Privacy Policy

1. Introduction & Commitment to PIPEDA

AutoNova Cars Inc. ("AutoNova", "we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your personal information in strict compliance with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable Canadian provincial privacy legislation. This Privacy Policy details how we collect, use, store, disclose, and safeguard personal information obtained through our website (autonovacars.ca) and our physical showroom operations.

2. Personal Information We Collect

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to fulfill the commercial purposes outlined in this policy:

• Contact Details: Full name, telephone number, residential address, and email address when you submit inquiries, book test drives, or contact our sales team.
• Vehicle Transaction Information: Trade-in details, VIN, license plate numbers, vehicle condition reports, and service records.
• Credit Assessment Information: When voluntarily submitted through our financing pre-qualification forms, we collect general employment status, monthly income brackets, and contact info. We do not store sensitive credit bureau data on public web servers.
• Technical & Analytics Data: IP hash, browser user agent, referral source, and session duration. We favor cookieless, privacy-preserving analytical technologies that minimize personal data generation.

3. Purpose and Use of Personal Information

We use collected personal information solely for legitimate business purposes:

• Processing vehicle purchase agreements, bill of sale documents, and safety registration with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation / provincial licensing bodies.
• Transmitting financing applications to authorized Canadian chartered banks and credit unions with your explicit consent.
• Issuing appraisals and valuations for vehicle trade-in and purchase offers.
• Sending inventory alerts or responses to inquiries you have directly initiated.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third-party marketing companies under any circumstances.

4. Data Retention and Security Safeguards

Personal information is retained only as long as required to fulfill the operational purpose for which it was gathered, or as mandated by Canadian provincial statutory commercial vehicle retention regulations (e.g. Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council guidelines). We employ industry-standard encryption protocols (HTTPS/TLS), role-based access control, firewall architectures, and database isolation to protect your data against unauthorized access, disclosure, or theft.

5. Access to Your Information and Complaints Process

Under PIPEDA, you have the right to request access to the personal information we hold concerning you, verify its accuracy, request corrections, or request its deletion subject to legal retention constraints.

If a privacy concern or inquiry remains unresolved after escalating to our Privacy Officer, Canadian citizens have the right to file a formal complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC):