I failed the road test four times. That finally changed after I worked with Raymond at Alma. He thoughtfully helped me see exactly what I could do better. He helped me improve quickly. And unlike many instructors he was always patient and never yelled at me. Thank you for everything. read more

Alma Driving School - My passing results. - Driving Schools Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

BOGDAN from Alma driving School it brought a lot of light to my learning process. I failed the driving test for the first time a month ago. I made many minor mistakes but enough not to pass. I have tried with two other schools ( LocaL school and DS school Doncaster ) both manual transmission cars, with over 80 hours completed and incredibly many gaps in my learning from them. Bad habit teached wrong and a lot of money, time and self-esteem waisted just because of business and instructors strategy to squeeze money from me / ( us ) .... by saying I'm not good enough for a manual car or not ready enough for my test day, and hardly pushing to cancel my test, discouraging me because of failing the exam . And what for ?!..... ony to pushing more and more lessons for them pocket. Finally I found Bogdan-Alma by chance though a common colleague and decided to continue the lessons with him. This time, Bogdan give me confidence. Knew how to correct me from those wrong habits I had before from previous teachers. Indeed he worked a lot with me to correct me and make light in my mind, to teach and show me by practising a correct, disciplined and relaxed driving, after a few more sessions together, I managed to PASS the driving Exam with ony 3 minors on November 21st this year. Exceptional thanks for his efforts, technique and all patience Special to Bogdan for building up my confidence and from firs day he always teach me : " driving is not like a match book, therefore on the road everything is variable" Fit to traffic !! " All Alma team school are truly amazing. More impressive I was to discover as a company they could invest 5£ for 2 blinds sport mirrors so could help pupils to learn easily and quickly bay & paralel parking without to struggle 7 lessons Extra lessons ony to figure out how to do it ! I was shocked how easy made my life with those little mirrors, in 2 easy steps I understand. I got a chance to meant some of the team and I'm not saying just for a nice feedback on Google, but truly they really care about learning and progressing in a proper good amount of time. Is not like a University and You don't need 2 years and 10.000£ for learning to drive you need just the right and correct company and teacher It is true all we learning differently less or more but still you don't need 1 year to learn to drive a car and be safe ... Let's face it !! So, dear future pupils be careful how choose your instructors if you really care of you buget and mind ! Best wishes to all Alma team !!! Congratulations for been a honest company read more

I'm 55 and from France, never drove before. I took 10 classes with Alma school. 3 different teachers witch were very helpful and very calm. Raymond the owner taught me for my last 5 lessons and took me to my test. Raymond is a "force tranquille" He is always in the same nice and focused mood. I passed my test first time and I'm so grateful to Alma school. There was a young girl 17 who got it too. I will definitely highly recommend the school and send our daughter and friends. read more

Alma Driving School - Merciiiii! Alma school - Driving Schools Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Alma is the best! Raymond and Marisol are very professional and kind. Their 5-hour pre-licensing class was clear and informative. Raymond has amazing patience and is a great teacher. He tells you exactly what will be on the test and helps you practice those skills. He was honest with me about how many lessons he thought I needed and never pressured me to buy unnecessary lessons. I felt supported by him during our lessons and at the test! I'd highly recommend Alma. Thank you Raymond and Marisol :) read more

Raymond is a great instructor. I had no prior experience, but took 8 lessons and passed the test!

These guys are professional, knowledgeable, and if you listen and follow their instructions you will pass the road test. I took two lessons with Roy and one with Jack. Roy was strict, especially with my many failed attempts to parallel park, but he kept instructing me to do it until I felt somewhat comfortable at it. My last lesson was with Jack and it was a few days before my road test. He gave me lots of pointers and most of the lesson was only parallel parking. Thank you Roy and Jack for your patience and guidance. I passed the road test!!!! read more

My experience with Alma was all-around excellent. I found myself in a terrible situation where I needed to book a car for my road test just 1 day in advance. The receptionist was really nice and understanding, and moved some things around so that I could get a car AND a lesson before my test (keep in mind that this is less than 24 hours in advance). The lesson that I had with Ray was just what I was looking for. He was calm and respectful, just giving me the tips that I needed without making me feel like I wasn't ready for the test. I passed later that afternoon. This was the 3rd driving school that I worked with in Brooklyn, and definitely the one that I would recommend. read more

