I'm going to give the front office gal and the driving instructor both two thumbs up. All classes were scheduled on our first call. The instructor was patient and professional. My daughter learned a lot from the instructor. I would highly recommend this driving school. read more

Quite honestly one of the most painful experiences dealing with this company. To start the lady who runs the front office is very slow to deal with. My first phone call could've taken 10 or 15 min to book, but she repeats herself, tries to plan lessons around her own doctor's appt, and second guess time you choose!!! That first phone call took 40 min to complete. My son decided on one of the lessons to cancel himself (which he was in trouble for) and their cancellation fee is $100!!!!!! Outrageous!! There are doctors office that charge way less than that. When we tried to reschedule that last appt to complete the course she was rude, condescending, and snarky! I was tempted to start fresh with a different company! Absolutely maddening. The drive Jaime was ok, pleasant to chat with on the first lesson but then repeated himself and had nearly the same conversation as the first ride. They both seem to be in there 80's which is maybe just a little too old to be in the game! *******AVOID THIS PLACE********* read more

Great Service. Super nice lady answers the phones. Super sweet man does the driver training. They have a nice PRIUS that the students drive. I did research on pricing and they are comparable to others.... I also got referrals from a couple of families about them. I chose this one because I like to "Support Local" (Carlsbad companies). read more

Honestly was excited to learn to drive and considered learning from them but after the terrible service and rude attitude I received I would never take lessons from them. I don't recommend you do either. Backstory: the first call was great Linda was polite and answered my questions but I was still not convinced. Once I was i called back a week later scheduled my lessons and then a family member highly recommend West Coast which is DMV Certified and I get more lessons for my money then with Universal. So I called to cancel and was met with a rude Linda and a terrible attitude and basically got lectured about how I was making a mistake and wouldn't get better service at West Coast. She said "you'll see" and rambled off as I put her on mute and then hung up because her rudeness was unbearable. I recommend you go strait to West Coast you pay $450 for 10 two hour lesson which is better than the $387 I would have waisted on 3 two hour lessons with universal and the rude Linda. read more

A very negative experience Very poor customer service I spend $377 My driving did not improved I needed practice with the Freeways, I did not get any. Lessons were scheduled during the worst traffic hours. It was pouring rain, they wouldn't re schedule the class. Linda was very rude and the instructor was not familiar with the areas that I wanted to practice UTC and La Jolla The instructor was in a hurry to finish the lesson. read more

This school CANCELLED ON THE DAY OF MY DRIVE TEST. What a terrible experience. I literally extended my stay in Encinitas just to take the test in oceanside and booked my appointment with them a whole month in advance. As some context, my check with them bounced and despite me paying them in full cash a few days later, they went ahead and re-booked my drive test slot with another student. Linda, who runs the front desk and all bookings, didn't even call me to inform me until the day of the test. She then tried to cover up by giving an example of one mistake I made on the first lesson as an excuse. As context, I've taken several lessons with another school (Cantor's - highly recommend Jose!) and they tell me I'm absolutely ready for the test. They were booked out for the month and so I took lessons from Universal only so I could do the test with them, but they've failed me. I would not recommend this school. read more

Our son was able to pass his written test on his first try. He was nervous about driving but Jaime was so great with him and built up his confidence in just one driving session. Linda was able to find a schedule that worked best for us for the driving sessions and was really nice on the phone. I highly recommend this school! It has made driving with our son a lot less nerve wracking and has given our son more confidence. The address is wrong on Yelp though... they are actually located on Harding Street in Carlsbad. read more

We had a great experience with Universal Driving School. We sent all four of our children there as teenagers to obtain their learners permits and then practice behind the wheel for their drivers license tests. I feel strongly there is something worthwhile about being in a classroom setting and being able to engage in a conversation with a human being who has decades of experience teaching driving school, dealing with the DMV, and teaching defensive driving techniques. Universal's prices are reasonable and their instruction is thorough. Most recently my youngest child took her behind the wheel drivers test in August and easily passed on the first try. I paid for a full service driving school for my children to ensure that they know what they are doing and understand that driving is a serious business with life and death consequences. Even though there are many online service providers I wanted my kids to have a face to face learning experience. I wanted them to stay off their phones while they are driving so I didn't want them to learn to drive by having them look at their phones! It is important to remember that you get what you pay for. Universal Driving School is a great value for the money! read more

