Star RV - Perth Reviews 14

I rarely leave reviews like this, but this was honestly one of the worst rental experiences I’ve had.

We paid close to $2000 for a campervan and received a vehicle in very poor condition. From the start, multiple things were not working properly:

The fridge didn’t work, which resulted in us having to throw out food worth around $150
The diesel cap was faulty, meaning we were actively spilling diesel while driving – not only wasteful, but potentially dangerous
We were told at pickup that the AdBlue sensor was faulty but that the tank had just been filled. When returning the vehicle, we found out this same story had been told to all other customers, who were all expected to buy and refill AdBlue themselves

Throughout the trip, I was in contact with their team via email about these issues. Despite the clear inconvenience and costs on our side, no compensation was offered at any point.

The final issue—and the most frustrating one—was the wireless charging dock in the dashboard. It overheated a phone to the point where it was too hot to hold. We tested it again with another phone and the same thing happened. The result was a damaged camera, confirmed by two independent repair specialists as being caused by overheating.

Star RV has completely denied responsibility, claiming no fault was found. They also refused to provide any inspection report or details on how this was tested, while simultaneously calling their decision “final.”

What’s most disappointing is not just the issues themselves, but the way they were handled:

Problems were dismissed rather than properly investigated
Communication felt dismissive and procedural
No accountability was taken, despite multiple faults during the rental

For a company operating in this space, this level of service and vehicle condition is simply not acceptable.

I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.

Picked up the motorhome (Polaris 6) from Perth branch and plan was to leave for a trip across the Nullarbor to Melbourne the day after. So on the day of pick up, only drove 20 minutes and then had the motorhome overnight in front of the house, unused. Next day, when we wanted to leave, engine did not start. The service subsequently provided was horrendous, worst experience of my life. It took 20 minutes to get connected to a real person, who then connected us to RAC - they hung up on us. Had to call and wait again, another 15 minutes gone before we spoke to someone. Mechanic was sent out (RAC) and arrived 1.5 hours after issue encountered. He replaced the battery, it was leaking and overall the engine was very badly maintained, oil everywhere. We also did not get a call through number, had to call via the hotline again only to be hung up on again. We were lucky that the mechanic was actually capable and checked everything for us again.
Further issues encountered:
- motorhome had an empty gas bottle installed at pick up, that was only replaced with a full one upon request
- fly screen door broken; overall condition of fly screens not acceptable
- mould in fridge
- driver's seat plastic cover on left-hand side not attached anymore
- outside compartment hatches are difficult to open / close properly
- cleanliness of basically everything was insufficient
- toilet cassette seams to be leaking - chemical residue found in compartment
- waited 90 minutes with an already later pick up time

Do not use this company! Got left stranded in the dessert after our van broke down for 30hrs. They provided no roadside assistance and told us to make our own way back home, without any compensation of travel costs. Holiday is now cut 5 days short with no sympathy

If only there was an option for zero stars.

Possibly the worst customer service at time of pick up that I have ever experienced.

Arrived 15 minutes prior to our pick up time (945am) and was informed that our allocated time was 10am - which I was very aware of. Also told the vehicle was having a final check.

Around 45 minutes later checked with them as to the delay to be told the tyres were being checked.

Yet more waiting, after around an hours wait checked again and told that because people returned vehicles late it meant there was a delay in pick ups.

After almost 2 hours I enquired again for them to shrug their shoulders as to the reason for the delay. Thereafter all the customer service people disappeared out the back. There was another customer waiting and he was ordering a pizza delivery given the delay and another couple were given keys to use a vehicle to go away and come back. A couple returning their vehicle said they also waited an hour and a half at pick up and were told they would be to given a half day refund but that had not happened.

Eventually, I drove out in the vehicle at 1215pm. I had to request a show around the vehicle as they simply wanted to hand me the keys.

I was told we would receive a half days refund but, unsurprisingly, nothing has appeared.

