This is a translation provided for your convenience. In case of any discrepancy, the German version prevails.

In brief

  • This website sets no cookies and uses no analytics, tracking or advertising services.
  • No third-party content is embedded — no external fonts (such as Google Fonts), no YouTube videos, no Google Maps. Images and videos are served from our own web server.
  • We only process personal data when you contact us through the enquiry form, by email, phone or WhatsApp — and only to handle your enquiry.

1. Controller

The controller responsible for data processing on this website within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is:

[Full name or company name and legal form – to be completed]
Autohaus Berlin
Pappelallee 64
10437 Berlin, Germany
Email: info@auto-berlin.com
Phone / WhatsApp: +49 152 2198 4487

2. Visiting the website and server log files

When you visit this website, the web server automatically collects information your browser transmits and stores it in server log files. This includes in particular:

  • the IP address of the requesting device,
  • date and time of access,
  • the page or file requested and the HTTP status code,
  • the previously visited page (referrer), if your browser sends it,
  • browser type and operating system (user agent).

Purpose: delivering the website, ensuring its stability and security, and detecting and fending off attacks and errors. The log files are not combined with other data sources.

Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is operating the website securely and without errors; without this data it cannot technically be delivered.

Retention: the log files are deleted automatically as soon as they are no longer needed for these purposes.

Hosting and processing on our behalf: this website is hosted by Hostinger International Ltd., 61 Lordou Vironos str., 6023 Larnaca, Cyprus, which processes this data on our behalf. This is governed by a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR (Data Processing Addendum) that forms part of Hostinger’s terms of service. Where data is processed outside the European Economic Area, this is safeguarded by EU Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR). More information: Hostinger’s privacy policy.

3. Encryption

This website is delivered exclusively over a TLS-encrypted connection (HTTPS); unencrypted requests are redirected automatically. Data you send through the form is therefore protected from being read by third parties on its way to us.

4. No cookies and no storage on your device

This website sets no cookies and uses neither local storage nor comparable techniques to store information on your device. Where your browser evaluates settings locally that are strictly necessary for displaying the site — such as screen size or your reduced-motion preference — that information does not leave your device; this is permitted without consent under § 25(2) no. 2 of the German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG). A cookie banner is therefore not required.

5. Enquiry form

When you request a quote through our enquiry form, we process the details you enter:

  • required: name, email address, phone number with country code, and the country the car is to be delivered to; for business enquiries also the company name,
  • optional: whether you are buying privately or as a business, the car you are looking for, budget, preferred way of contact, a link to a vehicle listing, and your message; for business enquiries the VAT identification number and the number of vehicles.

Purpose and legal basis: we use this data to handle your enquiry, look for suitable cars and prepare an offer for you. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (steps taken at your request prior to entering into a contract).

Obligation to provide data: there is no statutory or contractual obligation to provide us with data. We do, however, need the required details to handle your enquiry and reach you; without them we cannot process it.

Transmission: your enquiry is transmitted in encrypted form via our host’s mail server to our mailbox, which is also operated by Hostinger (see section 2). We send an automatic confirmation of receipt to the email address you provide. We do not send newsletters.

Recipients: we do not pass your data to third parties while handling your enquiry. If an order results, we share data only as far as necessary to carry it out — for example with the seller of the vehicle, inspection organisations, forwarders and shipping lines, and the customs authorities for the export declaration (Art. 6(1)(b) and (c) GDPR).

Retention: enquiries that do not lead to an order are deleted once they have been fully dealt with. If an order results, the statutory retention periods under German commercial and tax law apply (§ 257 HGB, § 147 AO): business correspondence six years, accounting records such as invoices eight years, each counted from the end of the calendar year. The legal basis for this is Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR.

Protecting the form against abuse

To prevent large-scale automated submissions, our server stores a hash of your IP address generated with a secret key (HMAC-SHA-256), together with the time, when you submit the form. The IP address itself is not stored, and without the key it cannot be derived from the hash. Entries older than ten minutes are deleted automatically the next time the form is used. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; our legitimate interest is protecting the form against spam and abuse.

6. Contact by email or phone

If you contact us by email or phone, we process the data you give us — such as your name, contact details and the content of your request — in order to handle it. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR where your request relates to a possible order, and otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (our legitimate interest in answering enquiries). Retention follows section 5.

7. Contact via WhatsApp

This website links to WhatsApp. It is a plain link: no data is transmitted to WhatsApp unless you click it.

If you message us on WhatsApp, the service is provided to users in the European Economic Area by WhatsApp Ireland Limited, Ireland. Data is also transferred to the United States in the process. WhatsApp LLC and Meta Platforms, Inc. are certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, for which the European Commission adopted an adequacy decision on 10 July 2023 (Art. 45 GDPR). You can find out which data WhatsApp processes in WhatsApp’s privacy policy.

Using WhatsApp is voluntary — you can equally reach us by email, phone or through the enquiry form. The legal bases and retention periods in section 6 apply to our communication with you on WhatsApp.

8. Instagram and other external links

We link to our profile on Instagram, a service of Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Ireland, and some articles refer to sources such as government and specialist websites. These are plain links too: data is only transmitted once you click a link and open the other site. From then on, that provider’s privacy policy applies.

9. Your rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • access (Art. 15 GDPR),
  • rectification (Art. 16 GDPR),
  • erasure (Art. 17 GDPR),
  • restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR),
  • data portability (Art. 20 GDPR).

An informal message to info@auto-berlin.com is enough.

Right to object under Art. 21 GDPR

Where we process data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, you have the right to object to that processing at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will then no longer process the data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR), in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement. The authority responsible for us is:

Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit
(Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information)
Alt-Moabit 59–61
10555 Berlin, Germany
www.datenschutz-berlin.de

10. No automated decision-making

We do not make decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR.

11. Changes to this policy

We update this privacy policy when the website or the legal requirements change. The version published here applies.