Privacy

http://www.autobahnmotors.com

Last Updated: December 18, 2019

Sonic Automotive, Inc., either directly or through one of its dealership affiliates ("Dealership," "we," "us," or "our") operates the Website. This Privacy Policy is designed to assist you in understanding how we collect and use the information you provide us and to assist you in making informed decisions when using the Website and visiting our Dealerships ("Services"). Please be sure to read this entire Privacy Policy before using or submitting information to the Website or in person at our Dealerships. The protection of your information is important to us, and we want to be clear about how and when we might share your information with anyone else. Use of this Website for any purpose signals that you agree to the terms and conditions as set forth herein. If you disagree with any portion of this Privacy Policy, now or as amended by us, your only option is to not use the Websites, mobile applications, or online services governed by it.  

PLEASE NOTE THE ARBITRATION PROVISION SET FOURTH BELOW, REQUIRES, EXCEPT WHERE AND TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, YOU TO ARBITRATE ANY CLAIMS YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST DEALERSHIP ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS MEANS THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE, AND YOU WAIVE, THE RIGHT FOR A JUDGE OR JURY TO DECIDE YOUR CLAIMS, AND THAT YOU MAY NOT PROCEED IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY.

Our Dealerships take your privacy seriously and are committed to safeguarding your privacy. Because we do gather certain types of information from visitors to our Websites, mobile applications, online services, or our dealerships, we have developed a privacy policy to help you understand the terms and conditions surrounding the collection and use of that information. This Privacy Policy discloses the types of information we gather, how it is used, and how you can gain access to and edit any data that we have collected about you at any time.  

Our Dealership respects the privacy of individuals who visit our Websites, mobile applications, online services, send us e-mail, telephone us, or visit our dealerships. Accordingly, our Privacy Policy applies to both online and offline collection of personal information by our Dealerships.

Our Dealership maintains a strict "no-spam" policy. Subscribers to our e-mail services (or any other feature/service found on our Website) will not receive unsolicited e-mail messages from us. Our dealership collects information online primarily to provide our visitors with a more relevant experience on our Websites. When doing so, we will make every reasonable effort to avoid excessive or irrelevant collection of data. Our Dealership will take reasonable physical, electronic and managerial measures to safeguard and secure any information you provide to us (e.g. data will be stored in protected databases on secured servers with restricted access). Our Dealership will not share any information you have provided to us with anyone without your consent other than to provide the service you have requested. At the time you register for any such service, you will be notified of, and asked to consent to, the sharing of your information with any particular third party necessary to the provision of the requested service. 

The information within this Website is provided "as is." No warranty is expressed or implied to the fullest extent permissible by applicable law. Dealership and any of its providers of information do not warrant error-free or uninterrupted service of this Website.

Anytime you visit our Website, we may gather certain non-personally identifiable information regarding the means you use to access our Website. This information may include the type and version of your browser, your service provider, your IP address and any search engine you may have used to locate the. We use this information to help diagnose problems with our server, administer the Website, and compile broad statistical data. In addition, we gather certain navigational information about where you go on our Websites. This information enables us to determine which areas of the Websites are most frequently visited and helps us to tailor the Websites to the needs and interests of our online visitors. Such information is gathered by us in the aggregate and will not be associated with a specific individual without that individual's consent.

Any information you provide to us when you enroll in one of our E-Mail Reminder Services, request information, use any of the other interactive portions of our Websites, purchase or lease a vehicle or service a vehicle with us (including applying for financing or a lease), is securely maintained on our Website server and internal systems. This information may be used to provide you with information you have requested about our company, our products and our services, or to provide you with special notices. You may opt out of receiving future communications at any time (see opt-out Procedures below). This data may also be used to tailor your experience on our Websites by providing content that is relevant to your interests and geographic region.

Information that you may provide us includes but is not limited to:

When you use social media platforms, applications or tools that enable features like audio or video content (sometimes known as "plugins"), or other features that are operated or offered by other companies (sometimes known as "third parties") and are integrated into our services or allow you to connect to our services, we may collect information from those third parties. This may include payment services, login services or review platforms.  Please refer to the privacy settings of the social media platforms or third party features you use to manage how information is shared.

If you provide personal information to us, online or at one of our Dealerships, for the purposes of our assisting you with obtaining financing or leasing from a third party finance source, additional federal laws may apply to our treatment of that information, and we ask that you carefully review the Privacy Notice addressing information you share for financial purposes. Credit Application Privacy Notice

Our mobile applications may collect precise information about the location of your mobile device via your device's GPS or cellular connectivity, but only with your express consent. Once you have consented to the collection of such precise location information via your mobile device, you may adjust this consent by managing your Location Services preferences through the settings of your mobile device. We may also be able to infer your location from other information that you provide or information that we collect passively, such as the known locations of nearby WiFi networks. 

