Privacy Policy

On-line Privacy and Security

Your privacy on the Internet is as important to us as your safety when driving a BMW, which is why we at Habberstad BMW believe in an active approach to safeguarding your privacy on-line. You can interact and remain assured that you are protected by confidentiality, security, and your individual right to change your mind.

Confidentiality

In certain areas of this site you may choose to share personal information with us, such as your name, address or even your driving interests. We may use this information for marketing research and other marketing and service related purposes like sending brochures you request and keeping in touch by e-mail. Any personal information you choose to share with us will not be disclosed to anyone outside of BMW, our related companies, or our business partners who are contractually obligated to keep personal information confidential, unless required by law (see BMW Financial Services Privacy Policy below for details). We will never exchange or sell your personal information to any other company. Customer telephone calls may be recorded to protect you and ourstaff.

Owners' Circle: Account Setup

To set up an account, we do ask users to provide a valid VIN for vehicles purchased in the United States. In order to set up an owner's circle account we do require users to provide a valid email address, as well as create a unique user name and password. In addition this area allows you to receive personalized BMW news and information via email. Users can be removed from the Owners' Circle by emailing a request to the webmaster.

Security

All information in our possession requires a unique password and username to access it. With this password you can edit, delete or add to information you have shared while visiting our site. Additionally, the information you include in a credit application is secure while in transit to us.

Site Traffic Monitoring

We collect anonymous information about every visit to our site by tracking Internet Protocol (IP) addresses on an aggregate basis. We do not link IP addresses to any personal information associated to the individual visitor. We use this information only to determine how to make future visits more convenient and productive for all BMW enthusiasts. We also collect browser type, access time, and the URL where a user is entering or exiting the site.

Cookies

Cookies produce a luxury and convenience similar to that of memory seats. They save you the trouble of reentering certain information in some registration areas, help to deliver content specific information to you, and track which sections of the site are most popular. The cookies we use are elements of data stored by your browser on your hard drive. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information. They are used on the site only to store and access the unique username and e-mail address you have provided us within My BMW. For example, in the registration area requesting your user name and e-mail address, cookies allow us to fill in that information for you. Another type of cookie we use stores data on your hard drive specifically to save information regarding the Build Your BMW. Within the Build Your BMW, users have the ability to build their ideal BMW and save it on our server. We use this type of cookie to identify which saved vehicle you customized. Failure to accept cookies within the Build Your BMW will not allow you to save your customized BMW. Our use of cookies is controlled and guided by our policy on confidentiality shown above.

Subscriptions

You will only receive e-mails or mailings from BMW of North America if you have requested to be on our correspondence list. If you are currently on our list and do not wish to receive further information from us, simply tell us by updating your preferences in the My BMW section. Any personal information you share with us can be updated at any time in the My BMW section.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information

When a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as zip code), or if a user no longer is interested in our service and we are notified of such changes, we will endeavor to correct, update or remove that user's personal data provided to us. Your Personal information can be updated at any time in the My BMW section.

Links

Though our site contains links to other sites, we are not responsible for the content, links or privacy on any of those sites.

E-mail Links

We use e-mail links throughout the site to allow you to contact us directly with any questions or comments you may have. We read every message and try to reply promptly to every one. Information in the message is used to respond directly to your comments or questions. We may also file your comments to improve the site and programs, or review and discard the information. Your personal information is not shared with third parties without your explicit permission.

BMW Financial Services

In order to register for the BMW Financial Services, specifically for our online personal banking or BMW credit card, we require information such as name, email address and mailing address. We also required additional information such as social security number, drivers license and date of birth. The information is strictly used to verify a person's identity and is not shared with any other party without your explicit consent.

Banking Security

Transaction Security:

The banking services site has SSL Version 3 (Secure Sockets layer) from Netscape. This provides a "security handshake" to initiate the connection. This encrypts and decrypts the data sent. The encryption is based upon technology that uses military-grade public/private key encrypted information in the client request and server response. All information is fully encrypted, such as the content of terms submitted (i.e., credit card numbers), access authorization information (such as user names and passwords), and data returned from the server to the client. Secure SSL sessions are established in BMW Online Services areas where your personal information is being transmitted, including online services, account related e-mail, and customer service areas.

Server Security:

The servers are protected by several security mechanisms. First, Filtering Routers restrict access to only approved network paths. Second, firewalls limit access and prevent certain attacks. Checkpoint Firewall-1, a leading product in the firewall industry, is backed up by Hewlett Packard's Virtual Vault. Virtual Vault helps create a secure environment for financial Web applications and helps protect against errors in server software and its applications. Application and Insider Security: Virtual Vault also provides strong authentication of customers and proper enforcement of authorization for transaction requests. Within Virtual Vault there is an application that provides the only access between inside and outside compartments. The Trusted Gateway also validates URL references and performs certain other calculations to prevent unauthorized scripts from being executed. Virtual Vault also has insider security application. With Virtual Vault, users must log into their own accounts and may access only the administrative commands for which they have authorization. Virtual Vault also provides an audit trail to trace unusual or unauthorized transactions.

Some Privacy FAQs:

Q. Will BMW Financial Services retain and collect my personal information?

A. We collect, retain and use information about you only where we reasonably believe that it will help administer our business. We must be able to identify and distinguish you and your products and services to prevent unauthorized entities from accessing your personal financial information.

Q. What should I do when I have finished accessing confidential data?

A. When you have finished using a secure area of the BMW Web site, make sure you always click on the "Log Out Button." When you click on it, you will be given the option to end your secure session. No further secure transactions can be conducted without re-entering your User-ID and password.

Q. Why can I still see some of my account information even after I have pressed the "Exit Secure Area" link?

A. Browser software often "caches" pages as you look at them, meaning that some pages are saved in your computer's temporary memory. Therefore, you may find that clicking on your back button shows you a saved version of a previously viewed page. Please keep in mind that caching in no way affects the security of your confidential User-ID or password. If you use your computer in a public place, please read below.

Q.. What should I do if I am using a "public" computer?

A. If you use a computer that others also work and you are uncomfortable that they may view "cached" pages after you have left the station, quit/exit your browser software before leaving. This will decrease the possibility of anyone viewing confidential information. No other users will be able to access your account information online without your User-ID and password.

Questions

If you have further questions about our Privacy Policy, the practices of our site or your experience with our site, you may contact the Site Representative.

Legal

By visiting this site you are agreeing to the terms as outlined above and in the Legal section. We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy at any time.

Further information can be obtained from by emailing Habberstad BMW at info@habberstadbmw.com