I had two instructors for 13 lessons and they were both awful, unfortunately I can't recall either of their names, but they were terrible. One of them would fall asleep in the passenger seat while I was driving every time I had a lesson with him and the other one could barely speak english. To make it even worse they completely contradicted each other. One of them kept telling me to feed the wheel while I was turning and the other would tell me to cross my hands over each other. After 13 lessons and 2 failed road tests (because i was using the techniques I was taught and each road test administrator told me what I was doing was wrong) I stopped going here, started driving on my own and passed my road test the next try. DON'T SPEND YOUR MONEY HERE IT'S AWFUL. read more

Excellent in every sense of the word. The lessons are high quality and the prices are affordable. Their instructive style is so clear and collected you feel reasonably confident fairly quickly, even in heavy traffic. As someone who rarely operated a vehicle before, I felt prepared to take my road test after 4 lessons (each lesson is 45 mins long so I chose to double them up back to back to make two 90 min lessons--really worked for me)! I recommend purchasing one of their packages so that you can reserve one of their cars for your road test--so much easier to the take the exam with a car you've familiarized yourself with. My instructor's name was Raymond. He's a pro and has been doing this for over 20 years. Very grateful to him! read more

Full disclosure: I failed my first road test after 10 lessons. I'm a pretty nervous person in general, and especially nervous about driving, and did not have any additional practice outside of those 10 lessons. The upside was that I knew what I had to work on after that, so I took more lessons--with Roy and Andy, and one lesson with Raymond-- and each of them made me feel comfortable, even when I was making a mistake. Andy is a bit more strict, but I think that's a good thing, especially when it comes down to the test. The guys are really helpful, but it also takes a ton of practice on your own. I scheduled all of my lessons and paid in advance, and took the 5-hour here. The only thing I was a little thrown by was that the car they had chosen to use on the actual road test day was a bit different than what we were practicing on... it might be worth it to ask what you'll be driving on road test day. Fast-forward a year later after passing my road test, and I'm moving to a city where you can't go anywhere without a car! I never, ever thought this would ever happen. Thanks Roy, Andy and Raymond! read more

My experience with Alma driving school was great!! The instructors are all kind and truly want to help you succeed on the road test. I took lessons with Roy, Leo, and Raymond. I have nothing but great things to say about each of these men! They took the time to correct mistakes, teach me how to properly drive and ensure I was comfortable driving the car. Needless to say, I took my road test and passed. Thank you guys for teaching me the skills I needed! If you're looking for a driving school look no further than Alma. read more

I went to this driving school after trying other driving school in Brooklyn. I really learned alot of new rules and tips on how to past the driving test. I am a very nervous person and Raymond was understanding and patient. I was very happy when I passed the driving test. Thank u Alma Driving School. I high recommend u guys one of the best schools in Brooklyn. read more

DO NOT TAKE CLASSES HERE. I'm writing this as I just got back with my partner from us BOTH failing the road test after taking 11 classes at Alma. We paid almost $1000 for both of our packages and got absolutely nothing out of it. Not only were we not taught enough to pass the exam, we certainly weren't taught to be good New York City drivers. And if you can't get someone to pass the exam in 11 classes, you should not be a driving instructor. The owner and main teacher, Raymond, told us both in our first class "We'll get you to pass the road test in 10 classes"....When we both failed, he said, "Well, in only 10 classes, it's hard for a lot of people to pass." I saw no difference in my skills development from the first lesson to the last. And what was infuriating was that Raymond would constantly tell me what I was doing wrong, but would never tell me how to do it right! He would either sit in complete silence or be telling me that I was doing something wrong or was going to fail the exam. I know in the end he blames us for failing, not his poor "teaching". I am a teacher, and know two things: my students should always feel they learned something at the end of a lesson, and if they are doing poorly, I have myself to blame. This is especially true when you are only teaching 1 person, like in a driving class. Bottom line: go somewhere else to learn to drive, or you will have wasted a lot of money. read more

