Car and Cars Privacy policy

 

All personal information collected and used from the Car and Cars site will be processed in accordance with the 1998 Data Protection Act.


INFORMATION COLLECTED

Online Advertisements
In order to place an advertisement on the Car and Cars web site, you will need to register. We will require you to supply your name, date of birth, e-mail address, postal address and postcode. You will also be required to supply payment details and your vehicle registration. Registrants are also presented with the option of supplying their mobile number, insurance renewal dates, and the make and model of any cars owned. Credit Card information is collected over a secure connection.

Vehicle Searches
In order to conduct a vehicle search on the Car and Cars web site, we will require you to supply a postcode and a selection of identifying criteria matching your chosen vehicle, for example make, model and price.

USE OF INFORMATION


Online Advertisements
Telephone numbers and email addresses supplied as part of a vehicle advertisement will be published within the relevant advertisement for the duration of the booking, to enable a potential buyer to contact the seller. The postcode is collected in order to provide a positioning on each vehicle within our database, thereby enabling potential buyers to locate vehicles for sale within a set radius of their chosen location.

Credit card information is used solely for the purpose of payment processing. Car and Cars retains no record of credit card details.

Vehicle Searches
Postcodes and vehicle information are collected in order to provide a relevant match of vehicles against a specified search. The inclusion of the postcode enables us to provide the potential buyer with a range of vehicles within a chosen locality, rather than vehicles randomly spread throughout the country.

Registration
Email addresses are collected in order to send registrants their chosen password, providing them with online access to their registration details. The user can access this information at any time in order to update their details or change the option on whether they would like to receive communication from Auto Trader or selected third parties. Other registration information is collected in order:

1. To generate an overall audience profile of visitors using the Car and Cars web site. This information is then used to assist in developing relevant content on the site as well as ensuring that automotive trade advertisers looking to reach specific audience groups are encouraged to place their stock or promotions on the site.
2. To limit access to the full range of fields within the search form in order to maintain an overall faster search facility. By providing limited access to all our search fields, notably free text entry boxes, we are able to limit the impact on the performance of our search engine during periods of intense user activity. Whilst all users gain unhindered access to the key database fields, (such as Make and Model) fields that generate more intensive database processing (such as free text fields), are limited to those users who register.

USE OF COOKIES

When you visit our web site we issue a "cookie" or unique identification code that enables us to recognise your computer and store settings to help facilitate your use of our site.

If your computer is configured to accept cookies we will be able to provide time saving functionality such as:

• the ability to pre-fill the search form with your postcode, thus preventing the need to re-input it each time you need to run a search.
• unhindered access to all the fields within our advanced search settings.
• ready access to an online record on past advertisements you may have placed via the site.
• access to our E-alert functionality.

If your computer is cookie enabled we are also able to limit the number of occasions you are exposed to certain display advertisements on our site (such as banners and pop-up boxes). On most occasions this will mean you never see the same pop-up advertisement more than twice each time you visit the Auto Trader web site.

Please note you need to enable cookies in your browser in order to place an advert. For further information on cookies or for details on how to delete them or refuse their installation on your computer, please visit http://www.aboutcookies.org/

Why we use cookies
Car and Cars uses cookies for 4 purposes:

1. To enable the delivery of functionality that improves the ease and speed of using the Car and Cars web site (see above).
2. To frequency cap display advertisements, particularly pop-up boxes. By limiting advertisement exposure we provide a more compelling user experience for site visitors and also ensure that advertisements on Auto Trader are more evenly spread across our user base.
3. To enable us to track the relative demand for different types of vehicles on the site. Such information enables us to better target advertising at users searching for specific vehicles.
4. To enable us to track the relative popularity of disparate parts of our site. This in turn enables us to concentrate our efforts on developing those parts of the site that are generating the greatest consumer demand.