Many comments here are from a parent or family member talking about a child's experience with this school.Yelp removed my review, stating this: "We wanted to let you know that we've removed your review of Sterling Driving School. Your review was brought to our attention by the Yelp community, and we found that it fell outside our Content Guidelines because it appeared to be primarily based on someone else's customer experience."Here was my review:"I would be cautious of this school as my neighbor informed me (after our niece's lessons) that the older gentleman who owns the school does not have a license to give driving lessons, but does anyway. The good news, our niece had a wonderful woman instructor twice and a man once who was a decent teacher, but spent a lot of time on his phone." I would be so inclined to say that the company bullied Yelp into removing my review because I stated that the owner gives, or gave, lessons to children without a license to do so.  I believe this to be an honest, and even very helpful piece of safety information.We will see if my review stays up this time, if not, I am interested to see what reason they give.  As you will see below, many people review the school that have not been the actual student. Read Less

I'm feeling generous with a 3 star due to flexible payments and options like picking up student driver after school, ect., I'm disappointed about 2 things, one because my son failed due to a situation he ran into, during his Capitola DMV behind the wheel test, that was not covered by any instruction. During the DMV test he came upon a truck that was stopped and blocking the road with it's emergency flashers on, since he had no experience and no instruction on what to do in this situation after 30 seconds of waiting behind the truck the DMV examiner (Jose) failed him (I reviewed him as well, just not here). My second issue, I was disappointed with the time of the final session my son had. The Sterling instructor (not naming, cause it's a management issue in my mind) showed up 30 minutes late and ended the session after 1.5 hours instead of the full 2 hours. That didn't set well with me, I feel like they failed to live up to the full agreement. Read Less

Passed the test on my first try thanks to Gabe!  Funny guy that made the two hours fly by. He really knew his stuff and showed me exactly where the test would take place. Also, customer service is great! The woman on the phone was super sweet and made sure I got my lessons in before my test date. Read Less

Two licensed kids later, I have only good things to say about Sterling and have recommended them to multiple friends-with-teenagers. The staff is very responsive about making appointments, all instructors were excellent (the younger one had Stewart and thought he was great), and the last-lesson-before-the-test was very helpful to both kids. Tips: Call in advance--Sterling books up fast. After the second lesson, make the DMV test appointment online. Once you have that date, call Sterling ASAP so they can schedule the third (final) lesson right before the test. Read Less

I'm feeling pretty conflicted about leaving this review but feel I have to. I came to this school after reading yelp reviews. I'm 27 and I have been terrified of driving most of my life. I am giving the 2 stars because they did help me overcome my fear of driving, but I wouldn't recommend them to a friend. I'm not sure if this is true for every instructor there, but this was my experience with Stuart. The worst thing about the entire experience was that he has a tendency to say extremely racist things. (No, not even in a bad taste joke way, either.) I'm not sure if he said these things assuming that I'm white so I wouldn't take offence, but I did. He clearly hates Asians, on more then one occasion made comments about how awful they are, that they can't drive, once saying a guy was "ok, for an Asian." On one ocasion he pointed to a small Asian baby girl in a stroller and said "isn't it scary that she will be driving in 15 years?" He also said that the majority of mugshots were of people of color, and refurs to black men as "brothas" always saying "you don't see them much around here." He jokes in a racist Mexican accent a LOT. I'm actually quite shocked by his unprofessionalism. He was late to every apointment, and on one had me dropped off 20 minutes before my time was up, so I'm feeling like I paid for a lot of unutilized time. During one apointment he spent much of the apointment on the phone, which made me feel that he must really have confidence in me, but also I felt like he should have been focused on my session. I did 2 sessions of "2 hour" instruction and 2 test apointments for a total of 4 apointments and about $450 all together. I failed both test apointments, then went the next day to take the test by myself in a family car and passed only missing 4. The only other issue I had was that they seem to be so booked up that each test is scheduled weeks after your last instruction apointment, so it feels like you forget things. Like I said, I feel conflicted because I do finally have my license, but I just cannot ignore blatant racism. I really should have moved to another instructor after the first apointment. If racist jokes bother you steer clear of Stuart... please note that this review is based completely on professionalism. Read Less

As a teenager, I never learned how to drive. Parents too busy, not enough money, etc. So during my senior year of college I decided it was finally time. Sterling Driving School was totally there for me, and I was astounded by how comfortable I was after the first lesson. I went from being afraid of driving to actually looking forward to it. Stewart (or Stuart? Not sure) is one of the funniest instructors I've ever met. He's full of stories and helps you remember driving rules with his little phrases. I don't think I'll ever forget "Do your Lance Glance!" I did three lessons, but failed my driving my test. After one more lesson, I finally felt more prepare and passed it! The prices at Sterling are reasonable, and they truly know EVERYTHING you need to know about taking your behind-the-wheel test. I've recommended Sterling to my friends and I absolutely recommend it here! Read Less

