Why it’s taking repair shops almost one less day to fix your client’s car

The average length of vehicle rentals for collision-related claims across Canada has decreased again, albeit slower than previous declines, a new report from Enterprise shows. 

The overall length of rental (LOR) for collision-related rental cars in 2025 Q2 was 15.4 days. That’s a 0.9-day decrease from the previous quarter (16.2 in 2025 Q1), but only a 0.1-day decrease from the same time last year (15.5 in 2024 Q2).  

That might indicate a levelling off of rental times, the car rental company suggests in its Canada Length of Rental Q2 2025 report.  

That said, LOR has decreased dramatically since the record-high seen during the pandemic — 17.1 days in 2022 Q4. 

“While LOR continues to decrease from the post-pandemic, outlying highs, challenging market and economic conditions could have impacts to future results,” the report reads. 

What’s preventing LOR from further decreases 

The drop in LOR over the past few years can be credited to a few things, including an overall decrease in collision and property damage claims volumes, and fewer parts delays, experts previously told Canadian Underwriter. 

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“With insurance premiums rising, many consumers are either dropping coverage or raising their deductibles to afford their policies. When this happens, there is less likelihood of a collision claim being filed — especially for minor damage,” Ryan Mandell, Mitchell’s director of claims performance previously told CU. 

Consumers are taking on increasingly higher insurance costs, with average deductibles climbing to $534 in 2025 Q2 — up $41 from the same time last year. 

“Repair operations in Canada show a notable shift toward greater parts repair (17.4%, up from 16.5%) alongside decreased OEM part utilization (68.6%, down from 70.5%), indicating shops are working harder to repair rather than replace components,” Mandell says. 

Part of the reason why repair lengths are still high is because there is an ongoing talent crunch for repair technicians in the collision repair industry. That, coupled with the rising severity of vehicle collisions, means insurers are still paying for longer and costlier rental periods. 

However, Mandell says, total loss frequency in Canada has increased year-over-year. This could indicate insurers are more often declaring cars a total loss and paying for their replacement outright, rather than handling paying to put their clients in a rental car while their damaged vehicle gets repaired.  

“In Canada, total loss frequency increased from 20.9% to 22.3% year-over-year, while total loss market values declined by over $1,000 to $17,226. This suggests vehicles are being totaled more readily due to lower market values, thus reducing repairable claims volume,” he says.  

Province by province 

Some provinces, however, are experiencing longer LOR compared to the same time last year.  

Alberta recorded the highest overall LOR at 18.2 days in 2025 Q2 — a 0.9-day increase from 2024 Q2.  

Newfoundland and Labrador followed at 16.4 days — a 0.6-day increase.  

Quebec’s LOR sits at 16 days — a 0.3-day increase. 

Remaining provinces saw more favourable conditions. Ontario’s LOR of 15.8 declined by 0.6 of a day. 

Prince Edward Island (PEI) had the lowest overall LOR at 13 days (a 0.4-day decrease), with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick next-lowest at 14.8 days each.  

Alyssa DiSabatino

Alyssa Di Sabatino has been a reporter for Canadian Underwriter since 2021, covering industry trends, market developments, and emerging risks.