Alugue Foco Reviews 207

⚠️ Warning for international travelers renting from FOCO (Rio de Janeiro) ⚠️

Very disappointing experience.

We paid an extra fee for cleaning at pickup, but the car we received was not cleaned. The interior was dirty, smelled strongly of cigarette smoke (we are non-smokers), and even contained receipts and trash from a previous renter. This clearly shows the vehicle was not properly prepared.

Externally, the car also had visible damage. Before we even left the location, one hubcap fell off and had to be replaced, causing delays.

The vehicle itself felt poorly maintained, with worn suspension making every bump in the road very noticeable and the car feel unreliable.

The pickup process was also problematic. There was no English-speaking staff, no explanation of the process, and all signage was only in Portuguese. As international travelers, we had to rely on translation tools just to understand basic instructions, which added confusion and delay.

We were also asked to sign a digital document on a phone without any clear explanation of what we were signing. When we asked, we were only told it was required to release the car, without being shown the full report.

When we later raised the issues, we were told nothing could be done because no problems were recorded at pickup. However, due to the language barrier, lack of explanation, and pressure during collection, it was not realistically possible to properly review or document everything at that time.

Overall, this experience fell far below expectations, especially for international customers. Be cautious if you do not speak Portuguese or expect a smooth pickup process.

The worst car rental company, please avoid at all cost and you will thanks me later.

Due to delayed flight we were a bit late. They didn't give us car, AND DIDNT GIVE BACK MONEY. THEY ARE like THEVIES !!! NOT RECOMEND THIS COMPANY.
AVOID THIS PLACE !

Very bad experience.

After returning the car, my credit card was charged multiple times for the same traffic fine.

Several duplicate charges and authorizations appeared on my card, causing serious stress and financial confusion.

I had to contact my bank, block my credit card and open a dispute.

This company clearly has poor billing control and no transparency.

I do NOT recommend Foco to anyone.

I booked a car at 18:00 just to cover flight delays or luggage delivery delays. I arrived one hour in advance. They were not short of cars, dozens of them. But they made me wait one hour. After one hour they gave me the car that was there from the beginning

Stay well away

I had an extremely disappointing experience with FOCO Car Hire during my rental in September/October 2025.

I was forced to change cars three times due to serious faults, including engine and warning lights, poorly maintained vehicles, and one car with 70% tinted windows that made night driving unsafe, before finally receiving a usable car.

On top of this, my partner was charged R$174.03 for a supposed speeding fine without any prior notice, authorisation, or supporting evidence, which was both distressing and unacceptable.

The combination of unsafe cars, repeated disruptions, and unauthorised charges makes FOCO Car Hire a company I cannot recommend.

I did write to them regarding all these points but never responded.

Very disappointed in this company and would never use or recommend to use.

I rented a vehicle with them at Guarulhos airport. I opted for the premium class, however, the brakes were malfunctioning. Additionally, they do not accommodate significant flight delays. I cannot recommend their services.

DON’T ever use them!! I can tell my history which was so frustrating between no help at all, no assistance and at the end they tried to charge me abusive things, had my car broken and was charged nearly 10k. This was in January and after months and so many emails and such I got the receipts and now I got them on my WhatsApp saying this is my last chance of paying my debts or they will get my name to the recovery companies. Wtf?? I haven’t received any emails, no contact at all, and from sudden I get a WhatsApp?? Is there any professionalism on it??
FAROFEIROS!! I want them to come so we can have fun..
BUT if you don’t want a headache, do t go on them, pay a bit more if need but get a trustful company because they are not professionals and far from that they will try to steal your money.

Cleiton

Great experience
Got the expected car and I was well treated by staff
I also did a small scratch in the car that made me afraid of being overcharged for it, but they said it was too small and didn't charge anything

Scam!!! These guys take your money and then don't give the car. We then had to pay them extortion money extra. 1 month after returning the vehicle with a full tank and in good condition, they start to take more money from my credit card. I have now opened a criminal case against them and the bank is also lodging a dispute with Visa! Stay away from Foco.

Wish I could give 0 stars. All stories you read here are true, tourist scam.

Stay away from this car rental company, they are thieves, during the final inspection of the car they told me that everything was ok, but not only did they not return my deposit, they charged me other expenses, moreover months later they told me that I took a fine without specifying where or when but taking more money from my credit card. They are scammers!!!

