As urban legends go, the belief that retreaded tires aren’t safe or practical ranks up there with the idea that one can find an honest politician during an election year.
The reality is that a retreaded tire produced by a top-quality retreader will perform as well as a comparable new tire and at a lower price. The cost of a retread typically is 30 to 50 percent less than a new tire, according to the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). Retreaded tires represent a savings of more than $3 billion annually for truck fleets, the bureau adds.