We use the information we collect from you for the following purposes: to provide our services; to send you marketing communications; to respond to your requests and inquiries; to improve user experiences by making our website easier to use and navigate; and for other legitimate business purposes.

To help us better understand and respond to your needs and interests, we may in the future receive information about you from other sources. We will ask any provider of such information to represent and warrant that the information has been gathered and maintained in accordance with all state and federal laws. Any such information will be maintained by us in accordance with the standards set forth in this privacy policy along with other personal information you've provided.

Our Dealership understands the importance of your privacy. We collect and maintain the personal information of our consumers for our use and our subsidiaries. We do not sell, rent, or trade consumer information to third parties, other than as described below, and never without your consent. Third parties may collect personally identifiable information about your online activities over time and across different websites when you use this website.

Our Dealership may partner with select retailers and other companies at various times to provide expanded services to our Website visitors. As part of such a relationship, we may share with these companies the use of certain interactive Website functions (i.e. the E-Mail Reminder Service). Information provided by Website visitors through the use of such interactive functions may be available to both our Dealership and our partners. We may share information about you and about your vehicle(s) with the manufacturer of the vehicle(s). Vehicles collect and use different types of information for various purposes. If you have any concerns or questions about such information, you should review the data collection and opt out procedures of your vehicle manufacturer, and any third party applications with access to your vehicle's data, prior to buying, leasing or trading a vehicle.

Agents:

Our Dealership may use other companies and individuals to perform certain functions on our behalf. Examples include administering e-mail services and running special promotions. Such parties only have access to the personal information needed to perform these functions and may not use or store the information for any other purpose. Subscribers or Website visitors will never receive unsolicited e-mail messages from agents working on our behalf.

In the event that our Dealership sells or transfers a particular portion of its business assets, consumer information may be one of the business assets transferred as part of the transaction. If substantially all of the assets of our Dealership are acquired, consumer information may be transferred as part of the acquisition.

Our Dealership may disclose specific personal information based on a good faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to comply with or conform to the law or that such disclosure is necessary to protect the users of our Websites, the Websites themselves, or the public.

Other than as set forth in this Privacy Policy, you will be notified when any personally-identifiable information about you may be shared with third parties, and you will be given the opportunity to decline to share that information.

Our Dealership may use a browser feature known as a "cookie", web beacons (also known as pixels), and other technologies to collect information when you use our services.  Cookies are small files placed on your hard drive that assist us in providing you with a customized browsing experience. Our Dealership uses cookies to provide you with the convenience of not having to reenter information, such as user IDs and passwords, multiple times during your visits to our Websites. Cookies can also be utilized to help us provide you with information targeted to your interests, based upon your prior browsing on our Websites. The "help" section of the toolbar on most browsers will inform you on how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you upon the receipt of a new cookie, or how to disable the use of cookies completely. Cookies alone generally cannot be used to identify you.  But if you choose the "Remember Me" feature or similar features, a cookie will store information that helps remember you, such as your username.

Our Websites have been designed to take advantage of the use of cookies. Should you configure your browser to decline their use, certain features of our Websites may not function correctly and you may be required to renter any user IDs and passwords more frequently. We may also share information that we collect with third parties, such as service providers, advertisers, and advertising companies as described in this Privacy Policy. Certain third party content providers, advertisers, and advertising companies may also place cookies on your computer or mobile device. Those cookies are controlled by the third parties and are not governed by this Privacy Policy. Some of our services and communications may contain tiny electronic images known as web beacons. We use web beacons to assist us in delivering cookies on our services and to allow us to count users who have visited those pages. We may include web beacons in promotional email messages in order to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon.

If you are visiting our Website from a location outside of the U.S., your connection will be through and to servers located in the U.S. Any information you provide during your visit will be processed and maintained on our Web server and other internal systems located within the U.S.

Our Websites contain links to other sites. Our Dealership is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites. To help ensure the protection of your privacy, we recommend that you review the privacy policy of any site you visit via a link from one of our Websites.

The personal data record created through your registration with our Website can only be accessed with the unique password associated with that record. To protect the integrity of the information contained in this record, you should not disclose or otherwise reveal your password to third parties.

Our Websites may make chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available to its users at various times. Please remember that, unless otherwise stated, any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information in these areas.

