Effective Date: February 24, 2009.
The website www.PureCars.com (the "Site") is owned and operated by Pure Auto, LLC. This Privacy Policy (the "Statement") describes the Site's collection, disclosure, and use of information practices in connection with the Site. The Statement applies to the national version of the Site, located at www.PureCars.com, as well as to any operating versions of the Site, including versions or pages that the Site may private label or co-brand with third-party distribution partners, advertising partners, affiliates, dealerships, vehicle manufactures, customers, partners, and other third-parties (collectively, "Affiliates").
Please be aware that the Site may share any information you submit through the Site with Affiliates, as described below. During your visit to any Affiliate version website, the Affiliate may independently collect, store, and use other information obtained from you.
For purposes of clarification, the Statement also describes the Site's collection, use, and disclosure practices with respect to any personally identifiable information and Usage Information (as defined below) that is provided to the Site by any of its Affiliates.
The Statement does not describe the Site's collection, use, and disclosure practices of information through means other than the Site (e.g., off-line), or the collection, use, and disclosure practices of any Affiliates. For information on the collection, use, and disclosure practices of Affiliates, please review the privacy policies of those Affiliates.
Please note that the Site may contain links to other websites. The Site is not responsible for the websites, content, and/or privacy practices of any Affiliates. By using the Site, you acknowledge that you have read the Statement and agree that you are subject to the Terms of Service Agreement of the Site.
You are not required to provide any personally identifiable information to visit the Site. The Site automatically collects Usage Information (as described below) and may collect ZIP codes and other information in connection with your use of the Site (e.g., the type of vehicle you are looking for). The Site collects personally identifiable information only when you make it available through your use of the Site. You may be required to provide personally identifiable information to use certain services on the Site, including, but not limited to, the creation of a "Private Vehicle Listing Service" online classified listing advertisement ("PVLS"). In addition, you may submit personally identifiable information through the Site in other ways, including, but not limited to: (a) subscribing to editorial content, newsletters, or promotional content sent via email or other physical and/or electronic means; (b) participating in online and/or off-line promotions, surveys, sweepstakes, and contests; (c) using the Site's "Feedback" form; and (d) in connection with other products, features, services, and/or requests made available through the Site.
Information regarding use of the Site and/or services that are collected by, aggregated by, or on behalf of the Site through the use of such technical means or otherwise is referred to in the Statement as "Usage Information."
The Site may publish toll-free phone numbers for dealerships that list vehicles for sale on the Site. If you dial one of these phone numbers, the Site or a service provider operating on behalf of the Site may record the time, date, and duration of your call, and the phone number from which the call originated, along with other information that may be captured. Any Usage Information and/or personally identifiable information resulting from such calls may be used as described in the Statement.
The types of personally identifiable information that you provide will depend on the nature of the submission, but could include, not limited to, your name, phone number, address, email address and credit card information. In the event that you purchase a PVLS advertisement in an online package through an Affiliate, the Affiliate is required to share information, not limited to, your name, phone number, and email address with the Site in order to allow the Site to process and maintain your PVLS advertisement.
Passive Information Collection
The Site automatically collects information, and may also customize your visit through technical means, including the following:
IP Address Logs: The Site may log your Internet Protocol (IP) addresses - the location of your computer on the internet.
Web Beacons: Web beacons (also known as internet tags, pixel tags, single-pixel GIFs, or clear GIFs) are electronic images embedded into a webpage.
Cookies: Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer's hard drive by computers (or servers) to identify your computer. Cookies don't reveal personally identifying information; the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself.
Cookies allow the Site to recognize you when you visit the Site, and to tailor usage of the Site to your needs and interests in order to serve you better. For example, if you enter your name, ZIP code, or address on one of the Site's forms, it may be stored in a cookie so you do not have to re-enter it on other forms on the Site. Cookies and web beacons can tell the Site what advertising you have seen on the Site, which allows the Site to offer you a broader selection of advertising information, and may also be used together to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns on the Site. Cookies, IP addresses, and web beacons, are also used to compile data regarding usage of the Site (what website you came from, how long you were on the Site, what pages of the Site you visited, what make/model of browser you are using, what website you went to, etc.). Web beacons may also be included in emails sent by the Site to determine if and when such emails are opened or forwarded. You may disable cookies or otherwise manage them through tools included in your browser software. If you turn off cookies, many of the Site's features will not work as designed, if at all.
