Privacy Policy

When you bring your ride to us or reach out through our site, we're gonna need some basics. Nothing crazy, just the stuff that helps us do our job right.

• Personal Details: Your name, phone number, email - the usual contact stuff so we can actually get hold of you when your BMW's ready.
• Vehicle Information: Make, model, year, VIN number. Can't diagnose what we don't know about, right?
• Service History: What we've worked on before, parts we've installed, that sorta thing. Helps us track patterns and catch issues early.
• Payment Data: Credit card info gets processed through secure third-party systems. We don't actually store your full card numbers on our end.
• Website Analytics: Basic stuff like IP addresses, browser type, pages you visit. Helps us figure out if our site's actually working or if it's a mess.

We're not selling your details to spammers or anything sketchy like that. Here's what we actually do with it:

• Schedule appointments and keep you posted on service updates
• Send invoices and process payments (someone's gotta pay the bills)
• Maintain your vehicle's service records so we know what's been done
• Shoot you reminders about upcoming maintenance - your Audi's timing belt won't replace itself
• Respond to your questions and concerns about your car or our services
• Improve our website and customer experience based on what folks actually use
• Comply with legal requirements and warranty documentation

That's pretty much it. We're a repair shop, not a data mining operation.

We keep your info pretty close to the vest, but there's a few situations where we gotta share it:

• Payment Processors: Gotta process your card somehow. We use reputable third-parties that are PCI compliant and all that jazz.
• Parts Suppliers: Sometimes we need to verify warranty info or source specific components for your vehicle.
• Legal Obligations: If the law says we gotta hand something over, we're not gonna fight it. Court orders, government requests, that stuff.
• Service Providers: Email services, website hosting, scheduling software - the tools we use to actually run the business.
• Insurance Companies: Only if you've got a claim and explicitly authorize us to communicate with them.

We don't sell, rent, or trade your personal info to marketing companies or random third parties. That's just not how we roll.

Yeah, we use cookies. Not the chocolate chip kind, unfortunately. Here's the rundown:

Essential Cookies: These keep the site functioning properly. Can't really turn 'em off without breaking things.

Analytics Cookies: Help us figure out what pages people actually look at and where they're getting stuck. Google Analytics mostly.

Preference Cookies: Remember your settings so you don't have to keep entering the same stuff.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings if you want, but some parts of the site might act wonky. Most browsers let you control this stuff pretty easily nowadays.

Security's a big deal for us. We've been in business long enough to know that trust is everything, especially when you're handing over the keys to a six-figure machine.

Here's what we do to keep things locked down:

• SSL encryption on our website (that little padlock in your browser)
• Secure servers with regular backups and monitoring
• Limited access - only staff who actually need your info can see it
• Regular software updates and security patches
• Physical security at our shop (cameras, locked file cabinets, the works)

Look, no system's 100% bulletproof, but we take this seriously and do everything we can to keep your data safe. If there's ever a breach, we'll let you know ASAP - none of that months-later nonsense.

It's your data, so you've got some say in what happens with it. Under Canadian privacy laws (PIPEDA and all that), here's what you can do:

• Access Your Info: Wanna see what we've got on file? Just ask. We'll get you a copy within a reasonable timeframe.
• Correct Mistakes: If something's wrong - old phone number, incorrect VIN, whatever - let us know and we'll fix it.
• Delete Your Data: Want us to wipe your records? We can do that, though we might need to keep some stuff for legal or tax reasons.
• Opt Out of Marketing: Don't want our maintenance reminders or promotional emails? There's an unsubscribe link in every message, or just tell us directly.
• Withdraw Consent: Changed your mind about something you agreed to? You can usually pull back consent, though it might affect our ability to serve you.

To exercise any of these rights, shoot us an email at service@shadowlithodyssey.info or give us a call at (604) 782-5490. We'll get back to you within 30 days max.

We don't keep your info forever, but we can't just delete everything the moment you drive off either. Here's the general timeline:

• Active Customer Records: As long as you're coming back for service, we keep your full history. It's actually useful for tracking patterns and preventing problems.
• Inactive Accounts: If we haven't seen you in 7 years, we'll archive or delete most of your personal info (tax laws make us keep financial records for that long, sorry).
• Service Records: Vehicle-specific work history might stick around longer for warranty and liability purposes.
• Marketing Lists: If you unsubscribe, you're off the list immediately. We might keep a suppression record so we don't accidentally re-add you.

Bottom line: we keep what we need for as long as it's actually useful or legally required, then it's gone.

Our website might have links to parts suppliers, manufacturers, or other sites we think are useful. Once you click those links, you're on their turf and their privacy policies apply.

We're not responsible for what they do with your data. Some of 'em are solid, others... well, just be careful out there. Read their policies before you start entering personal info.

We try to only link to reputable sites, but we can't control everything on the internet (shocking, right?).

Our services aren't aimed at anyone under 18. If you're not old enough to drive, you probably shouldn't be booking auto repairs anyway, right?

We don't knowingly collect info from minors. If we somehow end up with a kid's data and find out about it, we'll delete it faster than a stage 3 tuned M5.

Parents or guardians who think we might have their child's info can contact us and we'll handle it immediately.

Laws change, technology evolves, and sometimes we gotta update this policy to keep up. When we do make changes, we'll post the new version here with an updated date at the top.

For major changes that actually affect how we handle your data, we'll try to give you a heads up via email or a notice on our site. But honestly, it's worth checking back here every once in a while if you care about this stuff.

Continued use of our services after changes means you're cool with the updated policy. If you're not cool with it, well, you've got the rights listed above to manage or delete your data.