinds wouldn’t close and a cupboard was hanging off the wall we’d ask for a refund. They agreed.

We are currently renting with star. We had a problem with our first camper on the first day of water liquid leaking and filling the cabin with compartments with water. After a week they replaced the camper, BIGGEST safety issue with second camper. Each night sleeping in the back bed with our new born, the bed got unusually warm every night and electrical was malfunctioning! We called and they told us to go to a shop, we did but they didnt have batteries for the camper they tols us to go next door to the battery shop, turns out the two 12v batteries were swollen, melting and leaking toxic fluids under the bed! The battery company normally never replaces batteries in camper but called in their management as they didnt feel safe lettung us get in the camper knowing that a fire or explosion can happen anytime and they didnt want to be liable to letting us leave knowing that could happen so their direct store manager came to fix. The two batteries were melted together and the wires melted into the battery. There were two large holes on the bottom of the battery. They had to take sledgehammer and extremely large flathead to separate it to remove from the camper. We paid and replaced the batteries and the company battery world said there IS something wrong with the electrical system as the battery and camper were less than 2 years old so this shouldnt be happening. We got a call from star once we fixed it and they apologized and said upper management will call us as its needing to go higher. They promised compensation and reimbursement. That was over a week and half ago and our emails go unanswered and their on the road team and management has not responded. Kicker is, the back light is filled with water so the brake lights dont work properly and no shop can fix it as its custom so we have been driving an unsafe vehicle period! The ccamper isnt road worthy we got pulled over but luckily talked our way out of a ticket. We rented this polaris 6 camper for 3 weeks and its been a total nightmare!!!! What if this camper exploded or had a fire with my entie family in it?! They dont take safety as a priority!!! I have chain emails from them and photos. do not rent from them unless you have a DEATH WISH! I would think with the severity of the issue they would have called us back and offered a full refund and reimbursement for the necessary repair. The stress has me beyond angry and they will get an earful upon my return of the rental tomorrow in melbourne. Store manager from brisbane has been CC in all emails but hasnt responded this week! Its ridiculous!

So disappointed by this company. After driving for 7 hours we found the fridge didn't work and we were unable to use ANY of the plug sockets....the floors also sunk as you walked on them, we could also see the shower/toilet area leaking through the wall (probably explaining the soft sinking floors).
We were told to drive into Bundaberg to a reputable mechanic of their choice to check our fridge...and by this point the cooker aswell (both were not working).
We waited with 2 young children for over an hour to be told (we have the report from the mechanic) that the van we had been given was 'inhabitable & unsafe' apparently it should have NEVER been given to us. In addition too this we were advised that the back marbling going through the cabin above the driver's seat was actually black mold (which can be deadly).
We were absolutely devastated and told the only thing star RV could do would be to have a better van driven to us from Brisbane (4hrs away) or we could drive to Brisbane and pick one up.
This derailed the rest of our holiday and all the bookings we had made for the later part of our trip.
When we got to Brisbane our hearts broke further to see the vehicle we should have had compared to what we were given.
The trouble didn't stop there however!!
The new van had a ladder that didn't fit the bunk bed, a massive safety hazard for anyone who needed to access that space. No chairs or table for outside provided. No tablets for the toilet. Which stunk majority of the time.
We had finally given up and decided to drive home only to pull into a service station and find we hadn't been given the right key for the fuel cap.
We are currently waiting for the road side assist who have told us will be an hour and a half.
I genuinely just want this nightmare to end.
Also the customer service are useless, rude and do not seem to want to help at all.....thats when you are able to actually talk to them without being put on hold!!

**** As you can see below i have received a very nice reply to my review- with no way of writing back.
Please don't be fooled by them.
Since receiving the response below this company has refused to refund even half of the cost to hire their cesspit of a van and no one has been in contact regarding this review!!
We were also informed by the NRMA technician in Port Macquarie that they are inundated with calls from desperate holiday makers also using StarRV and Juicey in deep distress. Not ideal for a nice holiday.
If you know anyone who may be considering hiring a campervan steer clear of StarRV and Juicey a.k.a 'the juicey crew'.
We have taken this to fair trading and the ombudsman.
To the person who responded below, your company put my young children in danger, that is something that can not be forgiven and your companies response to our ordeal has been abhorrent.
Legal action has also commenced.
You have had two weeks to rectify this situation and you haven't.