Avoid this school. After posting a negative review I was sent a letter from their attorney demanding I retract it. The purpose of Yelp is to make our lives easier and more informed as consumers - unfortunately I'm not Gandhi and cannot fight a battle for the better good and engage in a legal battle so...they win, my review is gone read more

Jaime is the most amazing driving instructor! So relaxed and chill, he put my daughter at complete ease so she could learn to drive very well! She had been very nervous to drive so had waited until she was 19. Jamie is a very patient teacher and I could not be more impressed with her driving skills after her lessons. She passed her exam first try. Linda in the office is amazing! Terrific with communication and attention to scheduling! We are so thrilled we chose this driving school and recommend it wholeheartedly! read more

Not sure what negative experience the other reviewer had but ours was positive. This is a small operation, a little funky but they covered all bases and delivered a thorough classroom and on-the-road driving experience. My son passed both the written and driving tests the 1st time (with very few errors) after a full course of sessions with Universal. Whew! He and a buddy liked that the school was located in Carlsbad Village - easy to walk to lunch spots during the breaks. Ray, his driving instructor, was a very good fit for my son's learning style. read more

Linda and Jamie are the best!!! Linda worked so hard to get my son scheduled before his driving test, thank you so much Linda!! And Jamie has over thirty five years of training experience under his belt, he couldn't be more qualified to teach driver training, you really couldn't be in better hands!! read more

Do not use this driving school!! Beware the owners are rude and money hungry. I had to change the time of the driving lesson and called within 48 hours (47 hours and 15 minutes to be exact) and they charged $40.00 for the change. During the driving lesson my child had to wait at the bank so the instructor could cash the check...did this on my time! No real instruction given during the lesson..Waste of time and money! read more

I had a negative experience with this business. My son had to complete 3 two hour behind the wheel sessions after he received his permit. We had to reschedule the first appointment within the 48 hour cancel policy. There was a $40 fee. I agreed to pay it because we did not reschedule before the 48 hour deadline. That was my mistake. $20 goes to the school and $20 goes to the driving instructor. My son did his first two appointments. He was scheduled for his third appointment and was very sick that day. He missed school that day and the day prior. Because I knew how inflexible the school was about rescheduling inside 48 hours, I forced my sick son to go ahead and take the lesson. He got in the car with the instructor and she could see immediately that he was not feeling well. She thought it was unsafe for him to be behind the wheel so she told him to not take the lesson and reschedule. Several days later I called to reschedule and Linda told me that I was responsible to pay the cancel fee. She said that the driving instructor did not want the $20 that goes to her (because she knew how sick my son was) but that I was required to pay $20 to the school. I told her I did not think that was fair as that the instructor told my son to not drive. I explained that he was there on time and ready to drive. Linda then proceeded to tell me that the instructor did not have the authority to do that. She asked me if she should fire the instructor. She told me that the instructor had been there three months and had repeatedly asked for days off. I told Linda that none of that was my business. She then told me that nobody called her to tell her my son was sick. I replied by saying I knew they were very inflexible so I did not bother to call. She told me that she did not understand illnesses, that she had worked for 40 years and never been sick. Again, i said that was not my business. She became very heated and upset. I paid that school in excess of $400. While Jamie was very pleasant and mellow, this encounter with Linda was not right. Very poor customer service. I would never use them again and would never refer them to anybody else. Please beware. read more

The only reason I don't give this a single star is because now I have an entertaining story to tell my friends and extended family. However, that's beside the point. While I was trying to drive for one of the first times, my experienced adult fell asleep and I nearly got into an accident. As I was asking what I should do next (while trying to wake up the assistant) a truck sped through an intersection and nearly hit us. The horn was the only reason the assistant woke up. read more