I love Alma, not sure why there are so many bad reviews. Ray is awesome.. he's super calm but also very helpful. If you live in Park Slope or any of the surrounding neighborhoods i'd definitely recommend Alma! read more

This business is so disorganized. There's never ever anyone to answer the phone, you have to leave a msge and then they get back to you in a day or two. Then you make reservations and they don't show up. When you call them they tell you no you didn't have a reservation. Soo frustrating. I think I'm going to report them to the BBB. read more

I passed my road test today in Red Hook! The instructors Raymond, Roy and Leo were all very helpful when I took lessons and gave excellent advice. I took a lesson right before the exam with Roy and he gave great tips on what to do and what not to do. Thank you Leo for all the lessons!! read more

Not sure why there are so many negative reviews here. I've taken two classes with Raymond who is a great instructor and very patient with a nervous driver such as myself!. He is always on time for the lesson (usually a couple of minutes early even). I feel like I've been learning a lot. Making appointments with their office is quick and easy and the woman who schedules them is friendly. Would definitely recommend Alma. read more

Horrible driving school!!! I've been coming here for so long for classes I've paid so much money in this school!!! I was taking classes with a younger instructor who made me get on the highway and traumatized me! And then just recently I paid for a package for $390 and had to cancel it because of the owners nasty attitude. He was mistaken about one of the dates and times for one of my classes, so he shows up while I'm working insisting that I picked that time. Then he starts saying that I have to pay a rescheduling fee. This man is late for every session! And then has the nerve to try and charge you for his mistakes!!!. He gave me a hard time to return my money even though I didn't get the car for the test or the appointment and I didn't get one of my classes. He threw me a measly $95 back. He's not interested in teaching he just wants your money. Don't go to him!!!! Horrible attitude!!!! Unprofessional!!! read more

Alma Driving school is definitely not the best. I took a class with them and was definitely not impressed. The instructor was friendly but not too helpful. The only thing I like was that they drop you off and pick you up from your home. read more

I came to Alma after another driving school told me "sometimes driving isn't for everyone". My whole experience with Alma was far most the best experience. I did everything with them from lessons to the 5 hrs course and booking a car with them. Ray is very patient and work with me and my busy schedule. My instructor was lay back and knowledgeable about what it takes to pass a road test. He catch your driving errors and focus on them until you get right. I recommend Alma to anyone who was a scary, struggling driver like myself because they will make sure your whole driving experience is a good one. read more

I would not suggest this school to anybody, they will make you pay ahead and wait for the lesson for more then hour without giving u heads up that they will be late read more

After another school had flubbed up the info about my road test i contacted Alma, without any prior relationship, and to my surprise they could get me a road test in Staten Island less than 2 weeks later on the 1 day I asked for! Very professional, helpful and pleasant people. read more

This place is an absolute joke. I bought a gift certificate for my husband for this place and then we got a divorce. When I found the certificate I called to have the name on it changed, so that a friend could use it. Not only did they not honor this request, they told me that the gift certificate is too old (it's 4 years old. New York law requires that you must honor a gift certificate for 5 years from the date of purchase) and that I can't use it. Her reasoning was that "we don't keep records."!!!!! When I said that the IRS requires you to keep records for 7 years, she said "this is a driving school". WTF?? This is a fy by night dump of a place. They have no idea if I sued the certificate or not so they can't honor it because they have no records. I guess the 21st century hasn't reached Alma yet. Do yourself a favor and go someplace else. Don't trust this place. read more

I took weekend classes with Andy for my driver's license. He was very helpful and informative. He taught me some very helpful hints and never made me feel silly for not being an expert. I ended up taking the road test with Raymond during a weekday and he was nice as well. Thank you Andy for all of your help! I passed! :) read more