Got a Car RV2 with 2 tyres lower 2mm, Lot of screws loose, several damages we're Not documented in Andy Form. You don't know how to Report and in which Form. No good introducing If anything Happens and how to contact branch in Perth.
Never again. No Professional hire sorry

Do not hire from this company, NZ is beautiful but star rv made it a nightmare, $8000 AUD We hired Polaris 2 for 4 weeks in Christchurch New Zealand in 4 weeks we exchanged 4 vehicles as each vehicle had major faults, and that was because we took the vehicle back,every request was never answered until the end of our 4 week vacation,from bald unroadworthy tyres,to heating not working,usb charge points not working, insect screens not sealing letting in blood hungry sandflies, vehicle running low on engine oil, with the oil light flashing on dashboard, when we emailed of issues we got a reply two days before leaving the country,phone calls went to answering services in Philippines with no replies for upto ten days.

Geen service onderweg. Verschillende issues. Waterlek, douche verstopt. Lege gasfles bij vertrek. Meermaals gebeld. Wachtrij of geen antwoord. Uiteindelijk mail gekregen, zouden bellen. NIETS gehoord. Geen opvolging. Geeft geen goed gevoel op vakantie. Terwijl je zonder zorgen zou moeten zijn.

Wir hatten einen super Camper bekommen. Er war sehr sauber und modern. Das einzige war, dass die Wasserheizung, die ohne an Strom angeschlossen zu sein, eigentlich über Gas funktionieren sollte leider kaputt war. Abgesehen davon war es beim Fahren leider sehr laut was aber bei der länge des Fahrzeugs denke ich nicht zu vermeiden ist. Ansonsten waren wir wirklich super zufrieden. Es gab sogar Apple und Android Car Play was alles sehr erleichtert hat. Es gab außerdem viel Stauraum für Gepäck.

Im Vergleich zu dem Apollo Campervan den wir danach hatten, welcher wirklich ranziges Interieur hatte sowie kaputte Fliegengitter/Tische/Lattenrost vom Bett/Türschloss am Bad sowie der Kühlschrank der am ersten Tag (!!!) verreckt ist, da beim Ventilator im Kühlschrank die Hälfte der Blätter fehlte sowie der gesamte Ventilator abgefallen ist (!!!)

Zusammengefasst super Erfahrung mit StarRV aber finger weg von Apollo!!!

We would like to share our experience with this campervan rental company.

While the local staff in Perth were friendly and helpful, our overall experience with the rental was extremely disappointing. In particular, we are still waiting for a compensation payment that was confirmed in writing but has not been received to date.

From the beginning, the first campervan already had technical issues, including a permanent service warning, overdue engine oil, and a non-functioning stove plate. After approximately two weeks, a check engine warning appeared and the vehicle lost power. Roadside assistance advised us not to continue driving.

The rental company arranged a return flight to Perth. Although the flight itself was covered, this was still a major inconvenience, as our trip was completely interrupted and we later had to drive the same route again with the replacement vehicle (approximately 800 km).

Due to these issues, we lost several travel days, had to discard food and camping supplies, incurred additional costs, and were unable to complete large parts of our planned route. We also spent many hours over several days trying to reach customer support.

After returning to Perth, we received a replacement campervan. Unfortunately, this second vehicle also caused problems, as the electric step could no longer be retracted and had to be removed by roadside assistance, resulting in further loss of travel time.

Communication with this company has been extremely poor. Phone contact required repeated attempts, and email communication has effectively stopped. Compensation was offered and accepted in writing, yet almost two weeks later, no payment has been received and no response has been provided, despite multiple follow-up emails and clear deadlines. Due to this lack of response, we have now had to involve legal counsel.

Based on our experience, we strongly advise against booking with this company. If serious issues occur, communication becomes unreliable and confirmed resolutions are not followed through. We will not rent from this company again.

