I have mixed feelings about this place. TLDR: Good school and instructors; beware of any games they try to play with you. I moved to Austin from NYC/DC in August of 2015 and needed to get my license. ... Read More
I have mixed feelings about this place. TLDR: Good school and instructors; beware of any games they try to play with you. I moved to Austin from NYC/DC in August of 2015 and needed to get my license. I'm in my early 20s and had never gotten my license previously because I never needed to drive. Quickly after I moved here, I realized it was pretty hard to get around without a car. I came across ABC Driving School and chose it since it had the best reviews on Yelp. I did the 4 class road package + test since I already had some practice driving before. The only availability they had for lessons scheduled directly before an available road test was a month from when I called. This was to be expected, given the long wait for driving test appointments. It wasn't ideal that the only time they offer for driving lessons is during the workday, M-F. They don't do weekends or evenings. Luckily, given my flexible work schedule, I was able to make it work. Robert, my instructor, was super great at teaching me the fundamentals and at going over the test route. We practiced in and around the testing site a ton and I felt super confident. During my FIRST lesson, he told me, "If you were to go take the test right now, you'd probably pass." He constantly said I was ready. He was encouraging and down-to-earth, and I was totally feeling ready for the test... ...Then, on the day of the test, while I was waiting at the DPS, I get a call from the school saying, "Your instructor doesn't think you are ready. You need more practice." I was SHOCKED. I confirmed they were talking to the right person. They tried to get me to play into their gimmick and purchase more lessons. I had already taken a day off from work and I was ALREADY at the DPS. I asked to speak to Robert, who told me that he was going to come to the test site and have me practice. He would then decide whether or not I was ready...totally ridiculous and absurd. He had told me multiple times before that I was ready. He let me take the test and I passed. Obviously, I wasn't happy with the latter part of the experience (a previous poster seems to have had a similar experience) but I got my license and have been able to finally live like a normal person in Austin. On another note -- if you are under 25 and need to take the written program/drivers ed before you get your license, check out Aceable. They were amazing and I was super happy with my experience with them: aceable.com. Read Less