# Tire Retread Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** tires\ **Created:** [May 19, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670 "2009-05-19T11:12:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![adamherring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@adamherring](https://community.cartalk.com/u/adamherring)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/1 "2009-05-19T11:12:51Z")
Howday ya’ll. I live in Katy, TX (West of Houston) I wanted to look into buying or having my own truck tires retread. I’ve done my homework but can’t seem to find a shop around these parts that sell em. Maybe I ain’t looking hard enough. Any one out there got some pointers? I looked online, found em as cheap as $80, but with the price of S/H, then having them balanced, rotated, and mounted, I might as well buy new ones. ---
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/2 "2009-05-19T11:55:54Z")
Is this for Freightliner or a F-150? Tires are pretty important saftey items, IMHO it’s not worth to buy used or retreads in order to save a few bucks. I haven’t heard of passenger car/light truck tires being retreaded in this day and age. Although I do understand that big rigs use them fairly often. ---
**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 12:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/3 "2009-05-19T12:36:15Z")
Few people would consider them so there are few places doing the work, except for the big over the road trucks. Shipping and handling means shipping yours to them and the retreads back to you so it is not likely to be economical. BTW “balanced, rotated, and mounted” is the same with new or retread. ---
**Author:** ![CapriRacer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/capriracer/32/22_2.png) [@CapriRacer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/CapriRacer)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/4 "2009-05-19T13:03:53Z")
I think you have discovered why Passenger Car and Light Truck tires aren’t retreaded: There is no cost advantage! ---
**Author:** ![adamherring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@adamherring](https://community.cartalk.com/u/adamherring)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/5 "2009-05-19T14:21:58Z")
Hey guys, appreciate your input. Yessir, it’s for an F-150. I seen those OTR’s. I think there’s some tire shops around here that sell em, but have to do the leg work and track them suckers down. But you’re right, the cost doesn’t equal a good deal as opposed to buyin’ new ones. Say, what’s the best way to negotiate the sale price at a major tire retailer like NTB or Discount Tires? (not trying to advertise em boys.) I’m not a slick tongued devil so I need some pointers. Thanks ya’ll. ---
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/6 "2009-05-19T15:54:09Z")
I’ve never seen or heard about anyone trying to haggle over tires. Based on what I saw when I worked for Nissan and Ford. There isn’t much markup in tires to begin with; at the Ford place I was at it was 10%-17% depending on the tire. That’s not alot of room for negotiation. Most tire chains are like retail stores in that if you try to haggle with them, they’ll just tell you that the price is what it is, and that if you want the tires, that is the price you will pay. A few years ago whilst still in college I took a job with Best Buy’s Geek Squad. Without getting into the gory details, I’ll just say that when on the sales floor, unless the customer was buying alot of stuff or just some stuff along with the extended warranty, haggling was forbidden. Basically you were to tell the customer to piss off if they insisted on haggling, and if worse came to worse you could call in a manager that would repeat what you just told the customer. However if the customer was buying alot of accessories (think horribly overpriced Monster Cables, power strips, etc.) Then some haggling was acceptable since the big ticket items like HDTVs, laptops, etc. had razor thin profit margins and any haggling would mean a loss for the store, whereas when bundled with the accessories (or even better extended warranties) the profit margins grew considerably, so knocking $50 off the total purchase wasn’t a big deal. As I mentioned previously the profit margins on tires aren’t generally sizable so there’s little room to haggle. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/7 "2009-05-19T16:56:49Z")
> at the Ford place I was at it was 10%-17% depending on the tire. Then you must have sold a lot of tires…Every dealer I know of…their tire prices are in the neighborhood of 2-3 times the cost of the exact same tire I can buy at a local tire shop. My wife had a free inspection on her Accord several years ago…It passed, but they recommended new tires in a few thousand miles (which I agreed). They had a special going on…Buy 3 and get the 4th free…THEIR SPECIAL PRICE was $640…I bought the exact same tire (Michelin Radial-X) from a local dealer for under $400. ---
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/8 "2009-05-19T17:32:59Z")
Come to think of it, a fair amount of tires were sold. The dealership I was at had prices that were about the same as any tire store, and they would even match the price should you find the same tire locally for less, this included places like Costco and Sam’s club which is unusual when it comes to price matching since many places won’t match membership club prices. Keep in mind though the dealership didn’t have much a selection, mostly just new OEM tires. So the tires weren’t all that great. ---
**Author:** ![JoeMario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JoeMario](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JoeMario)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/9 "2009-05-19T17:43:47Z")
I’ve found some of the best tire prices from the local independent tire shops. The small shop I use in downtown Nashua, NH, easily has better prices and service than the likes of Sams Club, Costco, NTB, and TireRack. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/10 "2009-05-19T18:56:43Z")
Nashua Wholesale Tire??? That’s where I’ve been buying tires from for years. ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/11 "2009-05-19T19:03:43Z")
Retreaded tires are never worth the money. Buy new tires. ---
**Author:** ![JoeMario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JoeMario](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JoeMario)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/12 "2009-05-19T19:54:52Z")
Yes, Nashua Wholesale Tire. Great prices and great service. I too have been going there for years. ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/13 "2009-05-19T20:27:53Z")
I would never consider putting a retread on anything but a double axle. No sensible big-rigger would ever put them on the front end. ---
**Author:** ![Roadrunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Roadrunner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Roadrunner)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/14 "2009-05-19T20:48:15Z")
Retreads were banned from the front axle on rigs up here (Ontario, Can) a long time ago, then they banned retreads altogether. Too many coming apart and some causing accidents as well as being a road hazard. You guys are right though. The cost is too high for the mileage you get from them. Ever see the damage from retreads coming apart while still on/close the the vehicle? I sure wouldn’t put them on my Tahoe. ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/15 "2009-05-19T21:02:31Z")
Back when passenger car tires were 4-ply nylon and they only lasted 12-15K miles, the worn out carcass was still in pretty good shape, only a year or two old…Today’s radials go 50-60K miles or more. By the time the tread is gone, the carcass is pretty much shot too. Besides, should a defect cause the re-cap to fail, the lawyers would bankrupt the company overnight…Today’s driving conditions and recaps simply don’t mix. The price of tires has not gone up. It’s the value of your money that’s going down. The published inflation numbers are a joke… If you are going to spend $100 each for a made in China import, you might as well step up and spend $120 each and get a quality tire that will last a long time… Ask the tire salesman: “Do you have any private label American made tires?” That’s where you will find your best value… ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/16 "2009-05-19T21:06:31Z")
The law requires “virgin rubber” on the steering wheels of tractor-trailers. No self-respecting truck driver puts them on the back either, even with a double axle. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-retread-question/30670/17 "2009-05-21T16:39:44Z")
It’s a hole in the wall place…The two owners are excellent and very knowledgeable…and they are many times right out there doing the work. Most of the time I deal with Mike…