We required urgent support from the Star RV team while we were on the road, but unfortunately, we were unable to get any meaningful assistance.

The support representative we spoke with was rude and showed little willingness to help. He only raised an enquiry and stated that he could not confirm any ETA for a response, despite us clearly explaining that we were on the road and required immediate assistance.

Additionally, the company we hired the van from was also unable to help solely because we were not at a physical location, which left us without any support at all during a critical situation.

Due to the complete lack of timely assistance and poor customer service, this experience has been extremely disappointing. Based on this, we would not book with Star RV again and would not recommend their services to others.

After countless calls and emails, it's been a month since I've dropped of the campervan and I've never received my 7500 dollars bond back, worst company ever

Horrendous experience from day one. Collected Polaris 4 in Christchurch depot. Staff member openly stated when numerous customers were checking in, that she didn’t know what to do and went looking for other staff who weren’t in a hurry to assist. Same staff member handed us keys to camper without a walkthrough or sufficient handover to ensure that camper was in full working order. Arrived in first campsite 3 hours away, only to find that the water pump was broken, locking mechanism on cabin door was broken, toilet cassette had not been emptied. Called customer service teams, assistance teams numerous times on day one/ day two only to be kept on hold for up to 30 mins each time before being transferred to another team. Ultimately no solution offered. Repairman eventually sent out to inspect the camper for the water pump,, and couldn’t find the water pump. Star RV offered no replacement vehicle but told us to book into hotel up to $80 a night. Stated they’d book an appointment with mechanic to completely take out water tank which would result in loss of days travelling. Star RV main concern was fixing issue for next customer and not assisting us. While driving on the main roads, the cabin door would intermittently decide to swing open. My passenger had to sit on the step and hold door closed until a safe spot to stop was found. Only solution was to use power cable tied to handle of door and wrapped around table. Star RV didn’t acknowledge serious health and safety matter.. BBQ on side of camper did not work either. All issues addressed with numerous emails/phone calls to different operators/customer service members who could not offer a solution, instead said they will make a follow up call tomorrow. Bed linens and curtains were filthy and full of dust.. Delivered the camper to Queenstown and outlined every issue. Staff member mentioned that Christchurch branch are notorious for not checking vehicles and sending them out to customers in unfit condition. Offered a 1/2 day compensation for our troubles which were declined. Provided with another email address to address compensation. Made numerous calls/ emails to feedback teams or management team. Star RV could not even reply to the emails and blatantly ignored calls by transferring to different team members. When queries were addressed, they offered a credit note to use with the company, as if o would use Star RV again.. Overall terrible experience and could not recommend the more of any vehicle. Paid for a premium service and did not receive one. Might as well rented a car and slept in the boot.. Customer service was non existent during hire period and weeks after.. If possible to give 0 star or negative feedback, I wouldn’t hesitate

Quote and invoice different! Waited 7 hours to pick up. No "walk through to explain workings. Chair broken, coffee plunger broken. Doors and fridge open while driving. Seat behind driver broken. Toilet seal broken, urine in shower basin. No AD blue, gastank empty! What a lemon. Were told in Auckland had to pay $0.08 c per km + $247 for credit card surcharge. Tried to steal $$ from debit card!
Absolute horrible company, we paid way too much for this lemon!

The awning was missing a screw but when we arranged for a repair whilst the RV was parked on site, no one turned up! All subsequent emails were ignored. Not great when you’re dealing with 40 degrees of heat! No one was interested during or post our hire period. Definitely would NOT recommend

We’ve had the best time with our Polaris 6 RV! It was perfect for our family of 4 (two adults and two toddlers).

The RV was super spacious. The bed in the back of the RV was easily converted from table to bed. The large fridge and separate freezer could store enough for a couple of days and the RV had enough storage space for all our belongings (our double stroller even fit in the back).

The minor issues we encountered were rapidly fixed with great service! Super convenient that they allow you to change your linnen and towels if you pass one of their offices. It has been our second time taking a RV of StarRV on the road, and we will definitely continue to do so 🙌