I wish I had read these reviews before I signed up for AAA! This driving school is very inflexible. They don't pick up at home, they are booked ahead for months at a time, they make you wait 2 weeks beyond each class, and the reviews of their instructors are terrible. My son took longer than a year to sign up for a class, and there is a $75 reinstatement fee in addition to the $575 that I already paid! After not being able to get an appointment for over a month and reading the negative reviews, I tried to cancel and get a refund but a) they won't let me cancel without forfeiting the money I already paid bc it's been a month beyond a year since I bought it and b) even if they did let me cancel, it's a $100 cancellation fee plus $60 for every class I would cancel. Wow, what a way to treat someone who has been an AAA member for over 20 years. read more

DON'T SIGN UP FOR AAA DRIVING SCHOOL! After signing up my son for AAA driving school, I was excited to sign him up for in car lessons after he passed the online modules. We live in Alhambra and AAA has limited locations which are filled in advance. The closest location was about a 30 minute drive and we could only sign up for 2 classes and my son had to wait a month. Then 2 days before his appointment, Driver Instructor Stephanie cancelled my son's appointment and scheduled him for a random appointment 30 days later. This happened one additional time so I just decided that the entire hassle wasn't worth it. I called AAA and asked for a entire refund and a call back. Nothing. Then I checked my credit card and 3 weeks after my request and 1 week after a written complaint, I received a full refund. Still....I'm a AAA member for 25 years and expected so much more since I purchase many other products from AAA. An entire management team needs to be rehired and trained for this unit. Very disappointed! read more

Stephanie was the best driving instructor! She gave me really useful advice and always treated me with kindness. Make sure to book with her!! read more

The worst school driving program!! First thing they don't pick up from home you need to go to AAA location, second you can't make appointments back to back it has to be every 2 weeks is a 6 months program if you get the 10 hrs class, really bad customer service don't purchase any package from here read more

Just like the previous review, you pay so much. Difficult to make your appointments and you can only do 2 at a time. A lot of the lessons are less than 1 hr even though you pay for 1 hr lessons. The girl at the Arcadia AAA, rude as heck. And her lesson was approx 40 mins long. Definitely will not have my second kids lesson here and will not recommend it. read more

This is one of the worst driving schools. They have one particular female instructor who behaves as an intimidating and abusive adult towards teen (minor) drivers who she deems "not having practiced enough." She will intentionally "slam" on the brakes to indirectly cause harm to the student driver and make statements such as, "Do you think I am being mean? Yes, I am being mean." My teen child had to endure over 45 minutes of this abuse with this woman. I immediately contacted the AAA Driving School office after my teen reported what happened during a driving lesson and the two female customer service representatives who I spoke to responded with a tone as if they weren't surprised by my complaint. They only offered to refund the prepaid amount not used by any lessons. AAA Driving School should be held accountable and liable for hiring and allowing this instructor to continue to verbally abuse and even cause harm by intentionally "slamming on the car brakes"when driving with (minor) teen drivers. Beware when signing up and paying for this driving school. read more

AAA Driving School has a website that is easy to navigate and to book appointments. You can book no more than 1 appointment every two weeks and the days are usually pretty available. I had Stephanie Andrade as my AAA instructor back at Costa Mesa, and she transferred to Arcadia, so I highly recommend her! As long as you aren't trying to book an appointment for the very next day, the dates are relatively open. Ask your instructors a lot of questions; they are there to help you. read more

If you are in a hurry and want to finish 6 lessons in the shortest period of time, this isn't the driving school for your child. My son has finished 8 of his 10 lessons (7-10 are an optional addition which include freeway instruction). AAA lets you schedule two lessons in advance and availability seems to always be about 2 weeks after the previous lesson. This timing is to ensure that a new driver has time to practice between lessons with other adults. We've been pleased with the quality of the AAA lessons, particularly with Stephanie A who really seems to put heart into preparing students for the DMV driving test. My son, who started out critical about the process (as a teenager who saw this as a chore instead of an opportunity), commented that Stephanie likes her job and that she is really good at it. He said that she is very interactive and fair, providing constructive advice and encouragement. When my teenager initiates positive comments about an instructor and backs those up with substantive details beyond positive comments about their personality, I'm appreciative too. At the end of the lesson, Stephanie is detailed about how the lesson went and she is always pleasant to interact with. read more

Horrible driving school! No availability! The calendar goes for three months, but there are no appointments available at all. I called the number twice and was could not get connected to a person. So I cannot book a lesson, I cannot talk to anyone, and I cannot cancel! This place is a complete financial ripoff! I would go somewhere else. read more

Basically, they accomplish the task of getting a signed behind the wheel training certificate. Beyond that, I can't say much. The lessons are hard to schedule but they are set up so that it has to take 6 months to get them all in. You don't get a full 6 hours of training. They start after the start time and come back with like 10 -12 mins left of the hour. Rip off. On top of that, the instruction is minimal at best. I can't even say it's limited to a certain instructor because we tried at least 4 different ones between two different locations. I definitely do not recommend spending the money and thinking you are getting AAA type of experience. My child failed the first driving lesson. I paid another instructor (The Driving Doctor) that I've used in the past for an older daughter and recommended to several over about 5 years. He spent an entire two hours with her which proved to be the best decision because a week later she passed the driving test. If you want your kid to get a certificate to take the DMV test, fine but if you want your kid to actually learn how to drive and be safe in the streets, DO NOT book with AAA. read more

The online system they set up is not very good at all. You can only set up 2 appointments at a time with 3 weeks apart. 3 weeks seems too far to take another lesson. 1 week seems more reasonable. And getting an appointment seems like a Herculean task, as with even 6-7 weeks ahead, I wasn't able to schedule any open spots, which I think is totally ridiculous. I called AAA and they could not do anything except suggested checking periodically in case anyone canceled. I would not recommend their driving school and when my daughter starts her lessons in a few years, I will be going looking somewhere else. read more

They have no availability. You can only book the next lesson after completing the previous one, which pushes them to be over 1 month apart. You cannot see the availability until after signing up and paying. You cannot change to a different location either. Their cancellation policy is unreasonable. Trying to call them is impossible as well. I was on hold for 1 hour before giving up. In the end, we bought the last 2 hours from another driving school that answers the phone on Sunday and had immediate availability. read more

The Service is terrible! Not the level of service I would expect from AAA. They are quick to take your money but not quick to schedule driving lessons. The interest in cusomer service is well below DMV level of service. DO not plan on getting lessons unless you have 6-8 months to get it done. read more

I've spent many years putting my children through different driving schools. However, I have to say without a doubt that I've never worked with a more courteous, helpful and wonderful driving school. Steve Thornhill (the supervisor) goes above and beyond. He assists in not only booking lessons but, accommodating the needs of each child. Whether it was within business hours or not, he made sure to return each and every phone call within the same day. The school is just beyond fantastic. Great instructors, great accommodations, wonderful service! If I could give this more than 5 stars I would! I'll be recommending AAA Northeast to all my friends and family! read more