Very unprofessional and rude ! My son had scheduled an appointment weeks prior to his appointment and received a text message the night before at 9pm in which my son didn't see it until the next morning. My son was ready in the morning and explained that he didn't see his text until he woke up. My son texted the instructor in the morning that he is ready and the instructor rudely responded to find another driving school. Luis is very unprofessional and needs training in how to treat people with respect. You don't cancel somebody the day of the appointment. read more

City Line Driving School - Driving Schools Near Me - Jersey City, New Jersey

Older gentleman that charged $70 to take you to the road test and I think $30 or $35 for an hour of practice. I used his services over 10 years ago so prices might be way higher now but I decided to write a review because now my younger brother is going to embark on his driving journey. When I took my road test the first time I did fail (couldn't parallel park haha) but I was upset because the guy didn't take me anywhere to practice like he claimed he would. Second time around I got some practice right before the road test and passed! No refunds even if you fail by the way but when you do pass, he offers to drop you off to the DMV which is nice. Overall he is very patient and he could come off as rude or aggressive like I'll never forget I stopped at a red light but was blocking the intersection slightly so he said loudly "go GO you can't block the road" and so I just went haha but he wasn't mean about it. Overall I recommend him if you're local to the area. read more

I took my driving class from Joseph. He is an excellent teacher! He is punctual, very sincere. I cleared the road test on my first attempt(just took it today, yay!!) I initially took one class from Amin driving school and did not like the way the driver got impatient and he wasn't patient enough to explain things clearly. After taking the class with Joseph I felt the difference and gained confidence. He taught parallel parking in very easy 3 step process.I took 3 classes and then cleared the road test. I would definitely recommend Joseph. read more

Excellent driving school! I had practiced basic driving skills with my father but I wanted to take some lessons with a professional to learn parallel parking (something I had not yet tried at all) and to help me pass my test. My friend and cousin had used this school and recommended them. I made an appointment at the Wayne DMV for the upcoming Friday and called Joe that Tuesday to see if he could fit me in for a lesson or two AND take me for my test the Friday. He was extremely accommodating and was able to do both. He taught me to parallel park in a 1 hour lesson and gave me plenty of tips on driving and what the examiner will look for. The day of the test came and while I had to group with another student taking a test in Lodi right before me I didn't mind at all. Right before my test came he let me practice the parking and k-turns again. He waited with me for 2 hours after my scheduled time (they were INSANELY packed) to take the test, which thankfully I passed. Reading some of the reviews I can see where some may be taken aback by Joe initially as he is very straightforward and persistent with his driving approach. However he truly wants every student to pass and as long as you listen and pay attention to his directions and recommendations there is no reason you should fail the test. read more

Price: $40/hour lesson; $70 to go to the road test and back home Service: They pick you up from your home, let you drive around, then you drive back home. Summary: ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT. Longwinded description of my experience: Joe's the best! I should have called City Line Driving School earlier. I initially had some road time with my brother and dad and it was good experience but I feel like I really refined my driving skills with Joe's help. My first lesson, Joe was in the passenger's seat and a girl I've never met was in the backseat. I find out the girl just got back from Lodi having passed her road test! Pretty great sign right there. I drive her to the DMV and then from there Joe asks me to drive to the park and the first thing we tackled in less than 15 minutes was PARALLEL PARKING. I don't know why it's so hard for some people because the way Joe taught me was so EASY. (I can now park my dad's truck without power steering in tight spots like it's nothing.) Of course my lessons with Joe weren't always rosey. I messed up a few times and he was very prompt and firm about letting me know what I did wrong and I need that. I asked Joe to take me to my road test in Lodi. On the day of the road test 2 other students were in the car with us since they were also scheduled for Lodi the same day as me. One was driving and the other was in the backseat with me. It felt like a team and Joe was the coach on the way to a game! lol We all started talking and it really helped to push some of those butterflies out talking to people with different experiences behind the wheel. Prior to our road test, he showed us the course we were going to test on. We watched the cars and he let us know about the "booby traps". He even brought out a map for us to get a better idea of the site's layout. Afterwards, we set up cones a few blocks away and did a last minute review of what we need to do and each of us taking the wheel practicing driving, k turns, parallel parking and driving in reverse. We all felt ready, maybe a little bit nervous but I definitely felt better than I did when I woke up that morning. All three of us passed our road test! It was bliss! I couldn't recommend getting lessons from Joe more if you're in Jersey City/Bayonne. He will set you up for success! read more

I chose City Line Driving School based on all the positive reviews I've seen here, and I'm extremely happy that I made this decision. It was a great pleasure working with Joseph while preparing my road test, he is punctual, funny and very experienced. Through his unique way of teaching you will learn all the skills and techniques that you will need for your test. His encouragements really gave me a lot of confidence while preparing for the road test, and thanks to his great teaching I got my driver license on the first attempt. In all it was a very satisfying experience, I strongly recommend him to anyone who would also like to get his/her license with one attempt! read more

Joseph and Vanessa are absolutely the best! I took one class with Vanessa and went to my road test two week later with Joe. I would highly recommend for those who are new to driving or even just looking for a refresher before your test. Joseph takes pride in each of his students; on the day of the road test, up until the very last second of me beginning my test Joe was right besides me giving me last minute pointers and tips. I passed on the very first try and Joe was right there at the end to congratulate me. People may complain about the scheduling, but please remember sometime you might catch them in the middle of teaching a student. I had to call a few times to make sure Joe had my appointments saved but he always remembered. If you want to do well on your test, I would highly recommend City Line Driving School. read more