Information Use
Personally Identifiable Information. Personally identifiable information collected by the Site, through your use of the Site, may be stored on external computers, servers, or in a cookie on your computer, and may be used by the Site for any of the following purposes:
To improve your user experience.
To follow up on any request that you have previously made (e.g., the Site may contact you to determine whether the Affiliate responded to your original request).
To confirm or fulfill a request that you previously made (e.g., in order to send you a price quote or other information you have requested, the Site may share your contact information with a participating Affiliate).
To communicate with you regarding the service of the Site (e.g., the Site may call or send you an email to confirm a price quote request, or to notify you that you have received a lead regarding a vehicle you have advertised through the PVLS).
To send newsletters, promotional materials, or other content via email or otherwise. If you no longer wish to receive a particular email newsletter or other promotion from the Site, you must follow the opt-out instructions included in such email communication.
To manage the business of the Site and its relationships with its Affiliates, to which the Site may disclose personally identifiable information pursuant to the Statement.
To permit Affiliates (to whom the Site may disclose personally identifiable information specifically for direct marketing purposes) to send you promotional and/or informational messages.
For analysis, research, administration, optimization, development, and other internal purposes, including, without limitation, to compile Usage Information on the Site.
Usage Information
Usage Information is used by the Site for research, administration, optimization, development, analytical, and other purposes. For example, the Site may use aggregated statistical analyses of Usage Information for development purposes, in order to measure interest in the various areas of the Site, and to inform Affiliates about users who click on their advertising or other messages. IP addresses are also used for systems administration, geo-targeting, and troubleshooting purposes.
You agree that the Site may send you, and you cannot opt-out of, communications of a transactional or relationship nature.
Information Sharing
The Site may share personally identifiable information that you provide with Affiliates in the following cases:
Affiliates. The Site may share your personally identifiable information with Affiliates.
Requests. If you request information or services through the Site, you agree that the Site may share personally identifiable information with Affiliates as may be necessary to provide such information to, or perform such services for you. For example, if you request a vehicle test drive from a dealership through the Site, the Site will share the information you entered with that dealership (or its designee) and any other parties providing that listing (e.g., if an automobile manufacturer provides the listing to the Site on behalf of the dealership). Similarly, if through the Site you request additional financial information from one of the Site's Affiliates, such as submitting a credit application, the Site will forward and/or share the information you submit with said Affiliates. Personally identifiable information may also be included in reports to these Affiliates, but only when you have intended to submit the information to the Affiliates as described above. After the information is provided to such Affiliates, the Site does not control the subsequent use and/or disclosure of the information; the information is then subject to the privacy polices of said Affiliates.
Promotions And Sweepstakes. In the event that you participate in a promotion, sweepstakes, and/or contest that is sponsored by the Site or any of its Affiliates, the Site reserves the right to share personally identifiable information collected in conjunction with the promotion, sweepstakes, and/or contest with said Affiliates. The subsequent use and/or disclosure of such information is subject to the privacy polices of said Affiliates.
Direct Marketing. Except as provided herein, it is the policy of the Site not to disclose personally identifiable information of our customers to Affiliates specifically for the direct marketing purposes of said Affiliates. If you are eighteen (18) years of age or older and have affirmatively agreed to receive direct marketing materials provided by Affiliates, the Site may share personally identifiable information with said Affiliates for direct marketing purposes. The subsequent use and/or disclosure of such information is subject to the privacy polices of said Affiliates.
Service Providers. The Site may work with Affiliates that provide services on its behalf, including, among others, providers of development, analytical, research, promotional, credit card processing, technical, and other services. For example, the Site may ask Affiliates to perform a sweepstakes, survey, or send newsletters on its behalf. Similarly, if you make a payment to the Site by credit card, the Site may share your credit card information, along with personally identifiable information, to Affiliates in order to process the credit card transaction, or such information may be collected directly by the credit card processing service provider on behalf of the Site. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the Affiliates to maintain your personally identifiable information as confidential, and use the information only to perform the services specified by the Site. The subsequent use and/or disclosure of such information is subject to the privacy polices of said Affiliates.
Email List Opt-Outs. In the event the Site sends promotional emails to you on behalf of Affiliates and you inform the Site you wish to opt-out of future promotional emails from particular Affiliates, the Site may be required to share your email address, and other personally identifiable information, with said Affiliates so the Affiliates may add you to their opt-out lists. The Site cannot be responsible for the proper and/or timely removal of your personally identifiable information on the external databases of its Affiliates.
