SunBuggyReviews of sunbuggy.com

I went with SunBuggy 2 years ago on a Bachelorette group for the 1 hour ride, it was great which led me to booking them again last month for a group event. For this excursion, we did the Valley of Fire tour which was supposed to be 3 hours of riding + 1 hour drive to the valley of fire + 1 hour drive back to the vegas strip. 9am-2pm. Our driver ended up getting us out there late, we drove the dune buggys for a total of MAYBE 40 minutes due to the lateness of our driver which, in turn, made us late for our vow renewal appointment we had in the evening. The tour was supposed to go from 9am-2pm. We didn't get back to the hotel until 4pm which gave us 15 minutes to get ready for the vow renewal. I chatted on the phone with them prior to us even flying out to Vegas for this trip; We discussed the dune buggys/desert racers multiple times and mentioned we had a family of 5 so thought we could do the 6 seater desert racer/buggy. (Last time we toured with SunBuggy, we were all in 4 seaters.) They didnt tell us until AFTER our tour was over & we complained about not being able to ride the 6 seater, that it is only meant for 6 adults, not 2 adults & 3 kids + 1 empty seat. Due to the lack of weight in the 6 seater, it caused it to be so extremely rough & the adults & kids were literally being held in just the harness. Necks were popping nonstop from the bouncing, backs & ribs were popping nonstop, we almost had to stop our ride in it & turn back it was that unbearable. Had they told us this in advanced, we would have went with a 4 seater & 2 seater, but due to the lack of information on our part, we started with the 6 seater then had to transfer to two 4 seaters. But by that time, we already did not feel great from being tossed around so much in the 6 seater. To top it off, the van ride to & from Vegas had no air conditioning in the back 2 rows. When we got dropped off at the valley of fire, I mentioned to the driver there was no air in the back & he said he'd go back to get a vehicle with air. So he made the trip back, brought a different van, left some of our items in the prior van that we never got back, & we still had no air conditioning in the back 2 rows of the van. To say the entire excursion was a disappointment would be a lie as the tour guides themselves were phenomenal! But aside from that, we would not recommend & will not be booking with them again.

I want to share my experience so other families know what to expect before booking with Sun Buggy. On July 31, I brought my two sons for what was supposed to be a fun day riding on the beach. During check in, I watched several customers get charged amounts different from what they booked online, have refund requests denied, and get spoken to in a way I found unprofessional. I became uncomfortable, stopped before taking any equipment, and told the staff I no longer wanted to rent. Their employee wrote "Canceled, customer does not want to go anymore" directly on my paperwork. I have a copy. I was told refunds couldn't be issued on site and that I needed to email the company or dispute the charge through my bank. I emailed them on August 5 requesting a refund of $571.23 for services I never used. They agreed to a refund, and my bank credited the money back to my account. Over two months later, my bank reversed that credit after Sun Buggy contested it using their no refund policy. So they agreed to refund me, then fought that same refund months later, for a rental their own staff marked as canceled. Another red flag: the charge on my statement didn't come through as Sun Buggy. It showed as Silver Lake Towing LLC, while the paperwork itself says Sun Buggie Fun Rentals. If you book with them, pay close attention to who is actually charging your card. I never rode, never took a buggy, and never used a single service. Agreeing to a refund and then fighting it months later is not how an honest business treats people. I would not recommend this company.

