No real new progress here. I've obtained copies of invoices from the body shop showing parts being paid for/arriving on various dates from 11/28 up to 12/13. I also obtained all notes pertaining to my file at Enterprise.
I called the supervisor at the insurance company yesterday and really didn't get anywhere. When I asked "Yes or no. Do you, the company, have to return a vehicle to its owner in the condition it was in before the accident?" to which he replied "Within reason". WTF? Anyway. I also asked why I was never contacted by them about the length of time I had the rental car before it got to being "an unreasonable amount of time" and he said that I had "reasonable responsibility" to contact them about it when I picked it up. The only solace I got was that the supervisor said if I could provide a timeline of work performed by the body shop, that he would look over it and determine if they will pay anymore of the rental car bill. I indeed was able to get a timeline from the shop, but it's really just notes and abbreviations of work performed with dates upuntil a "completed" status on 12/20**. He said they will also look into Mazda's parts to see what the lead time was on the parts at the time they were ordered. I think this is unlikely to happen, but I am currently trying to obtain any kind of documentation showing the exact time the parts were ordered...and if it shows what I think it will show, then it will be justifiable why the shop was delayed in starting to work on the car. So if I am lucky right off the bat, I can get them to cover up until 12/20. But he did mention that most of this is more or less all my fault because I decided to not use their preferred shop (ABRA) and the "my shop" is responsible for the problems too. Leading me to know what my rights are in this case.

** Though the body shop shows "completed", this means the paint and body work were done. The Speedfilm still needed to be applied to the car to put it in the condition it was in before the accident, which requires curing time. I obtained information from DuPont that they request 90-120 days for curing time before applying any kind of paint protection/sealant. There were 21 days between the "completed" status and the car having the film applied. Which leads me to the next situation- Them claiming I could have driven the car while the paint cured vs. me knowing the bumper would obtain damage if driven regularly for 30 days and that applying the film over paint chips negates the point of the film. I can't drive the car, it's my only car and I need transportation while the car cannot be driven. To me, it would be no different than the body shop spraying paint on the car and not being able to apply the clear coat and then telling me to drive the car until they can apply the clear coat, which would be a problem because it's pretty much guaranteed that in 30 days of driving that the paint would be damaged and no shop worth a damn would clear over damaged paint. So why would I willingly let damage occur before applying a protection product I had paid out of pocket previously for? That is my dilemma. I wish I could have the body shop put in writing that they would not recommend any vehicle be driven between painting and film application....that would help me out immensely.

The last piece I am trying to deal with is that it is implied that I am responsible for the lack of reservation set up between the rental car and the insurance company. I was never told I needed to personally perform this. It seems logical that when I picked up the rental car, the company would have verified that the insurance company was indeed paying for it. With the way I picked up the car, anyone could go get one..all I did was provide them with contact information and a claim number and was let go with the car. The insurance company sees me as just picking up the car and sticking them with the bill, like they're completely unaware that I would have been getting a rental. I'll admit that with any previous insurance company claim, this is the procedure I have followed.

Oh well, back to digging up information.