Last Updated: October 30, 2025
Look, we get it - privacy policies can be a real slog to read through. But since you're trusting us with your ride and your personal details, we figured you deserve to know exactly what we do with your info. We're Astry Ven Forge Auto Repair, and we're based here in Vancouver, BC. We specialize in European and performance vehicles, and we treat your data with the same care we give your car.
This policy covers what happens when you visit our website, book appointments, or deal with us in any way. We're committed to following Canadian privacy laws, including PIPEDA (that's the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, if you're curious). Bottom line? We only collect what we need, and we keep it locked down tight.
We're not in the business of hoarding data - we only grab what we actually need to serve you properly. Here's the breakdown:
Personal Details You Give Us
- Contact Stuff: Your name, phone number, email address - the basics so we can reach you about your appointment or follow up on service.
- Vehicle Info: Make, model, year, VIN, mileage, service history. Can't really fix your BMW or Porsche without knowing what we're working with, right?
- Billing Details: Payment info, billing address. We don't actually store your full credit card numbers ourselves - that goes through secure payment processors.
- Service Records: What work we've done, parts we've installed, diagnostic notes. This helps us track your vehicle's history and catch potential issues down the road.
Stuff We Collect Automatically
- Website Usage Data: IP address, browser type, pages you visit, how long you stick around. Standard website analytics stuff.
- Device Info: What kind of device you're using, operating system, screen resolution. Helps us make sure the site works properly for everyone.
- Location Data: General location based on your IP (nothing creepy, just city-level stuff to help with local search results).
Optional Information
- Marketing Preferences: If you want to hear about our promotions or performance tuning specials, we'll note that down.
- Reviews & Feedback: If you leave us a review or fill out a survey, we'll keep that on file.
How We Use Your Information
We're not gonna sell your email to random companies or spam you with junk. Here's what we actually do with your info:
Service Delivery
Scheduling appointments, sending reminders, following up after service, keeping your vehicle history on file. You know, the actual work stuff.
Payment Processing
Getting paid for the work we do, issuing invoices, handling warranties. Pretty straightforward.
Communication
Calling or emailing you about your service, answering questions, updating you on repair progress. We might also send maintenance reminders (like "Hey, it's been 6 months since your last oil change").
Improving Our Services
Analyzing trends, figuring out what services are most popular, improving our website, training our techs better. Making the whole experience smoother.
Marketing (Only If You're Cool With It)
Sending newsletters, special offers on performance upgrades, seasonal maintenance deals - but ONLY if you've opted in. You can unsubscribe anytime, no hard feelings.
Legal Compliance
Sometimes we gotta keep records for tax purposes, warranty claims, or if there's a legal dispute. It's just part of running a legit business.
We're not selling your info to the highest bidder. But there are a few situations where we might need to share it:
- Parts Suppliers: Sometimes we need to order specific parts for your European or performance vehicle, which means sharing your vehicle details with suppliers.
- Payment Processors: Your payment info goes through secure third-party processors (think Stripe, PayPal, etc.). They've got their own security standards.
- Service Providers: We might use tools for appointment scheduling, email marketing, or website analytics. These companies only get the data they need to do their specific job.
- Legal Requirements: If we're legally required to hand over information (like a court order or government request), we'll comply. But we'll let you know unless we're legally prevented from doing so.
- Business Transfers: If we ever sold the business or merged with another shop (not planning on it, but who knows), your data would transfer to the new owners.
- With Your Permission: If there's any other reason to share your info, we'll ask you first.
Important note: We'll NEVER sell your personal information to marketing companies or random third parties. That's just not how we roll.
Cookies & Tracking Technologies
Yeah, we use cookies - and no, not the chocolate chip kind (though we do keep those in the waiting room). Web cookies are tiny files that help our website remember you and work properly.
Types of Cookies We Use
Essential Cookies
These keep the site functional - things like remembering what's in your booking form or keeping you logged in. Can't really turn these off without breaking stuff.
Analytics Cookies
Help us understand how people use the site - which pages are popular, where folks are getting stuck, that kind of thing. We might use Google Analytics or similar tools.
Preference Cookies
Remember your settings, like if you've already closed that newsletter popup or what language you prefer.
Marketing Cookies
Track whether you've clicked on our ads or visited from a specific campaign. Helps us figure out what marketing actually works.
You can disable cookies in your browser settings if you want, but heads up - some parts of the website might not work right. Most browsers let you block third-party cookies while keeping the essential ones.
How We Protect Your Information
We take security seriously - probably about as seriously as we take torque specs on a performance engine. Here's what we do to keep your data safe:
- SSL Encryption: Our website uses HTTPS encryption, so data traveling between your browser and our servers is scrambled up.
- Secure Storage: Your information is stored on secure servers with restricted access. Not just anyone can waltz in and grab customer data.
- Limited Access: Only employees who actually need your info to do their job can see it. The guy changing oil doesn't need your credit card details.
- Payment Security: We use PCI-compliant payment processors. Your credit card info never sits on our servers.
- Regular Updates: We keep our systems and software updated to patch any security vulnerabilities.
- Staff Training: Our team knows how to handle personal information properly and what to watch out for.
That said, nothing's 100% hack-proof. We do our best, but if there's ever a data breach that affects you, we'll let you know right away and tell you what steps to take.
It's your data, and you've got rights when it comes to how we handle it. Here's what you can do:
Access Your Information
Want to see what information we've got on file? Just ask. We'll give you a copy of your personal data and let you know how we're using it.
Correct Inaccurate Data
If we've got your phone number wrong or your vehicle info is outdated, let us know and we'll fix it.
Delete Your Information
Want us to delete your data? We can do that, as long as we don't need to keep it for legal or warranty reasons. Service records and payment history usually need to stick around for a while, but we can remove marketing info no problem.
Opt Out of Marketing
Don't want promotional emails anymore? Click the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, or just tell us to stop. We won't be offended.
Restrict Processing
You can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations - like if you're disputing the accuracy of the information.
Data Portability
Want to take your data to another shop? We can provide your information in a common format that's easy to transfer.
To exercise any of these rights, just shoot us an email at service@astryvenforge.info or give us a call at (604) 555-8742. We'll get back to you within 30 days.
How Long We Keep Your Data
We don't keep your information forever - just as long as we need it. Here's the general timeframe:
- Service Records: We typically keep vehicle service history for 7-10 years. This helps with warranty claims and gives us a good maintenance history if you come back.
- Payment Info: Financial records stick around for about 7 years for tax and accounting purposes. That's pretty standard business practice.
- Marketing Data: If you unsubscribe from marketing, we'll stop sending stuff immediately. We might keep a record that you unsubscribed so we don't accidentally add you back.
- Website Activity: Analytics data gets anonymized and aggregated pretty quickly - usually within a few months.
- Inactive Accounts: If you haven't been in for service in a really long time (like 10+ years), we might archive or delete old contact info, keeping only basic service records.