PRIVACY STATEMENT

Advantage BMW, a Group 1 Automotive Inc., Fortune 500 automotive retailer, has compiled this Privacy Statement in order to demonstrate its firm commitment to the privacy of its customers and the users of this website.  The following statement outlines the policies and procedures utilized by Advantage BMW in the administration of this website.  It is designed to help you understand what information is gathered and how that information is utilized. 

Information Collected

 Advantage BMW collects the following categories of information:

1. General tracking information gathered as visitors navigate through the site.  This information is non-personally identifiable information which includes your IP address.  Your IP address is automatically collected when you request pages from our server.  Other non-personally identifiable information may also include the type of browser or operating system you use and the domain name for the link used to access our site.
2. Non-public personally identifiable information may also be requested when using the functions on this website.  For example, an on-line quote, or request for service or parts, will require you to input your name, phone number and e-mail address and some other personally identifiable information.  That information is only gathered by the dealer if you choose to input it into the system.
3. Further non-public personally identifiable information will be requested if you choose to apply for credit on-line via the website.  In this situation, you will be prompted to provide more detailed personal information such as your home address, social security number and date of birth.  None of that information will be gathered by Advantage BMW unless manually entered by you.

 Utilization of Information

 No information provided by you to Advantage BMW via this website will be sold to third parties for marketing or any other purposes.  The information collected from, or provided by, you will reside solely within Group 1 Automotive.  The sole exception is for credit applications which will be forwarded to lending institutions in order to obtain an approval, or pre-approval, of financing for you.

 The non-personally identifiable information automatically collected by the website will be utilized only by Advantage BMW in order to keep track of certain pages that you may visit.  Advantage BMW may aggregate that data from other users in order to track overall visitor traffic patterns in an effort to help tailor the website in an effort to improve the website and design it to better suit our customers’ needs. Advantage BMW may use a third party to assist in the compilation and analysis of any such data.  The third party will not otherwise be allowed to utilize or transfer that data.

On-Line Credit Applications

As part of Advantage BMW's efforts to enhance your retail experience, Advantage BMW has provided a opportunity to apply for credit on-line through its website.  The request for credit requires you to divulge non-public personal information to lending institutions so that a decision can be made by those lending institutions regarding your credit worthiness. 

The information gathered from the credit application will be sent to third party lending institutions in order to determine whether credit may be provided to you.  Only duly authorized and qualified personnel at the dealership will have access to your credit application prior to it being sent to the lending institutions. 

By submitting your credit application, you have consented for Advantage BMW or one or more lending institutions to investigate your credit and employment history.  A credit report may be obtained and all information will be preserved and kept by the dealership for a minimum of 25 months.

Cookies

Advantage BMW may use cookies to determine whether you have visited the website previously and also to save or remember any preference you set while visiting the site.  Generally, a user has the ability to modify most browsers to either accept all cookies, note when a cookie is sent, or reject all cookies.  It may not be possible to utilize certain services on this website if all cookies are rejected.

Any cookies utilized by Advantage BMW merely serve to store a small amount of data in your computer’s memory.  That information may be accessed by our server in the event that you revisit our site.  That information will be utilized to track your progress through the site so that Advantage BMW may improve the site for future customers.

Security

Although Advantage BMW cannot guarantee that all information provided via the internet is secure, it will take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure the safety of your personally identifiable information.  The site has security measures in place to protect a loss, misuse and alteration of the information under its control.  However, Advantage BMW does not assume any liability for third-party usage of your personal information, whether obtained lawfully or unlawfully from Advantage BMW's system.

Additionally, information may be disclosed by Advantage BMW to a governmental entity or in response to subpoena as permitted or required by law.  In those circumstances, all reasonable precautions will be taken by Advantage BMW to ensure that your information remains as confidential as possible.

Changes in this Privacy Statement

This Statement is effective September, 2006.  Advantage BMW reserves the right to alter this Privacy Statement.  Any such alteration will be posted on this page so that you are aware of the changes in a timely manner.