What tires should I buy? It depends on how you drive: wet grip matters most in the rain, long tread life matters most if you keep a car for years, and a quiet ride matters most on long trips. Pick what matters most to you, then match a tire type to them. Servik's advise_tires tool can help.
Tire shopping feels confusing because it is: sizes, ratings, seasons, and a wall of brand names. The simple part is starting with what matters to you, not with a brand. Servik's advise_tires tool takes the priorities you rank and returns three tire types with reasons and tradeoffs. Types, not models — Servik holds no per-model test data, and it says so plainly. Run it from /tools or /chat.
A type, first. The tool recommends tire types — wet-grip touring, all-weather snow-capable, long-life all-season — with reasons and tradeoffs for each. A tire seller can name models; the tool tells you which type fits your driving before you shop, so you walk in knowing what to ask for.
Rank your priorities using only these seven exact words: wet_grip, tread_life, comfort, noise, snow, dry_grip, value. For example, ["wet_grip", "tread_life", "noise"] means wet grip first, tread life second, quiet ride third. Do not type "price" — it is not a valid priority and the tool will error. Do not type natural phrases like "wet grip" or "quiet ride" either; the underscores are required.
If you give a size, it must be one you confirmed from your door-jamb placard or tire sidewall. The tool never infers a size from your vehicle. If you do not know the size, use lookup_tire_fitment first, or read the placard.
With priorities ["wet_grip", "tread_life", "noise"], size 225/65R17, and ZIP 23059, the tool returns three picks: a wet-grip touring type, an all-weather snow-capable type, and a long-life all-season type, each with reasons and tradeoffs. The tread-life bands are qualitative only — described as typical, shorter, or longer, never as a point figure. The picks are tire types, not specific tire models. Read them as directions: the wet-grip pick trades some tread life for rain grip, the long-life pick trades some grip for miles.
Right now the tool cannot show an installed total: its installed_total field errors out with "Install fee bands unavailable — totals cannot be shown without their source data." Do not plan around a total from advise_tires. The price of the tires themselves comes from a shop quote in any case — Servik publishes no tire price. Get the real number through /get-quotes or by calling local tire shops. The same worked example also returned signals_status "no_signals": no aggregated shop quotes existed yet for that size in the Glen Allen area. That is an honest empty, not a price of zero. When no signals exist, the only real price is the one a shop quotes you.
Bring the winning tire type and your confirmed size to a local tire shop and ask what it stocks in that type, fitted, with the full installed price in writing. Call ahead to confirm stock — the tool never verifies stock.
Servik publishes no tire price, and the advise_tires tool currently cannot show an installed total at all, so there is no Servik price to quote here — the tire price comes from the shop's quote. What a bad tire choice can cost you is an inspection failure: where states require a safety inspection, the inspection fee itself is commonly $12–$30, and worn or damaged tires are a common reason a car fails. Buy the type that fits your driving, and get the installed price in writing before the work starts.
Call a local tire shop when you are torn between two types — for example wet grip versus tread life — when no shop-quote signals exist for your size, or when you need a fitted price rather than advice. A shop that sees your car, your tread, and your driving can narrow the type to a stocked tire and a written installed price.
Start with your priorities — wet grip, tread life, a quiet ride, or value — and let the type follow from them. Run advise_tires from /tools or /chat with your ranked priorities, then take the winning type and your confirmed size to a local shop for a fitted price in writing.
The tool only accepts seven exact words: wet_grip, tread_life, comfort, noise, snow, dry_grip, and value. "price" is not one of them, so the tool returns an error naming the valid list. If cost matters most to you, use "value" — and get the actual price from a shop quote, because Servik publishes no tire price.
Servik holds no per-model test data, so it recommends tire types — wet-grip touring, all-weather snow-capable, long-life all-season — with reasons and tradeoffs. A tire seller can name models; Servik's job is to tell you which type fits your priorities before you shop.
The tool's installed_total field currently errors out: "Install fee bands unavailable — totals cannot be shown without their source data." Until that is fixed, treat any advice from advise_tires as unpriced and get the installed price from the shop through /get-quotes or a phone call.
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Data by Servik — verified local pros from official license records and public sources. Cost figures are typical ranges, not quotes; a pro's written estimate is the real number.