Reasonable Loss of Use - Rental Car Companies

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

Hello and good afternoon!

When I had returned a rental vehicle to Enterprise, I noticed there was a rock chip on the windshield. Since I did not sign the damage waiver (first time having to deal with rental vehicles!), I was responsible for it. No problem.

The chip was on the driver's side. It had to be replaced. No problem. Insurance company is paying for part of it (I pay my deductible, they pay the rest).

The replacement windshield is on backorder. Now that sounds like a problem.

Does anyone know how "loss of use" is calculated in terms of damage to rental vehicles? Would I be charged for the time lost due to waiting for the part to come plus the labor time? I thought it would be just how long it took to actually repair the vehicle.

Thanks!

What difference does it make. You are already paying 100% of your deductable. Whould your deductable go up if it cost more???

Agreed, let your insurance company worry about this.

Insurance companies don't cover loss of use fees for rental vehicles that get damaged in anyway. I am responsible for administrative fees, loss of use, etc to Enterprise. The insurance company covers the actual windshield

The reason its not covered is because 9 times out of 10, you don't owe it. If the rental company did not lose money because the only vehicle they would have had to rent out on that day was the one that you damaged, then they can't collect anything for loss of use.

ecmst12 said:

The reason its not covered is because 9 times out of 10, you don't owe it. If the rental company did not lose money because the only vehicle they would have had to rent out on that day was the one that you damaged, then they can't collect anything for loss of use.

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I thought that wasn't a valid argument (I assume you are referring to fleet utilization logs or whatever). I'm new to this whole rental car thing, so what do I know?

The only reason I asked this question is because the new windshield part is suppose to take 14 days to get to the shop, but I cannot imagine too much time being spent to put a new windshield in. I would hate (on the assumption I do actually owe) to be hit with 14 days worth of loss of use. I was told there are state statutes regarding this, but I cannot for the life of me find it for Maryland.

Just a thought:
Get the year and make of the vehicle and start calling around inquiring about getting a windshield replaced for it. If and when you find someone local that can have that windshield quicker, run down to them and get an estimate with the order time on it.
Just because Enterprise is ordering a winshield to be shipped on the slow boat from China, does not mean that you should be held finacially resposible.
The fact that the windshield can be got at a price that fits what you and your insurance has paid sooner, will give you a fighting chance.

After some searching around, I think I found the answer in this old thread:

https://forum.freeadvice.com/auto-accidents-vehicle-claims-1/rental-car-loss-use-491496.html

They calculate it by dividing the number of labor hours by 4. That gives the number of days of "loss of use". Interesting.