Other. The Site expressly reserves the right to release any personally identifiable information and/or other information you provide to Affiliates under the following circumstances: (a) in connection with any transfer of ownership and/or sale of all or a part of the Site, (b) to protect the property or safety of users of the Site and/or others, (c) to investigate and/or take action against illegal activity, unauthorized use, and/or suspected abuse on or of the Site, (d) to enforce the Terms of Service Agreement of the Site, and (e) when required by legal process or law. Furthermore, if you make any personally identifiable information publicly available on the Site, the Site reserves the right to disclose such information to Affiliates.
Please note that the messages that the Site sends to you to confirm, follow up on a request, or fulfill a request, may incidentally include promotional material or other content from the Site or its Affiliates. The Site reserves the right to share Usage Information with any of its Affiliates for any reason.
PVLS Advertisements
When generating a PVLS advertisement, it is critical to be aware that any information you choose to include in a PVLS advertisement may be made publicly available via the Site and other media in which vehicle listings of the Site are published, including, but not limited to, websites of Affiliates. You may be required to include your phone number, email address, and other additional information, to allow users to contact you regarding your PVLS advertisement. As such, you may receive unsolicited emails, phone calls, or other forms of contact from third-parties. Except for required information, you should not include any contact or other information in a PVLS advertisement that you do not want other parties to see and/or use.
Message Boards
The site may offer message boards, customer reviews, comments sections, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and/or other forums (collectively, "Forums") on the Site for use by users who are eighteen (18) years of age or older. Any information you disclose when posting a message in these Forums may become public. Users should not include any information in postings that you do not want other parties to see and/or use. Furthermore, if you post messages in the Forums that include your email address, phone number, or other personally identifiable information, you may receive unsolicited emails, phone calls, or other forms of contact from third-parties.
Forward To A Friend
The Site offers users the ability to email certain pages of the Site to third-parties. When users who choose to use the "Forward To A Friend" functionality (or equivalent), any message you are allowed to include will be visible to the recipient of the email, which may include your name, phone number, email address, and/or other personally identifiable information. The Forward To A Friend functionality is for informational purposes only, and shall not be used for any unlawful purpose, including any threats and/or harassment. Information collected by the Site through the Forward To A Friend functionality may be used in accordance with the Statement.
Changes To The Statement
Any changes to the Statement will be posted on the Site in this location. The Site will always display the most current version of the Statement, with the only notification of changes to the Statement being a new "Effective Date" displayed at the top of the Statement. Your continued use of the Site after such notice constitutes acceptance of any and all changes made to the Statement. In the event of such changes, you can choose to do nothing, or modify the personally identifiable information in your user account.
Security
The Site takes steps to keep the personally identifiable information of its users secure in our data centers, and it is accessible only to authorized personnel, as needed, to perform operations governed by the Statement. In addition, when the Site collects credit card information from you, the Site uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption, the industry standard for protecting privacy in web transactions. Despite the best efforts of the Site, the Site cannot guarantee or warrant 100 percent security of its databases and servers. Furthermore, the Site cannot guarantee that personally identifiable information submitted by users through the Site will not be intercepted or otherwise disclosed by third-parties.
Children
No information should be submitted by or posted to the Site by visitors younger than thirteen (13) years old. The Site does not knowingly collect or use any personally identifiable information from children under the age of thirteen (13) years old; and the Site does not knowingly provide any personally identifiable information, regardless of its source, to any Affiliates for any purpose whatsoever, from visitors younger than thirteen (13) years old.
Links
The Site contains links to other sites and Affiliates. The Site is not responsible for the privacy practices and/or the content of websites linked to the Site, and/or any Affiliates products or services offered through the Site.
Collection Of Information By Third-Parties
As noted prior, Affiliates may collect information about you and your use of the Site through the use of web beacons, cookies, and/or other technologies. The Site may work with companies that collect statistical information regarding usage of the Site and provide related analytical services. The Site may work with Affiliates that use web beacons, cookies, and/or other technologies to serve advertisements when you visit the Site, and to generate metrics and statistics related to the display of said advertisements. The Site may work with Affiliates that use web beacons, cookies, and/or other technologies to collect user information about your visits to, and interactions with, the Site and other websites, in order to offer targeted advertisement placement to you across their various networks of websites (which may or may not include the Site). These Affiliates may use information for predicting and/or determining the preferences and/or characteristics of their respective advertising audiences, for measuring the effectiveness of their advertising, and/or for other purposes.
©2009 PureCars.com 164 Market Street #250, Charleston, SC 29401.