Who we are and what this covers
Silvara Automotive Group Inc. ("Silvara", "we", "us") is a dealer-to-dealer wholesale vehicle brokerage. We match vehicles with buying dealers in Canada and registered importers in the United States. We never take title to vehicles and we hold no inventory.
This policy explains how we handle personal information when you visit silvaraautomotive.com, contact us, book a call, receive messages from us, or take part in a transaction we arrange. It is written to meet the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (as amended by Law 25) where it applies, and the disclosure requirements of the California Online Privacy Protection Act.
Most of the people we deal with are dealership owners and staff acting for their business. Where we deal with a private seller, this policy applies in the same way.
Our Privacy Officer
Our Privacy Officer, Miguel Silva Dias, is responsible for how Silvara protects personal information and for answering questions, requests and complaints about it.
Miguel Silva Dias, Privacy Officer
Silvara Automotive Group Inc.
Email: miguel@silvaraautomotive.com
Phone: (204) 588-4057
What we collect
Information you give us
- Enquiries and call requests: your name, dealership, role, email, phone number, what the call is about, vehicle details and a preferred time to call.
- Conversations: what you share with us by WhatsApp, phone, text message or email.
- Vehicle and transaction information: VIN, odometer reading, condition notes, history and inspection findings, photos, the bill of sale, payment confirmation and transport details.
- Buying criteria: for dealers who buy through us, what you stock and at what year, kilometres, condition and price. This is how The Matcher knows which units fit you.
Information collected automatically
- Server logs: our website host records technical information such as IP address, browser type, pages requested and time of visit, to deliver and secure the site.
- Analytics, only with your permission: if you allow analytics in Cookie preferences, Google Analytics records how the site is used. It is off unless you turn it on. See our Cookie Policy.
Information from other sources
- Published business contact details: dealership names, roles and business contact information that dealers publish, for example on their own websites, which we use to introduce ourselves.
- The other side of a transaction: information about you or your vehicle that the buying or selling dealer, an inspector or a carrier provides to complete a deal.
We do not ask for, and you should not send us, banking passwords, card numbers or government identity numbers through the website or messaging apps.
How we use it
We use personal information only for purposes a reasonable person would expect, and we ask for consent where the law requires it. We use it to:
- respond to enquiries, arrange calls and appraise vehicles;
- identify buyers whose criteria fit a vehicle, and sellers who have a unit a buyer wants;
- arrange, document and complete transactions, confirm payment and book transport;
- keep records required for tax, accounting and legal purposes;
- send business communications you have agreed to receive, as described below;
- secure the website and our systems, and, if you allow analytics, understand how the site is used.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for advertising profiles.
The Matcher and automated processing
The Matcher is software we built for internal use. It compares a vehicle's details with the buying criteria our dealer partners give us and ranks how well the vehicle fits each buyer.
- It is used only by Silvara staff. There is no customer login, portal or automated feed.
- It does not make decisions on its own. A person at Silvara reviews every match and is responsible for any offer or number we give you.
- No decision about you is made exclusively by automated processing. If you would like to know what information was used to match a vehicle, or have it corrected, contact our Privacy Officer.
Information processed outside Canada
Some of our service providers store or process information outside Canada, mainly in the United States. While it is there it is subject to the laws of that country and may be accessible to its courts, law enforcement and national security authorities. We choose providers that protect information to a standard comparable to ours and we limit what they receive.
For personal information of people in Quebec, we assess the privacy implications before information is communicated outside Quebec, as Quebec law requires.
Business messages and how to stop them
We send commercial electronic messages in line with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). We contact people who have asked to hear from us, who have an existing business relationship with us, or whose business contact details are published without a statement refusing unsolicited messages, and only about matters relevant to their role.
Every message identifies Silvara and tells you how to reach us. To stop receiving messages, reply "stop" or "unsubscribe", or email miguel@silvaraautomotive.com. We act on these requests within 10 business days.
How long we keep it
- Enquiries that do not lead to a transaction: up to 24 months after our last contact, then deleted or anonymised.
- Transaction records: at least six years after the end of the tax year they relate to, as Canadian tax law requires, and longer only if a legal matter requires it.
- Buying criteria: while you continue to buy through us, and deleted when you ask us to stop.
- Analytics data: no longer than 14 months, if you allowed analytics.
- Records of privacy incidents: at least 24 months, as PIPEDA requires.
How we protect it
We protect personal information with safeguards appropriate to its sensitivity, including limiting access to the people at Silvara who need it, using encrypted connections for our website and forms, and keeping the website free of logins and payments. Our Security page explains more.
If a breach of security safeguards creates a real risk of significant harm, we will report it to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and notify the people affected as soon as feasible, as PIPEDA requires. For confidentiality incidents involving people in Quebec, we will notify the Commission d'accès à l'information and the people affected where Quebec law requires it.
Your rights and choices
You can ask us to:
- tell you what personal information we hold about you, how we use it and who we have shared it with;
- correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
- withdraw your consent, subject to legal or contractual limits, for example records we must keep for tax purposes;
- delete information we no longer need;
- if you are in Quebec, receive information you provided in a structured, commonly used technological format, and ask that we stop disseminating it or de-index it where the law allows.
Send requests to our Privacy Officer. We may need to confirm your identity first. We respond within 30 days, and there is no charge for a reasonable request.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, or, in Quebec, to the Commission d'accès à l'information.
Children
Our services are for businesses and adult vehicle owners. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.
Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when our practices change and show the new date at the top. If a change is significant, we will say so on the website before it takes effect.
Contact us
Miguel Silva Dias, Privacy Officer
Silvara Automotive Group Inc.
Email: miguel@silvaraautomotive.com
Phone: (204) 588-4057