Privacy

Valley Ford Privacy Policy

Valley Ford makes every effort to ensure that your visit to the Valley Ford site is satisfying, as well as secure. Personal information is either requested or required on many areas of Valley Ford.com, to verify your identity and ensure that you receive the proper response to your interest in a Ford vehicle. Please take a few minutes to read our complete privacy statement so you can understand how information is used and the specific measures we take to protect your personal information.

Information We Collect
You can visit Valley Ford’s web site to research, configure, compare prices and locate a Ford vehicle for sale in your area by using our online tools (Build & Price, Search Dealer and Pre-Owned Inventory, calculators, etc.) without telling us who you are and without revealing any personal information, other than your zip code. The only information we collect and store during this type of web site usage is the name of your Internet service provider also known as your IP address, the web site that referred you to us, the pages you request and the date and time of those requests. We use this information to generate statistics and measure site activity to improve the usefulness of customer visits. Your IP address may be used for other purposes as detailed in the section entitled “IP Addresses and Click-stream Data” as set forth in detail, below. During this type of web site usage we do not collect or store personally identifiable information such as name, mailing address, email address, phone number or social security number.

Valley Ford also requests personally identifiable information when a customer to the web site has indicated that they wish to have a dealer contact them for further information or to purchase a Ford vehicle found on the site. This information, such as name, mailing address, email address, type of request and possibly additional information, is collected and stored by Valley Ford in a manner appropriate to the nature of the data and is used to fulfill your request. If you tell us that the information should not be used as a basis for further contact, we will respect your request. We do, however, verify with third parties, the information that you provide us. In the course of such verification, we may receive other personally identifiable information about you from such services. Other than providing the information to the dealer chosen by the customer on the Valley Ford site, Valley Ford does not sell, rent, or otherwise provide any other company with your personally identifiable information for that company’s independent use.

Valley Ford may present links in a format that enables us to keep track of whether these links have been followed. We use this information to improve the quality of our search technology, customized content and advertising.

This Policy applies only to this site. When you are on the Valley Ford site you could be directed to other sites beyond our control. These other Web sites may send their own cookies to you, independently collect data or solicit personal information and may or may not have their own published privacy policies. If you visit a Website that is linked to our Site, you should consult that site’s privacy policy before providing any personal information.

IP Addresses and Click-stream Data
An IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you access the Internet. Click-stream data is information collected by our computers when you request Web pages from the Site. Our computers identify your computer by its IP address. When you request Web pages from the Site, our computers log your IP address. We may collect IP addresses and/or click-stream data for purposes of analyzing an individual’s interest in purchasing a Ford-brand vehicle and pass this information on to our dealers. We may also use this information for system administration and to report aggregate information to our advertisers, partners and sponsors. Click-stream data may include such information as the page served, the time, the source of the request, the type of browser making the request, the preceding page view and other such non-personal information. We may use this data to help us understand how visitors arrive at the Site, what type of content is most popular, what type of visitors are interested in particular kinds of content and advertising, and the like.

Our Use and Disclosure of Information
We use the personally identifiable information that you provide us on our site to assist you in researching and purchasing the Ford vehicle of your choice by forwarding this information on to our participating Ford dealers. This information may also be provided to Ford Motor Company, affiliates and commercial partners for use on behalf of Valley Ford or Ford Motor Company in accordance with our proscribed privacy statement. However, personally identifiable information will not be sold or otherwise transferred on an individual basis to unaffiliated third parties without the approval of the user at the time of collection.

If you inquire about financing from Ford Credit while visiting Valley Ford’s site, you authorize Valley Ford and Ford Credit to exchange the information you provide in the application form. Once your information has been forwarded to Ford Credit, it will be subject to Ford Credit’s Privacy Policy.

We share aggregated statistical data internally and may share that information with our business partners in the future. For example, we may disclose that a specific percentage of our users live in California. However, this aggregated information is not tied to personally identifiable information.

We reserve the right to perform statistical analyses of user behavior and characteristics in order to measure interest in and use of the various areas of our site. We do this to offer more targeted products and services to you and to customize and enhance your online experience on the site. We will not provide individual data but will provide only aggregated data from these analyses to third parties, unless you consent to such use.

As with any other business, it is possible that Valley Ford in the future could merge with or be acquired by another company. If such an acquisition occurs, the successor company would have access to the information maintained by Valley Ford, including personally identifiable customer information, but would continue to be bound by this Privacy Policy unless and until it is amended as described below.

We will disclose information in response to a subpoena, warrant, court order, levy, attachment, order of a court-appointed receiver or other comparable legal process, including subpoenas from private parties in a civil action.

When a user signs up for a co-branded version of Valley Ford (e.g. via Ford.com or AutoTrader.com) through links on our co-branded partner’s website, Valley Ford will share with the co-branded partner that user’s name, e-mail address and physical address in order to provide enhanced integration between Valley Ford’s services and the services of our co-branded partner.

