Mass Violations Found at L.A. Car Dealerships : Consumerism: Investigators making a sweep of local firms discover hundreds of instances where essential warranty information was not posted.

Teams of government authorities on Wednesday descended upon a score of Los Angeles-area auto dealerships and found “massive” violations of used-car laws that require the posting of essential warranty information, officials said.

The sweep through dealerships along auto rows in the San Fernando Valley, South Bay and West Los Angeles focused on smaller, independent used-car dealers that have tended to have more problems complying with the law than large, new-car dealers.

However, in their first wave of periodic spot inspections of Southland dealerships, the inspectors found violations at the new-car dealers as well.

In a preliminary review, about 70% of 535 used autos at 14 Valley and South Bay dealers lacked a Buyers Guide, as required under a 7-year-old Federal Trade Commission used-car law. Information was not available Wednesday on all 20 dealerships.

The guide, which must be displayed prominently on a car window, informs consumers if the auto is covered by a warranty and of the major provisions of such protection. The repair and condition of used cars has always been a major source of buyer problems. The guide serves as a prime tool to inform buyers of their rights.

None of the dealers found in violation has yet been charged. Violators face federal fines of up to $10,000 a day as well as criminal penalties under state law.

“It seems to me that we have massive violations of the buyers guide” law, said Michael J. Delany, head of the Los Angeles district attorney’s consumer protection division, which participated in the inspection.

The Federal Trade Commission has held similar sweeps in other U.S. cities and conducted an inspection of dealers in East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley three years ago. But the inspections on Wednesday were the first to include several government agencies. They are expected to be followed up by similar inspections on a periodic basis, authorities said.

“It’s clear that there are whole regions of Los Angeles where many or most of the used-car dealerships are not in compliance,” said Thomas A. Papageorge, regional director of the FTC in Los Angeles.

Representatives of the FTC, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, the state attorney general’s office and the Department of Motor Vehicles inspected dealerships Wednesday that had been prescreened by undercover agents, who had discovered violations at the sites in previous investigations.

At Van Nuys Auto Mart, inspectors said they found that 39 of 42 used cars lacked the Buyers Guide. Owner Mark Abraham said his employees had not had time to put the guides on recently arrived cars at the Van Nuys Boulevard firm.

The inspection also surprised Scott Robinson Honda in Torrance, where officials said 17 of 58 used cars lacked the Buyers Guide. The guides on most of the remaining cars were either improperly filled out or contained incorrect information, inspectors found.

Owner Don Robinson said many of the guides were later found in glove compartments or under seats, where they were placed during demonstration drives.

Robinson said he was angry that the inspections were made and the results revealed without giving the dealers a chance to correct the problem. However, Robinson conceded that his dealership failed to observe the law.

“We want to be right within the letter of the law,” Robinson said. “My used-car manager is out right now and filling out the forms the way they want them.”