As an adult learning to drive in his mid-30s, I had a lot of trepidation about picking a driving school. I have nothing but good feelings however for this team. They were very attentive, supportive and calming. I had two sessions and then used their car for the DMV test. I would not hesitate in recommending them for either youth or non-traditional new drivers (such as myself). Read Less

I can't say enough about Sterling. Everyone that works there is so kind. My youngest had Stewart for his instructor and he passed his behind the wheel with flying colors. My daughter wanted to wait a bit to get started (19) due to losing a dear friend in an accident, and Sterling is going to work with her (We requested Stewart again) and address her specific concerns. This is truly the best school and very affordable. Read Less

I can't begin to even explain what Sterling Driving School has done for me, and in particular Stewart. I am 32 and was deathly afraid of learning to drive. From my first lesson with Stewart I felt safe, supported and like I had a great cheerleader/instructor that wasn't going to give up on helping me gain the independence and self confidence that comes with having a drivers license. Every lesson I learned more and more about how to drive, but also about having faith in my abilities. On March 16th, I became a licensed driver and I couldn't be happier!!! I highly recommend Sterling Driving to anyone that wants to learn to drive. Don't let fear hold you back anymore, Sterling Driving has instructors that are more than willing to give you the knowledge and support to get your license. Read Less

If you are looking for a reasonable price driving lesson, this is the place to go! I began my driving lesson with no experience and in a matter of 3 driving lessons I was able to receive my drivers license on my first try. My instructor was Stewart. He's a great guy a lot of patience and with a great sense of humor. He is very great great on what he does and gives you instructions very clearly. He is bilingual, so whoever needs a Spanish speaker instructor he is the one to call for. His sense of humor while I was driving made it less stressful and gave me no anxiety so that was great! The awesome part about Sterling driving school is that they drive to you so if you want to learn how to drive Sterling will come to your destination and teach you with no problem. I highly recommend Sterling Driving School it is 110% worth it. Read Less

This school is the best. English is my wife's second language. The instructor was patient, kind, with humor and a clear consistent manner of communicating instructions. They were accommodating for schedules and routes. They taught her what she needed to pass the test but they also helped her with many other aspects unique to her needs. I highly recommend them.  Thank you Stuart! Read Less

I was in an accident couple years ago and developed a fear of driving because of it. I have a driving license from another country but needed to take the behind the wheel test to get a CA driving license. Because of the trauma from the accident I decided to take a couple of classes until I would feel comfortable behind the wheel again.My first lesson was with Stewart and he was an excellent teacher and made me feel very comfortable about driving. He gave me handy tips about parking and the lesson was very pleasant. Merging on the freeway was especially challenging for me because of the accident I was in and Stewart made me feel comfortable enough to go on the freeway on my first class. I made my second appointment to take the driving test and had my class this time with Alan. Again, I had fun knowledgeable instructor who made the lesson fun and helped me to trust in myself and my ability to drive. The Capitola DMV staff knows both Stewart and Alan really well which is very useful because then the person who's evaluating your test will know that most likely you are a good driver. I passed the test on my first try with flying colors. Thank you Stewart and Alan! Read Less

in my forties, and finally learning to drive. I was a bit apprehensive about it, but I shouldn't have been. I am in the middle of a course of lessons from Sterling, and actively enjoying each one. My driving instructor from Sterling has been great, and each lesson is well judged, introducing new situations without becoming overwhelming. There is also a continuous engagement that reinforces all the good habits of a driver, and gently pointing out newly developing bad habits. In particular I feel like I am being taught how to drive, not simply how to pass the driving test, with lots of pragmatic advice. Update: I passed my test first time !! Read Less

I can't say enough good things about this company! Alan and Stewart have been professional, accommodating, cheerful, and genuinely helpful. I can't imagine teaching people to drive for a living without becoming burned out or surly, but these guys seem to actually enjoy it and are REALLY good at their job. They also respond promptly to emails and phone messages. Stellar customer service all around! Read Less

My daughter and I were discussing driving school options. Her friends had nightmares at Advantage like trainers stopping at their house and getting stuff taking like 10-15 minutes out of their scheduled training classes.  The trainers talking on their cell phones... We decided to call Sterling, at the time they had no reviews on Yelp but we figured that might be a good thing as no angry reviews.  We had the best experience.  They were professional and accommodating even when we asked if they could scheduled an extra appointment for the next morning as my daughter had her appointment at the DMV the next afternoon. (Do not know if people will understand the last sentence...)Sterling was a great experience.  My daughter felt comfortable and the instructors, she had two, were thoughtful and made her feel extremely comfortable.  She is usually shy with adults so this was exceptional. When she voiced concerns about her driving or things she wanted to work on they took extra time with those items and took her to the area around the DMV for her last lesson on the morning of the test.  Can not say enough good things about the owner and his staff as all were and went above what we expected. Read Less