Sterling Driving School

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!

Great instruction. My daughter got her license the first time she took the driving test after her Sterling lessons.

I just passed my driving test on my first try, all thanks to this place. I couldn’t have done it without my driving instructor. I took only 3 lessons and went from scared and doubtful in my driving skills, to confident and completely prepared for the road! Very good at what they do. The lessons are 100% worth it.

Alan and Stewart are amazing! My son lives in Santa Cruz and I live in Marin so they took my son under their wing and made sure he was 100% ready to pass his driving test. They told me when they felt he was ready which gave my son so much confidence. They even picked him up and brought him to the DMV to test which got him even more practice time. Stewart was always able to accommodate his schedule and I don’t think I could have gotten through this without him. Today my son is an official California driver and I am so grateful to Sterling Driving School!

The BEST driving school! Absolutely the one I would recommend to my friends. I passed the test so easily thanks to my instructor!

Our experience could not have been better! Alan and Stewart are fantastic to work with and immediately put this mom of a new driver at ease. Stewart made my daughter feel confident and comfortable behind the wheel and she learned a lot & passed her test on the first try. Stewart went above and beyond to squeeze in her last lesson after we had to reschedule her test at the last minute. Alan and Stewart exemplify excellent customer service and I would highly recommend them to teach any new driver out there!

Just passed my behind the wheel today! I started with 0 foundation, and I passed the test today. I feel myself become stronger and stronger at driving after every lesson. Take it with sterling, coaches are nice there.

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!

Okay, so you’re learning to drive, or your teenager is learning to drive. Gotta pick a driving school! What to do!!!
Well, you can trust me. I have no ties to Sterling Driving School, and a family member used their services, so I have quite a bit of knowledge about them. I’ll go over the pros and cons:
PROs:
1. Alan, Steward, and Daniel are their three instructors. My family member has received training from all three of them, during one lesson or another. All three are excellent! These guys are patient, funny, helpful, and great instructors. Alan (the owner) is also a very positive, upbeat guy, which is helpful in giving new drivers an extra boost of confidence. Don’t take the lack of extra praise as a knock on Stewart or Daniel — those guys are also really great!
2. Their cars are quick, small, turn well, and brake well. This makes it exceptionally easy to practice driving, because the car is very responsive. This is a big plus when practicing and when taking the driving test, because Sterling Driving School lets you (for a fee of $ 120 for 2 hours) take the test in their car. Granted, most driving schools have similar cars, so this isn’t really a decisive factor in choosing a driving school.
3. These guys work hard. Out of the several lessons that my family member received, most of the time they started EARLY! Once we started a little bit late, but that was due to my scheduling and not their fault. Overall, you get a little extra bang for your buck, with these guys.
4. They know Capitola well. These instructors know the flow of traffic there, and they know what you need to know in order to pass the driving test. They will go over everything you need to do in order to pass the test in Capitola. This isn’t Los Angeles or NYC — they train you on what you need to know to pass. This is helpful, because although they also teach highway driving and other types of driving, they focus a little bit more on what you need to know to pass, which is nice, because no one wants to fail their driving test!
So those are the pros. Here are the cons:
1. As I mentioned above, they did start a little bit late, once. But that was fine, because my family member still got in some great practice, and then passed the road test that same day!
2 They could use some more instructors on weekends, possibly. Except for a federal holiday, these guys are completely booked on weekends! I was only able to schedule appointments during weekdays and on the federal holiday. So my suggestion to them is to consider adding additional excellent instructors so they can have more scheduling availability on weekends.
Other than those two minor things, I would say without a doubt that this is the cat’s meow of driving schools, and I recommend this school to you 110%!!!

I highly recommend sterling driving school. Stewart is a fabulous instructor. He taught our teenage son how to drive in Santa Cruz California. Our son learned to drive safely and cautiously. More importantly he learned the rules of the road and to maneuver lawfully and confidently. Stewart is not «teaching to the test.» He taught our son to be an outstanding driver. Our son can now manage the difficult and congested streets of Santa Cruz as well as the freeway. He drives over Highway 17 and Pacheco pass with ease. He can parallel park in the tightest spots in the city. Stewart is patient and caring. He has pride in his job which translates to his students. There is no doubt that our son has been taught by the best! Thank you!

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!

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 Unilocal 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.

I never really tried to learn how to drive before because I didn’t really need it and I also get very nervous just thinking about it! But I decided it was time to give it a try and I was lucky to find this school. My instructor was Stewart and he is the best! He is very patient, knowledgeable and made me feel very comfortable.

The first time I went out was great, I had a instructor named Daniel who was patient, funny and very clear. We practiced a lot and he had much faith in me. The second time was not so great at all. The owner, Allen I think, who has a British accent, taught me and he was rude, racist, and grumpy. He made several very racist comments about other students he had taught, and seemed in general very unkind and impatient towards them and cultural barriers he mentioned they faced during the lessons. He made several rude comments about my personal self and appearance also. He was very impatient toward other drivers and pedestrians and in general was not courteous and I made a few mistakes by his suggestions to basically run people over or cross in front of pedestrians WITH BABIES. If you use this driving school, DO NOT TAKE ALLEN AS A TEACHER.

I developed an intense driving phobia where I refused to drive anywhere, and would have to take the bus to San Jose for school three times a week. I decided I was fed up with this and I was going to get my confidence back. My driving instructor was Stewart, and he was very friendly and kept me very calm. I told him each of the traumatic experiences I had behind the wheel, and he was understanding and knowledgeable, and showed me how not to repeat those same mistakes with positive energy and humor. In total I had 7.5 hours of lessons with them, and on the last lesson we drove all the way to my school in San Jose and back! I’m glad to say that I now feel great driving and I can safely drive myself wherever I need to go without freaking out. I highly recommend these guys!!!

I used the local advantage driving school before sterling and my entire experience with advantage to be blunt was a nightmare just a utter nightmare. I had to call and yell at the advantage management and 3 weeks later after many calls I finally got my certificate only to find that their next appt for me to get driving training was a month away. That’s when I called sterling and they were so helpful the man I spoke we Stewart was able to fit me in not two days after the phone call for a morning slot. We went out and had a lot of fun driving he taught me the turns (being my first time driving) and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Now having taken my 3^rd lesson with him today I feel more confidant then ever in my abilities and set up 2 more driving practices before my big test. I am so happy to have found sterling in my time of need and they as a company have really pulled though for me and my family. In short I completely recommend sterling for all you new drivers out there and hope to see you all out on the road!

We used Sterling Driving School for our son. I am generally not one to give out five star ratings, but I found them not only very professional and reasonably priced, but supportive and accommodating during the training process. Sterling Driving School on several occasions went over and above the call of duty. They thoroughly prepared our son for his driving test, which he passed on his first attempt. I was impressed with the followup check in after the test and the friendly positive attitude of Alan and his associates. I would recommend them to anyone seeking driving training.