In addition, we reserve the right to contact you if you submit your contact information while on our site, regardless of whether you have opted out of promotional activities on the site. For example, you may decide to send Valley Ford personally identifying information, for example, in a message containing information about your experience in using Valley Ford’s services, or another Ford or Ford Credit product or service. Valley Ford will only use this information to identify the user as a Valley Ford or Ford customer and to determine how to respond to the electronic mail. We will not use this information other than to resolve the matter identified in the email.

Information Security
Valley Ford is committed to handling your customer information with high standards of information security. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to guard your nonpublic personal information. We test our security systems regularly and also contract with outside companies to audit our security systems and processes.

Opting In/Opting out: What it is and how we use it
The term “opting in” is Web terminology for voluntarily electing to receive additional information from the owner of a web site. Opting out is the act of telling the owner of the site that you no longer wish to receive their updates. In Valley Ford’s case, we present you with a pre-checked opt-in box that you may uncheck to indicate your desire NOT to receive additional information from us. If you do not uncheck the opt-in box, you will receive e-mailed information from Valley Ford and its affiliates. Information from Valley Ford will be marked with the initials “ADV” in the subject line of the e-mail. You can discontinue receiving information from Valley Ford and its affiliates at any time by contacting us directly at fdcare@Valley Ford.com to have your information removed from our database, or, if you’d prefer, you may call Valley Ford at (800)-531-2255, M-F: 8:00AM – 5:00PM EST.

What are cookies?
A “cookie” is a small line of text that is stored within your browser when you visit a cookie-enabled website. As you browse the Web, cookie-enabled sites will send cookies to your browser, along with pages. Your browser probably has options that will let you control whether the browser accepts cookies, rejects cookies, or notifies you each time a cookie is sent to you.

If your browser is set to reject cookies, cookie-enabled websites will not recognize you when you return. This provides you with anonymity, but it also makes it very difficult to offer you customized services. It is also less secure than using cookies, because all of your specific data must be sent to the website each time you view a page. Accepting cookies means your private data can stay at the Web server, and the only information transmitted over the Internet is your ID cookie.

If your browser is set to accept cookies, any cookies that are sent to your browser are stored in your computer for a period of time. There are a few different types of cookies. A “session” cookie is stored only in your computer’s working memory (RAM) and only lasts for your browsing session. When you close all of your browser’s windows, or when you shut down your computer, the session cookie disappears forever. A “permanent” cookie is stored on your computer’s hard drive until a specified date, which could be tomorrow, next week, or 10 years from now. Permanent cookies stay on your computer until either
a) they expire,
b) they are overwritten with newer cookies,
c) you manually remove them.

Generally, we use cookies to develop generic web site metrics.

Chat Rooms, Forums, and Message Boards
We may make chat rooms, forums and message boards available to our users. You may be required to register with our site for access to these areas, you may not be required to provide any personal information when using these areas but you may choose to do so. If you post personal information online, it will be publicly available and you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties. Valley Ford cannot ensure the security of any information you choose to make public in a chat room, forum, or message board. Also, we cannot ensure that parties who have access to such publicly available information will respect your privacy. Please exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal information in these areas.

Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2002 Valley Ford and Valley Ford.com. All rights reserved. All text, images, graphics, animation, videos, music, sounds and other materials on this site are subject to the copyrights and other intellectual property rights of Valley Ford, Ford Motor Company, its affiliated companies and its licensors. Valley Ford owns the copyrights in the selection, coordination and arrangement of the materials on this site. These materials may not be copied for commercial use or distribution, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites.

Trademark Notice
All trademarks displayed on this site are subject to the U.S. trademark rights of Ford Motor Company, or are used under agreement in the U.S. by Ford Motor Company. These trademarks include, but are not limited to, product brand names (e.g., Valley Ford, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar, Motorcraft), vehicle model names (e.g., Mustang, Taurus, Explorer, F-150, Continental, Villager, Grand Marquis), slogans (e.g., What a Luxury Car Should Be, Built Ford Tough), and logos and emblems. The unauthorized use of any trademark displayed on this site is strictly prohibited.

A Special Note for Parents Concerning Privacy
Valley Ford’s site is a general audience site. We do not currently collect any personal information from children under the age of thirteen. If in the future, our site knowingly collects personally identifiable information from children, we will do so in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) including, without limitation, obtaining necessary parental consents.

Keep in mind that the Internet offers many entertaining and educational opportunities for children. Parental guidance and supervision is necessary to ensure a safe and rewarding online experience. As you are aware, our site has a process whereby we collect information from users interested in new and used vehicles, including personally identifiable information. If we determine that a person is under the age of thirteen, based on the information provided during this process, that person may not be permitted to submit information requiring the submission of personal information, in accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998(15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.).

Valley Ford works with (and may provide links to) third party sites. Such third parties may permit children under the age of thirteen to register for these features on their sites in accordance with their respective privacy policies. For more information, please review the privacy policies of each respective third party site.

Changes in Policy
We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy. A revised Privacy Policy will only apply to data collected subsequent to its effective date. All modifications or updates will be posted on our site. By using our site, you agree to the terms the Privacy Policy in place at the time of your use. Your continued use of our site constitutes your acceptance of such revised privacy policy. If you do not agree to our privacy policies, please do not use our site.