Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Transport

A mechanic who works at a garage in Finland said Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, but also Poles going through the container of used tires behind the garage because most of the tires there can still be used for a season or two. The mechanic said that it was customary for Finns to drive a few seasons with new tires and then change all four.

Priit Muru, CEO of Kummi-Ott, Estonian retailer of used tires, said he was familiar with the case.

He added that sometimes Finns pierced the discarded tires to make them unusable.

According to Muru, many used tire sellers in Estonia lie to their customers that they get used tires from Norway and that they have been used for a few months. The truth is that most of the used tries arrive from Finland or Sweden and have been notably more used.