Privacy Policy

Last updated: 30 October 2026

Plymouth Cars SW respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal data when you visit our website, browse our vehicle listings, contact us, request a vehicle valuation or use any of our services.

This policy applies to https://plymouthcars.co.uk/ and all enquiries and services provided through our website.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of applicable data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, the organisation responsible for processing your personal information is:

Trading name: Plymouth Cars SW
Business address: Plymouth United Kingdom
Email: sales@plymouthcars.co.uk
Website: https://plymouthcars.co.uk/

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us using the email address above.

2. Personal Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal information, depending on how you interact with our website and services.

2.1 Personal and Contact Information

Full name
Email address
Telephone or mobile number
Contact preferences
Information included in your messages and enquiries

2.2 Vehicle Information

If you enquire about purchasing, selling or part-exchanging a vehicle, we may collect:

Vehicle make and model
Vehicle registration number
Vehicle year and mileage
Fuel type and transmission
Service history and MOT information
Vehicle condition and specification details
Photographs or other files you upload

2.3 Website and Technical Information

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including:

IP address
Browser type and version
Device and operating system information
Pages visited and interactions with our website
Referral website or traffic source
Cookies and similar tracking technologies, where applicable

2.4 Finance Enquiry Information

If you use a finance enquiry service, we may collect the information you provide through the relevant form, such as your contact details and vehicle or enquiry preferences.

Any additional financial information requested by a finance provider will be subject to that provider’s own privacy notice. We will only share information with finance providers where the relevant service is offered, the arrangement has been verified and the appropriate privacy information and permissions are in place.

3. How We Collect Your Information

We may collect personal information through the following methods:

When you complete our contact or general enquiry forms.
When you request a vehicle valuation through our Sell My Car page.
When you submit a part-exchange enquiry.
When you enquire about a specific vehicle.
When you request a test drive or submit a vehicle offer.
When you contact us by email or telephone.
When you upload vehicle photographs or supporting information.
When you browse or interact with our website.
Through cookies and analytics technologies, where enabled and permitted.

4. How We Use Your Personal Information

We use your personal information only where there is an appropriate lawful basis and for purposes relevant to our business operations.

These purposes may include:

Responding to general enquiries and customer requests.
Providing information about vehicles listed for sale.
Arranging vehicle viewings and test drives.
Processing vehicle valuation and part-exchange requests.
Responding to offers and vehicle price enquiries.
Managing vehicle purchase and sales enquiries.
Facilitating finance enquiries where an approved finance service is available.
Communicating important information about your enquiry.
Maintaining website security and preventing fraudulent activity.
Improving website performance, usability and customer experience.
Meeting applicable legal and regulatory obligations.

We do not use your personal information for unrelated purposes without an appropriate lawful basis or providing additional privacy information where required.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under applicable data protection legislation, we must have a lawful basis for collecting and processing personal information.

Depending on the purpose, we may rely on the following lawful bases:

5.1 Contractual Necessity and Pre-Contractual Steps

We may process your information when it is necessary to respond to a request you have made, provide a vehicle quotation, arrange a test drive or take steps towards a potential vehicle purchase or sale.

5.2 Legitimate Interests

We may process certain information where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include managing enquiries, maintaining website security and improving our services.

5.3 Legal Obligations

We may process or retain information where necessary to comply with applicable legal, accounting, tax or regulatory requirements.

5.4 Consent

Where consent is required, including for optional marketing communications or non-essential cookies, we will ask for your permission before carrying out the relevant processing.

You can withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

6. Sharing Your Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

Where necessary for the purposes described in this policy, we may share relevant information with trusted organisations that help us operate our business and website, including:

Website hosting providers: To host and maintain our website and related services.
Email and communication providers: To receive, manage and respond to customer enquiries.
Website and technical service providers: To maintain website functionality, security and performance.
Analytics providers: Where analytics services are actually used and the applicable requirements for their use have been satisfied.
Finance providers: Where an approved finance service is available and information sharing is appropriate and properly disclosed.
Professional advisers: Such as legal, accounting or compliance advisers where necessary.
Authorities and regulators: Where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect our legal rights.

Third-party service providers are expected to handle personal information appropriately and only for authorised purposes.

7. How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, taking account of applicable legal, regulatory, accounting and business requirements.

Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason it is being processed.

Our retention arrangements cover the following categories:

General customer enquiries and correspondence.
Vehicle valuation and part-exchange enquiries.
Vehicle purchase and test-drive enquiries.
Finance-related enquiries, where applicable.
Uploaded photographs and supporting documents.
Website analytics and technical records.
Records that must be retained to meet legal or regulatory obligations.

Once personal information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised in accordance with our retention and deletion procedures, unless we are legally required to retain it for longer.

Retention schedule: Our confirmed retention periods for each category of information must be established and applied in accordance with our internal data retention schedule.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, remember preferences and understand how visitors interact with our pages.

Cookies may be used for purposes such as:

Essential cookies: Required for important website functionality and security.
Preference cookies: Used to remember certain website settings or preferences, where implemented.
Analytics cookies: Used to understand website traffic and visitor behaviour, where analytics services are enabled.
Marketing cookies: Used for advertising or marketing measurement, where applicable and with the required permission.

Non-essential cookies and similar technologies will only be used where the required consent or other applicable legal conditions have been satisfied.

You can manage your cookie preferences using the cookie settings available on our website. You may also manage cookies through your browser settings, although disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

For more information about the cookies and technologies used on this website, please visit our Cookies Policy.

9. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, platforms or services, including social media websites, mapping services and external service providers.

If you follow a link to another website, that website will operate under its own privacy policy and terms of use.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of external websites. We recommend reviewing their privacy policies before submitting personal information.

10. How We Protect Your Information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Depending on the information and services involved, these measures may include:

Website security and access controls.
Restricted access to customer information.
Secure website connections using HTTPS.
Appropriate protection of submitted files and documents.
Secure handling of email and customer enquiries.
Regular software updates and security maintenance.
Appropriate backup and recovery procedures.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect personal information, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

11. Your Data Protection Rights

Under applicable data protection legislation, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal information:

Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: You can request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: You can ask us to restrict how we process your information in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: You may request your information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format where this right applies.
Right to object: You may object to certain types of processing, including processing based on legitimate interests.
Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

These rights are subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions. Not every right will apply in every situation.

To exercise your rights, contact us at:

Email: sales@plymouthcars.co.uk

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request. We will respond within the applicable legal time limits.

12. Marketing Communications

We will only send marketing communications where we have an appropriate legal basis and have complied with applicable electronic marketing and privacy requirements.

Submitting a general enquiry, vehicle valuation request, part-exchange request or test-drive request does not automatically subscribe you to marketing communications.

If you receive marketing communications from us, you can opt out at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions provided or contacting us directly.

13. International Data Transfers

Some third-party service providers may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will ensure that an appropriate legal transfer mechanism and safeguards are in place where required under applicable data protection legislation.

Information about relevant international transfers and safeguards can be requested using our contact details.

14. Children’s Privacy

Our website and vehicle-related services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for marketing or other unrelated purposes.

If you believe that a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us so that we can investigate and take appropriate action.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business operations, website functionality, services or applicable data protection requirements.

Any updated version will be published on this page with a revised last updated date.

We recommend checking this page periodically to stay informed about how we handle personal information.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your data protection rights or have concerns about how your personal information is handled, please contact us:

Plymouth Cars SW
Email: sales@plymouthcars.co.uk
Website: https://plymouthcars.co.uk/
Address: Plymouth United Kingdom

17. Making a Complaint

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we can investigate your concerns.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

Information Commissioner’s Office
Website: https://ico.org.uk/
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

You can find further information about your data protection rights and how to raise a concern on the ICO website.