By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
Nine car dealerships in Queens, six of them in Bayside, have been cited by the city Department of Consumer Affairs for deceptive and misleading newspaper advertisements, the agency announced last Thursday.
The dealerships, along with 10 others citywide, committed one or more violations that included false advertising, false prices, failing to disclose required information and misleading credit claims in daily newspaper advertisements published between February and June of this year, the department said in a news release.
“Deliberately enticing car buyers with half truths and exaggerated claims is not just infuriating, it’s illegal,” said Consumer Affairs Commissioner Gretchen Dykstra. “Dealers should know and abide by longstanding rules that were put in place to protect consumers from deceptive trade practices.”
In Bayside, the dealerships cited were: Northern Boulevard Dodge at 209-01 Northern Blvd.; Northern Boulevard Dodge at 209-35 Northern Blvd.; Kia of Bayside; Bayside Chrysler Plymouth/Jeep Eagle; Star Auto Sales of Bayside; and Star Nissan.
Elsewhere in the borough, Regan Pontiac, Buick, GMC Truck in Long Island City was cited, along with Star Auto Sales of Queens Village and Metro Chrysler Plymouth in Queens Village.
The Queens dealers could either not be reached or had no comment.
The Department of Consumer Affairs found a combined total of over 2,800 instances citywide in which the cited dealerships engaged in deceptive or unlicensed activity. Penalties for the infractions range from $100 to $350 per count.
The violations were issued for everything from misleading advertised prices to giving the impression that credit would be approved immediately to unlicensed activity, the department said.
Bayside Chrysler Plymouth/Jeep Eagle and Northern Boulevard Dodge at 209-35 Northern Blvd. were both cited, among other things, for using the phrase “and much more” in describing a car.
“All of the options and the conditions of the vehicle, which affects the price, must be disclosed,” said the department in its notices to the dealerships.
Metro Chrysler Plymouth in Queens Village was cited, among other things, for “failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose” the fact that 12-minute credit approval is subject to primary lenders approval, the department said in a notice to the dealership.
The qualifier “was displayed in a type size of 2 point in height and 2 point in width,” a violation of city rules, the department said.
Regan Pontiac, Buick, GMC Truck listed prices in its advertisements that did not represent the actual cost to consumers, according to the notice of violation to the dealer.
“Your ad indicated that the vehicle price is ‘Subject to primary lending source’ and you quoted ‘Buy For’ prices that were calculated based on the deduction of a ‘$500 Conquest Rebate,’ the ‘$1,000 Smart Buy CCR Rebate,’ the ‘$500 Golf Rebate,’ or the ‘Olds Loyalty Customers’ rebate,’” the violation read.
So far, the city has reached a settlement with only one of the dealers, Bronx Hyundai, for $12,000, said Consumer Affairs spokeswoman Dina Improta. The majority of the other cited dealerships were in settlement talks with the agency, she said.
Reach reporter Ayala Ben-Yehuda by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
