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James Harrison

James Harrison

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1.0
1 out of 5 stars
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Reviews by James Harrison

JU

JUCY Rentals

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1 out of 5 stars

DO NOT HIRE FROM JUCY CAMPERS UNTIL YOU READ THIS

DO NOT HIRE FROM JUCY UNTIL YOU READ THIS. What should have been one of the most fun parts of our 2 month trip to Australia turned into one of the most frustrating, tainted by a joke of a camper van and appalling customer service. Jucy aren’t Juicy, they’re dried up and tired old camper vans backed up by simply appalling customer service. They look new and fun on the outside but they're tired on the inside. When we were first presented with the vehicle, a Jucy Condo, we tried to swap it in Melbourne but there was no backup vehicle. All of the staff in Melbourne were clock watching and whooped as we left. Apparently they're known as the “cheap and nasty” - as told to us by a local mechanic. There were 272,000 KMs on the clock. What would have been a great camper van in its day is now way past it’s best-before date. The below is a pretty comprehensive list of issues we had with the van during the trip: Knives not sharp but otherwise the supply of utensils, crockery and cutlery was sufficient. The aircon was temperamental and would suddenly stop blowing cold air meaning we had to turn it off, leave it for a few mins and turn it back on again. When it was 35 degrees+ this was hard to deal with. No DVD player as in the promo video The integrated stove didn’t work - we were told that ALL campers had the same problem but this was a lie - we met people with Apollo campers on the first night and their integrated stoves worked Vehicle is MUCH older than we anticipated - it was advertised as 2016 or newer but ours was registered in 2014. The keyfob lock/unlock buttons didn’t work so we had to use the key each time. Sounds trivial but when you're using it for 15 days it becomes a pain It rained in the van when we pressed the rear screen wash The fridge door was dodgy and didn't always latch. No indication of when waste water needs emptying The suspension was awful and bounced around all over the place. The passenger window electric up/down switch sometimes worked. The glass in the same door was also about to dislodge. The tailgate had to be slammed shut so hard that you think the rear window will smash. If you don't it doesn't close properly and the indicator on the dash remains on Smelly in the van, especially at night - it's like a musty smell, old. Something beneath the stove keeps turning on intermittently whenever the van is connected to power. Possibly a fan? Does this all night long and wakes you up. Petrol consumption is also very high! I dread to think how much we spent on fuel during our 15 days. The sheets are poly-cotton so not breathable and quite sweaty. Sheets were also stained. The loan table was filthy. We had to clean it thoroughly before using it There is no bluetooth or other means of connectivity so utterly in the past technology-wise No idea how 4 people could possibly share the space though. It’s a perfect space for 2 but no more. The central piece that goes between the two back seats when the bed is down is dangerous - if you sit or stand on it it collapses and you injure yourself. Inside the fridge and cupboards were dirty - we had to clean everything. I really wish I’d taken photos The external table is knackered and not flat meaning it’s hard to use for anything except a dumping ground for bits you’ve used after cooking. The drivers seat squeaks as you hit every hump or bump The drivers’ mirror shakes constantly We were provided with a pathetically short refilling hose for topping up the "fresh water" so we had to manoeuvre the van in crazy ways to get to the taps. You also can’t drink the water as the tanks are probably filthy The seat belts don’t tighten, they lay slack and get trapped in the door. None of the top windows open so the only airflow is from the skylight or one of the lower side windows We ended up parking it up at friends place in Byron Bay for the last 5 days and just using it to transport our longboards to and from the beach. The only decent service we received during the whole hire was when we dropped the van back to Gold Coast and met Steve who was a breath of fresh air and super understanding when we explained our plight. It also became obvious that we had indeed been provided with an old banger as all new models are Toyota. He also noticed that the dvd had been removed without me saying it. I think the feedback and on-road teams could learn a lot from Steve. His customer service skills were natural and uncomplicated. If I were to hire again I would spend more time reading real world reviews and go with either Britz or Apollo who seem to know what they're doing and are also competitively priced. UPDATE JUCY did indeed offer a paltry partial refund but this was after around 50 emails, 2 telephone conversations and a trip to a mechanic. All of this wasted our time - and theirs - and potentially cost them more and ate into our fun time! The company is a joke which is sad as the vision is pretty sound and innovative. Sadly the after-service and execution is appallingly delivered. To say they are a low-cost operator is also a falsehood as they were initially more expensive than the Apollo equivalent - Jucy price-matched the Apollo price.