I wish I saw this page before I got scammed... I DO NOT RECOMMEND with this company... And the only reason why I gave 2 stars instead of 1 because the car was nice and working well... But I returned the car on the 20th of July. I asked the inspection guy about my deposit back and he said you won't need to worry as it will be automatically be done in a few working days... Nothing has come through yet. I tried to contact via email (the email that was given to me and printed on the contract, but then when I sent the email it says recipient not found or doesn't exist) but there is no way of contacting them either via internet. So now I doubt I will get my money back and on top of that this company seems so damn shady and cunning... Once again... I DO NOT RECOMMEND and just use your money with another rental car company that's reliable or not shady.

I am utterly disgusted that this company put my life and that of my passengers at risk through the poor inspection and maintenance of their vehicle, but also appalling customer service that didn't rise to the challenge when required. Foco rented me a car that was simply unroadworthy and dangerous with brake pads that were so heavily worn that the brake calipers were grinding the discs. The car should have been in the repair shop not on their forecourt for rental. Allied to which their appalling customer service that appears to place profit and the letter of their contract above customer safety. This caused me to return the car early because I was not prepared to drive such an unsafe vehicle any longer nor pay for priviledge of getting it fixed after multiple calls to their normally unattended and useless assistance line. At least the customer sevice agent at the return apologised for the state of the vehicle, but no refund nor other meaningful recompense was offered. So avoid this company at all costs, because your life, and those of any passengers, may depend on you doing so.

Foco rental car(Porto Alegre airport Brazil) company are very dishonest. Their sales staff are obviously on a sales commission plan as they spend the majority of the time trying to gouge extra money from you.

The sales guy had no english at all which was not a major problem as my wife is Brazilian but just very surprising for a tourist centric business. First, he tries to tell us that our car has not arrived but that he could supply an Automatic gearshift alternative at a very 'competitive' 40 Reals a day for 7 day rental(280 in total). Next he spent an inordinate amount of time trying to sell us the extra insurance for 500 Reals. I told him I had my own personal Excess insurance which he told us would not cover major accidents only minor scratches. I told him I hadn't heard of this selective insurance before and declined his offer.

After about an HOUR of back and forth I asked my wife to tell the guy in no uncertain terms that I wanted the car that I had contracted delivered NOW!(or a better alternative) WITHOUT the extra insurance.

Low and behold our car was magically available.
My contract had to then be printed as it hadn't arrived by email.

They took the official photos of the car and said I would receive all by email. I took plenty of my own and mailed them in.
I received nothing , later discovering that the clown at the desk had entered my email address incorrectly.
Also their official phone number didn't work when I tried to correct the email address error.

The car itself was supposed to be a Class F intermediate. Size wise it was ok but it came with a 1.0 engine! Just what you want for the Gramado mountain roads!

On returning the car a week later we got no official receipt to say that all was well so I made the return clerk write a note to say that all was well with the car.
In summary, AVOID at all costs unless you have a very thick skin to combat the dishonesty and nonsense from their operatives.

Please do not rent any car from these company they are very dodgers people they like gangsters they just get your money then when you arrive there you have to phone them which takes more than 40 minutes for someone pick up the phone then when someone pick the phone they keep playing like fool with you. Trying to make you loose you temper. Results no car no refund. They make extremely difficult on the phone so you no get and did paid for 8 days and no got a car and no refund. So run away from these dodgy people.

100% SCAM company! AVOID at all costs - take your money, then if you are literally a few minutes late to collect, they keep your money and say your car has been given to someone else. I suspect I would have been scammed even if I arrived early. I could go on with more issues but just read all the other reviews and AVOID!!!

Stay away from this company.They are scammer.
I booked and paid for the car when i got to the front desk,they said the car was unavailable.
I was not given a car and my money was not refunded
The staff at the front desk were unfriendly and unhelpful it was a very frustration situation

!!!! NEWER RENT THROUGH FOCO !!!!
1. they come with false claims about damages. they said that we stole the extra tire from the back. I mean, come on.
2. the shuttle bus is impossible to find in the GRU airport
3. it takes around an hour to get the car AND to hand the car back
4. they barely speak English
NEVER EVER GO THERE.
Date of experience: March 04, 202