1/2/2013 was my schedule road test. The lady at the front desk specifically told me to be at the Alma school at 9am SHARP! I was there at 8:40 (20 min. before) and waited till nine o' clock. They did not show. The custodian worker next door seen me waiting and told me the instructor left 20 min. ago!!! so I took it upon myself at 9am to go to Red hook to see if I can catch the instructor over there to be able to take my road test and once again no one was there. I even asked the other people who was waiting there if they seen the school car around and they said no. I left after I was the only one standing there and still no Alma school showed. I then called to reschedule and all they did was give me attitude and try to blame everything on me and accuse me for lying! and give excuses after excuses and said I need to pay an additional $40 fee for "no show". When it was clearly their fault. I showed up to both locations! Overall this school is highly unprofessional. They are only money* hungry! I didn't learn much. Also their communication is horrible. The lady at the front desk working for them has an attitude when speaking to their customers when a situation like this occurs they'll accuse you as your fault. The boss is named Raymond and he also attempt to put the blame on me and couldn't help me unless I pay extra. They are very sneaky. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL!!!! you'll miss out on your skill's, time and money! I'm currently going to take my business elsewhere. read more

These guys were fine, they did the job. I took the 5-hour class and a few refresher courses and passed my driving test, so they seem to be doing something right! The only nitpick I have with them is it was kind of hard to get anyone on the phone and they were a bit slow to answer emails. Once you get in touch with them though, they are very nice. Prices are reasonable. One of the videos in the 5-hour class is clearly modeled on The Naked Gun, so there's an unexpected bonus for when you're really bored right around hour three ;) read more

Raymond is an A+ instructor. Calm, professional, and warm. Lessons can get intense depending on who's instructing you, though with an open mind those instructors will push you harder and get you test-ready. Passed my test on Statten island where Raymond brought me and supplied a car included in the package. read more

Took my lessons with this school and have no complaints. Most of my lessons were with Raymond and Andy. Both were most helpful in instructing me on my weak points. Had one lesson with Roy and he was very nice. All of the instructors make you feel comfortable. Keep an open mind and listen to what they tell you. Just because one can drive, doesn't mean you're road ready. If you follow their advice and get enough practice, you will pass your road test. I had no problems with any of my appointments, they were on time and flexible too if I needed to change an appointment, of course, you need to do this with at least 24 hours notice. This business is in my neighborhood and I'm glad it was, made learning easy and they don't make you feel foolish. I highly recommend this driving school. As for cost, they are very reasonable prices are pretty standard more or less across the board. It is an investment in yourself, and I believe you get what you pay for. Thanks, Raymond! Andy!! and Roy. read more

Fully recommend! I took the package of 5hr class, lessons and road test and all the experience was great. Instructors are well trained and patient and over all the process was efficient. read more

I used Alma several months ago and had approximately 13 lessons, with two different instructors. Scheduling was easy and I appreciated that they picked me up from my home for the lessons - very convenient. This was my first experience using a driving school. Although I felt that I learned a lot, I failed my road test, and then decided to go to a different school for my next lessons/road test. It was not until I got to the other school that I realized how much room for improvement there was with Alma. I realized that neither of my instructors were really teaching me "to the test." There were some specific things that I learned at my second school that I had not learned with Alma, and I found that the two instructors I had at Alma taught me things differently, which confused me. The other school was far more consistent, and I was successful in passing the test after these additional lessons. If you already know how to drive and simply want to brush up, Alma is fine, but in my opinion, if you are a new driver and want to pass your road test, there are better places to learn. read more

I called up Alma Driving School on Monday as I'd managed to get a road test on the Friday - they were very accommodating despite the last minute call. I booked a car for my road test and a 45 min lesson beforehand as I was feeling nervous, at $40. I went to the driving school for the lesson, and had a good lesson - I was nervous about parallel parking and that day just couldn't do it. He (very patiently I might add) got me to practice about ten times and by the end we had sorted out my parking! We drove around a bit and he checked my signaling and anticipation and let me know what was expected on the test. and also practiced the broken U. We then went back to the driving school and picked up another student for our road tests at the Red Hook site. We got there in plenty of time 15 min before our test appointments. And I'm happy to say I passed! My parallel park was a hit! It was overall a very straightforward experience and everything that I paid for, I got. read more