You may opt-out of receiving future communications from our Dealership by making the request using the contact information provided below. We will process your request as soon as possible in accordance with applicable law, but please be aware that in some circumstances you may receive a few more messages until the request is processed. Additionally, we may send you information regarding our Services, such as information about changes to our policies and other notices and disclosures required by law. Generally, users cannot opt-out of these communications, but they will be primarily informational in nature, rather than promotional.

We care about children's privacy. Our services are not directed to, nor do we knowingly collect information from, children under the age of 18. We will not knowingly allow children under 18 to register for or purchase our products or services. If we discover that we have received any information from a child under 18, we will take reasonable steps to promptly remove that information. If you believe we have collected information from anyone under 18 without parental consent, please contact us via any of the channels listed below.

Some browsers incorporate a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature that, when turned on, signals to websites and online services that you do not want to be tracked. Because there is not yet an accepted standard for how to respond to a DNT signal, we do not currently respond to DNT signals on this website or on websites where we provide advertisements, content, or other services.

We implement reasonable security measures to ensure the security of your personal information. Please understand, however, that no data transmissions over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Consequently, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you understand that any information that you transfer to us is done at your own risk. If we learn of a security systems breach we may attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take appropriate protective steps. By using the Services or providing personal information to us, you agree that we can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy and administrative issues relating to your use of the Services. We may post a notice via our website if a security breach occurs. We may also send an email to you at the email address you have provided to us in these circumstances. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach in writing.

Except where and to the extent prohibited by law, by using the Services, you and Dealership agree that, if there is any controversy, claim, action, or dispute arising out of or related to your use of the Services or the breach, enforcement, interpretation, or validity of this Privacy Policy or any part of it ("Dispute"), both parties shall first try in good faith to settle such Dispute by providing written notice to the other party describing the facts and circumstances of the Dispute and allowing the receiving party thirty (30) days in which to respond to or settle the Dispute.  

Notice shall be mailed to: General Counsel, Sonic Automotive, Inc., 4401 Colwick Road, Charlotte, NC  28211

Both you and Dealership agree that this dispute resolution procedure is a condition precedent that must be satisfied before filing any demand for arbitration against the other party. IF ANY DISPUTE CANNOT BE RESOLVED BY THE ABOVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE, YOU AGREE THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION FOR SUCH DISPUTE WILL BE DECIDED BY BINDING ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS.  ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS MEANS THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE, AND YOU WAIVE, THE RIGHT FOR A JUDGE OR JURY TO DECIDE YOUR CLAIMS, AND THAT YOU MAY NOT PROCEED IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY. Other rights that you and we would otherwise have in court will not be available or will be more limited in arbitration, including discovery and appeal rights. All such disputes shall be exclusively submitted to ADR Services, Inc. (www.adrservices.com) for binding arbitration under its rules then in effect, before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by both parties.

Both you and Dealership agree that any challenge to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of this Agreement to Arbitrate, including without limitation any claim that this Agreement is void or voidable or to the prohibition against consolidating the claims of others into a single proceeding, whether as a class, a representative action or otherwise, is a gateway issue and shall be determined by the state or federal court; and any substantive claims shall not be decided by the arbitrator until after the gateway determination is made by the court.

This arbitration policy has been made in and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the in which the Dealership is physically located, without giving any effect to any conflict of law principles.

In the event of a conflict between this agreement to arbitrate and any other arbitration agreement between you and the Dealership, such as an arbitration agreement contained in a retail installment sales contract, lease agreement, repair estimate, or any other agreement (Other Arbitration Agreement), the terms of the Other Arbitration Agreement shall govern and prevail in each instance.

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting a new Privacy Policy on this page. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes, and your continued use of the Website after such changes have been made constitutes acceptance of those changes.  

If you have questions concerning this Privacy Policy or the practices of these Websites, you may contact us.

This PRIVACY POLICY FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS supplements the information contained herein and applies solely to consumers who reside in the State of California ("consumers" or "you"). We adopt this notice to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 ("CCPA") and other California privacy laws. Any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this notice.

The CCPA provides California residents with specific rights regarding their personal information. This section describes your CCPA rights and explains how to exercise those rights. 

You have the right to request that we disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months.

You have the right to request that we discontinue sharing or selling any of the personal information that we collected about you and retained, subject to certain exceptions in the CCPA.

You have the right to request that we delete any of your personal information that we collected about you and retained, subject to certain exceptions in the CCPA.

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not deny you goods or services, charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties, provide you a different level or quality of goods or services, or suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

If you have any questions or comments about our Privacy Policy, the ways in which we collect and use your Personal Information, your choices and rights regarding such use, or wish to exercise your rights under California law, please do not hesitate to contact us at: