Beware: Scam Artists ‘Regroove’ Old Tires to Make Them Look Brand New

Maintaining a car in excellent running condition can be costly. Of course, aside from spending money to fill up the gas tank, we’d have to change oil and check the brakes regularly. It’s also natural for tire treads to wear and become shallower over time, so we need to replace the tires when necessary.

Tire treads enable a vehicle to get a good grip on the road. They cut through precipitation and allow the tire to maintain contact with the surface; hence, it is unsafe to drive cars with worn out treads, particularly on snow-packed or wet roads.

Brand new tires can be quite pricey, but still, as tempting as it is to settle for things with low quality to save money, always bear in mind that we must never compromise our safety.

Beware, though, if you are totally clueless about tires, because apparently, there are scam artists who regroove old tires and sell them as new.

According to Kevin Rohlwing of Fleet Owners, “Regrooving is the practice of carving out the rubber in the grooves of a tire to create additional tread depth, so the tire with 2/32nds of tread magically gets 4/32nds or more.”

Scambusters says that although regrooving is legal, the process can only be applied to regroovable tires, which were “manufactured almost exclusively for the trucking and passenger transport industry.” Also, such tires have to comply with the strict standards set by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

To use them on private vehicles is illegal, particularly in Canada and the United States. Furthermore, it could be really dangerous; improperly regrooved tires may result in tire blowout, skidding, and tread separation.

Watch this video and see how the process is done: