The Department of Consumer Affairs announced today that a two-month investigation of 18 used car dealerships in the city found that 10 employed bait-and-switch advertisements.

DCA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz said that of the 63 violations handed out to 10 dealerships, 48 were for advertising vehicles after respective dates of sale.

"Unfortunately more than half of the ads that we followed up on turned out not to be true," said Mintz.

Dealerships in the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island had the most offenses, leading to thousands of dollars in fines.

One of the dealerships with violations, City World Toyota in the Bronx, received charges from DCA in August 2008 advertising deceptive “free gas” promotions. Some customers allege that they bought automobiles from City World Toyota on promotion weekends between May and June 2008 but did not receive $500 gas cards as promised.

Another dealership, Potamkin GM of Manhattan, was given four violations for offering a non-existent deal. Management at Potemkin would not give NY1 an on-camera interview.

Mintz says car shoppers should walk out of the dealership if an advertised deal is not there or if they feel they are being pressured into a deal.

Those who plan on financing should get a bank to pre-approve a loan first, as they can receive a better interest rate.

Never negotiate monthly payments, and always settle on the final price of the car, so the dealership can't bury extra costs into the deal.

Those who believe they have been scammed can make a complaint to the DCA by calling 311.