I had a seriously dangerous and unacceptable experience with SunBuggy Rentals in April 2026. I took my wife there for her birthday thinking it would be a fun ATV ride. It turned into one of the worst and most painful experiences of my life. We booked online, showed up, and were immediately told our ATVs weren’t available. Instead of fixing it, they “upgraded” us. Then we stood in line for about an hour, signed a stack of “we’re not responsible for anything” waivers, and were told to watch a basic youtube video. That was their idea of a safety briefing. About 10 minutes into the ride, both ATVs shut off and wouldn’t start. We lost around 30 minutes of paid time trying to get help. When we finally got through, we were told to do some weird “rocking back-and-forth” trick to restart them - something no one explained and something you’re just expected to figure out on your own. Completely ridiculous. Then came the part that should never happen at a business like this. We were riding slowly in what was clearly marked as “safe zone 1” on their map - an area that looked flat and safe - when out of nowhere the ground just dropped. A completely unmarked 10 - 15 ft drop. No signs. No tape. No warning. Nothing!!! My wife went over first, and before I could react, I went straight over it too. The ATV nose-dived. I dropped for a few seconds and then slammed into the ground on the front wheels, which launched me forward. I was thrown over the handlebars, flipped, and hit the sand hard. Then the ATV kept rolling and came down on top of me, pinning my head and neck into the ground. It felt like a truck ran over me. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, and I genuinely thought I might die right there. I ended up with serious injuries - deep cuts, bruises all over my body and face, and a major tissue injury with a massive hematoma confirmed at the ER. It’s been over a month, and I’m still recovering and only now starting to walk normally again. This has affected my health, my ability to work, and my entire daily life. And their response? Absolutely disgraceful. I came back covered in blood, clothes ripped, clearly injured - and instead of concern, I got attitude. One employee brushed it off as “part of the adventure” and casually talked about other people getting injured there like it’s normal. The manager’s main concern was whether they should charge me for the ATV and if I was going to sue. That tells you everything you need to know about how much they care. This is not like renting a car where you assume normal road risks. This is a controlled environment that they choose, map out, and send you into. They know exactly where these hazards are, and they do nothing to mark or prevent them. Hiding behind waivers while people get seriously hurt is not “adventure” - it’s negligence. I would not recommend this company to anyone. They do not care about your safety. Take your money somewhere else before you end up injured like I did.

Horrible experience with SunBuggy Rentals and deeply disappointed with how customers are treated, especially families with young children. Faulty vehicle and safety. The buggy given to us was faulty and broke down within the first 5 minutes of driving, leaving us stranded through no fault of our own. Our family, including two young kids, was stuck out on the dunes on a cold winter evening for hours waiting for help to arrive, which felt unsafe and completely unacceptable for a business advertising family fun. Extremely poor customer service Instead of apologizing or taking responsibility for clearly defective equipment, SunBuggy blamed us and added a $200 "penalty," claiming we caused the damage without offering any valid explanation or proof. Staff were rude, dismissive, and showed no empathy for the situation, despite multiple similar complaints from other customers about being blamed for breakdowns and charged extra. Inhumane treatment of children The most shocking part was that staff refused to let our small kids board the shuttle back until the penalty was paid, effectively holding our family at the dunes until we agreed. No concern was shown for the cold, the kids' comfort, or the stress they were under; it felt like profit and penalties mattered more to SunBuggy than basic human decency. This experience turned what was supposed to be a fun family outing into an exhausting and upsetting ordeal, and we left feeling cheated and mistreated. Given the combination of unsafe equipment, unfair charges, and downright inhuman customer service, SunBuggy is a company that cannot be recommended and should be avoided by families looking for a safe and respectful experience.

I have to be honest—I was expecting a much better experience, but unfortunately, it turned out to be the opposite. One of our ATVs broke down just 10–15 minutes after we headed out to the dunes. We called the number they provided and waited out in the heat for 45 minutes to an hour before a staff member arrived. This delay ate up a large portion of our 2-hour paid tour. The staff jump-started the ATV, but after another 5 minutes, it broke down again. We called once more and waited an additional 30–40 minutes before being brought back to exchange the ATV. We assumed, given the circumstances and the lost time due to faulty equipment, that we’d be allowed our full 2-hour tour. Instead, we were told we only had 30 minutes left. We explained what had happened—that we lost over an hour due to issues completely out of our control—but were told there would be no extensions or accommodations. We finished what little time we had left and spoke to the front desk, where we were told there would be no refunds. We were given an email and phone number to follow up. Since then, we’ve called multiple times and sent emails. The only response we received was that someone would get back to us within 48 hours. It’s now been two weeks with no resolution. Every time we call, no one is available. We’re now out $700 for a tour we only got to enjoy for about 30 minutes. As a business owner myself, I know how important customer service is—especially when a client doesn’t receive the full service they paid for. Sadly, there’s been no accountability, no follow-up, and no refund. If you’re thinking of booking with them, be aware: this could easily happen to you too. It’s disappointing that so many businesses today seem to rely on automation and outsourcing rather than taking care of their customers. WHAT HAPPENED TO GOOD SERVICE AND GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE! What a shame!