The only saving grace was when the fridge would not work that the guy on the help line was actually helpful and we got it set up and working.

I went through RatPack to hire and therefore did not read reviews prior - wish I had as would never have used this company and will never again use them.

Avoid at all costs.

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.

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

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.

The welcome at the company in Perth was very friendly, but that was it.
We set off with Polaris 6 and we were dancing on the road. We thought it was the wind and the poor condition of the road, but it was the tyres; they all turned out to be 1 bar underinflated.
The motorhome door didn't close properly, resulting in a hellish noise while driving.
The rear light wasn't working.
Grey water spontaneously ran onto the road!
There was a problem with the fridge and we wrote an email about it, but received no reply.
The telephone number for assistance can only be reached with an Australian telephone number.
There was a crack in the windscreen, which no one could do anything about, but when you can't reach anyone, this is a problem. We interrupted our holiday to drive back to the company in Perth to get a replacement motorhome. After a day of unpleasant conversations at the company, we got another motorhome.
We drove off and after 20 minutes the bathroom door flew open and hit the floor.
I'm going to stop here because the list goes on and on.
Johan Rycken

We booked a specific layout that had no step into the WC and particular access as my partner has MS and is a wheelchair user. We made this clear on the booking. When we collected the motorhome the layout we were offered was not suitable and not as ordered. We returned the motorhome within 24 hours, having used less than 1 day of the 12 days booked. Paid a total of Aud$3,800 including Aud$700 insurance and offered Aud$0 refund.

Not wonderful. I ordered a Polaris 2 several months in advance. I mentioned that we wanted the version with the east/west bed.
We were offered one with a pulldown bed & ladder which we didn't like. The one we wanted was there but had to be cleaned - which took 2 hours!!
Staff were lovely.
The run through on how it all worked was rather rushed.
We didn't notice for a while that there was a stone chip in the centre of the front window. One gas bottle was empty, the other partially ful. The mattress is a bit thin. The RV drives beautifully & has very good comfy seats.
There are items we would expect to be in the RV that we have had to purchase;
bread knife, 1 extra teaspoon, 2 bread plates
2 throw rugs, 2 extra pillows & pillowcases, small rubbish bin & rubbish bags, extra tea towels, dish cloths, floor cloth, dishwash liquid, toilet sanitiser additive.
We also got some basket dividers so items don't clash about in the cupboards, which have no non-slip liner & no lip on the edge
There is NOT ONE hook in the interior for hanging a bathrobe, towels, tea towels, dish clothes et al.

Pick up motor home with unclean cassette,problem with powers,wasting 1 hours of travel to sort things out before we can start our trip,than finding toilet leaking waters,wasting all night to clean and empty the waters to stop the leaking as we in remote area to find any help or equipment to stop the leaking,delaying our travel times and ruining our trip as we can't use the toilet or shower,we have to spend extra money to book in a camp site to use the waters and toilet,luckily the leaking stop,but it's effecting our travel times and end up with late drop off fee and extra day fee.the staff is not helping or finding a solution,all there did is call and yell at costumers,rude costumers service,no responsibility for service thats provide.
I been travel around Australia and hired out plenty of car,motor home,camper van,but I nerver been experiencing with this problem before,but very disappointed with Star rv in perth.
Who ever thinking of renting car from star rv perth make sure you check the vehicle throughly before start your trip.

Very friendly staff. But disappointing we are on our trip and I done everything to get hot water. But no hot water. I noticed new thread of gas bottle is different to one attached. I called up customer service and he told me if old one is empty find a place to fill it.

The motorhome is much older than expected. Some things don't work properly. We had to change the motorhome as the check engine light was on in the first one.
One the positive side: The staff during check in was very friendly. We would leave a suitcase. The motorhome was clean.

RV had some issues and couldn't go a night without power. Costs us a lot of time and money during our trip.
On drop off they promised a reimbursement, but never got it. When I contacted them about is, they said they never promised.
Customer service is terrible.
Spend you money on another RV