Sunbuggy ATV rentals at Oceano Dunes is a racketeering, zero maintenance, business and nobody should be allowed to continue to stay in business doing things like that… period! We rented a vehicle from them to take the kids for rides, paid 530 for two hours, which was what we agreed to no problem. 25 minutes into driving the transmission went out and wouldn’t drive while in high gear. We took it back and they told us that it broke down while we had it so we were responsible for it. Said that if we didn’t agree to pay 1000 right now, we would have to pay 4,500 after it was sent back to Las Vegas to get looked at and fixed. They put us in a replacement buggy (which I took pictures of) and said the brakes don’t work so it’s all gas no brakes. We are bike and quad owners, we know how to treat things, and we were not hot rodding or tearing it up. We are not those people, this was just horrible busniess! The lack of maintenance on the exchange vehicle shows clearly that they do not maintain their vehicles, and the picture of the brakes shows that there should have been usable brakes. I wasn’t happy with the first vehicle that they are charging us the extra 1000 for because it wasn’t even able to climb a single dune, however we were willing to go ahead and use it to take the kids around just doing light driving. Once we had taken it for the exchange, and then our time was over and we brought it back, we were then told that we were going to have to agree to paying 1000 and if we didn’t agree to settle it now, we would pay 4,500 after the vehicle shipped to the mechanics,

My family rented buggies for Pismo beach. We showed up at the correct time only to be told that the Park Warden had closed the park and we could not go on our ride. We had to leave the area the next day as we were on a tight vacation schedule. That was 8 months ago and Sun Buggy REFUSES to give a refund for a service that they DID NOT PROVIDE. This is not even legal. Do NOT give your money to this company... you will be disappointed.

We were here with 2 others. This is the current review I have written down of everything which happened. It took over 5-6 hours and we still could not ride. We decided at that point, we wanted a full refund. Here is the review of that day: Absolute worst experience. When we checked in, I was told by Kay we were down for a side by side, I made sure to correct this and show the proof of our dune buggy reservation. Ater a 1.5-2.5 hour wait, and me talking to the front desk, I ask if we would be going out soon and get told - "Well there was an issue with one of the vehicles" and "You know its a 2-3 hour drive time, right?" I'm like ummm, what, "Yes that's what we paid for, not the 2-3 hour wait time". I don't understand why a vehicle issue happened and we weren't spoken to whatsoever during this entire wait period. There was zero communication. Well we finally get into the van to go to the Valley of Fire tour we paid for, and our Buggy isn't loaded up! They loaded the wrong vehicle. They loaded a 6 seater side by side instead of a 2 seater dune Buggy. When we mentioned, yet again I might add as I had already spoken to the front desk about this issue, that we paid for the dune buggies not the side by side, the guy literally told me "I dont recommend the dune buggies" Im over here thinking, sir, what, I dont understand? Your company logo is literally a dune Buggy and it's your biggest seller - that you actually have real dune buggies not just atvs. So I respond "I would like the 2 seater dune Buggy we reserved in the first place, please." We wait about 20 more minutes or so in the car before heading out to the desert. When we finally get to the desert, we have to wait another 1.5-2 hours, and this is after stopping to get lunch along the way and making a few wronf turns! So we finally give up when the vehicles get there as it is now peak heat time and we were supposed to have gotten BACK at that time, not JUST STARTING. We had even tried to call these people several times before they got there to see their ETA. We never got a single pickup call until they were 9 miles out. This was hands down the absolute worst experience we had in our 4 day Vegas trip. And we had a total of 3 excursions. This was the 3rd. Furthermore, this was so far off, the driver we had was called in on his day off to drive us. That's how unprepared these people were. When we got back, we spoke to an extremely rude man, Eric, who straight up said we didn't have to send the vehicles out there if you were just going to cancel to begin with. He then goes on to say, you could've told us you didn't want the side by side, which I did at the very beginning. I did not appreciate being treated like that after several hours of wait time already and severe issues along the way. He told us he will not authorize anything on a Sunday but to email this email and be very detailed. He is refusing to give proof he recieved all items so I don't have to deal with any issues in the refund process. He also specifically tried making us leave several times and put all the blame on us when we genuinely did nothing wrong. Absolutely no services were received. We paid for this with a Groupon and thank goodness we did! Because even after a very carefully and politely drafted email with screenshot proof of everything, we never received any response back from their QA department AFTER 2 WEEKS. We sent 3 emails during a 2 week time period and they never even attempted to contact us. We even tried calling! They ignored us because they wanted to thieve our money. Luckily we let Groupon know exactly what happened and they came through for us. they themselves had issues getting into contact with these people! 10/10 do NOT recommend this place. They are rude, run down, and just want your money. Zero communication skills, zero skills for employee professionalism. Only Mike there had any semblance of professionalism and he wasnt even a supervisor. The least professional individual and employee there was Eric and he is a supervisor. Overall extremely disappointing.