I am giving this driving school 2 stars and my driving instructor Neftali 5 stars. This reason why the school it self only gets 2 stars is because the customer service is horrible. I failed the driving test the first time because of my parking; they switched my driving instructor the day before the exam which confused me. The driving instructor I had the day before the exam took me to a completely different location, and a different style of parking. The day of my test I got confused on the parking and failed!!! I called and asked to speak with the manager, or owner to voice my concern about the issue, and was told that they would get in touch with me. But that never happened. The only reason why I never changed schools after that is because I had already paid and did my ours with the school. I finally past only because the driving instructor I had was amazing and made parking easy for me. Neftali is an amazing instructor who knows how to teach you. As for the school; money seems to be all they care about. The only reason why I'm not giving this school a complete zero is because they do have one or two good instructor's there. Michelle read more

I called to look for a manual transmission car. Although the school doesn't offer manual, the owner kindly referred me to one that does.

Instructor yells all the time. Even hit my hands when I was driving. Left lesson almost in tears.

I tried booking appointments on 4 separate occasions. Each time a different excuse given on why Joe couldn't schedule. "I'm out to dinner, I don't have my book in front of me",etc etc. He asked Me to call back 3 hours later! And the last time he said he would call- no call. Unprofessional eastern European attitude which rubs most Americans the wrong way!! read more

Two strikes and you're out. After first arranging for a two hour class earlier this week, I got a call right before my scheduled time letting me know that it would have to be an hour and a half. Then, after 15 minutes of waiting, there was suddenly car trouble and my lesson was cancelled. Joseph did not call me back to reschedule -- I had to do that. Which I did for today. After the second instructor called me 40 minutes early to confirm, I get a call from him 10 minutes late that he's at least 20 minutes away. I tell him that the lesson will have to be shortened because I can't take more time away from my desk and he's apologetic. 50 minutes after my original start time, he calls to tell me he's nearby. I told him not to bother. It's too bad because I was really looking forward to lessons with these guys, given their fantastic reviews. read more

PLEASE read this. I took one class with joseph. He seemed nice but it was all 'marketing strategy'. Next class, he forgot who i was because he is very old. HE WAS EXTREMELY RUDE on phone just because I couldnt hear him. He talked rudely when I asked him for early morning class and shouted 'I SAID SATURDAY! Saturday!!! ' then i asked 10 a.m? He said 'u said EARLY MORNING RIGHT?? So ofcourse its AM ! ' then he hung up. It was very upsetting. Dont fall for it please. He is very rude unless he knows that you will take more classes. read more

Rude! He hung up the phone on me because, he couldnt keep a schedualed class. He called me 20 minute before he the time he had to be at my house and told me if he could make an hour later. I asked him why? He told me traffic. I told him no that I had already reschedualed my day for this. Could he make in half an hour. He said he had to go to motor vehicles. So I told him, that Motor vehicle could wait. He had already made an appointment with me. He said things happen. I said fine but Motor vehicle doesnt just happen specially when you have a schedual. He said he couldnt work like this to find someone else. He is going to hang up on me. Which he did. DO NOT USE THIS GUY.... read more

Called them just to enquire about their classes for taking the road test. The person whom I spoke with(sounded European, don't know the name) just wasn't interested in answering my questions. He just told me that if I wanted to take classes from him, I'd have to reschedule my road test to Lodi and hung up. Not helpful one bit!! read more

It's been about 10 years since I was given lessons from Joseph and he was THE BEST! He yells but it isn't malicious, so if you take it personally you won't like it but I found it hilarious and laughed with him. He gave me so much confidence, practical skills on how to be a proactive driver on the road and in all this time *knock on wood* I have been very safe on the road. I didn't even take the full 6 hrs. read more

It's a good school however, I hate to say they will lose a lot of customers not only me just because the bad attitude of the guy who answers the phone have. Not respectful, not appreciative to people's time how you gonna make business . Plus if you want make money you have to help customers not be rude and nasty and set up appointments based on what fits you!Loved my lesson but dont like the attitude was given!Some people need to learn how to respect! read more

Well I passed on the first shot. I will say that the instructor is a little rough around the edges and if you're a meek person you might have some problems. My overall experence was good. I'm positive that Josef didn't think I would pass since I ran over a cone just minutes before on our practice run but, being from a third world country I'm used to having people be a little tough. Suck it up, listen to what you are told and don't be a wimp and you'll be fine. read more

The service is great. I passed on the first try a couple months back thanks to them. I would def recommend to anyone. They are all very helpful. read more

I really don't understand how could this awful driving school got than many good reviews. You can't name other driving school in Jersey City even getting than many comments. I highly considered the "tricks" here. Anyhow, I just want to describe my experience. At the road test day, I wait for Joseph around 40 min to be picked up. I typed him the day before our test day to confirm the time and tell him that I do have another important event before this test. However, he told me that he will not pick me up if I arrive later than 12:00 pm. Well, I arrived at 11:50 AM and wait on the street until 12:35-12:40 to be picked up by him. Then he picked up another 2 guys for the road test. The first girl's exam was 1pm at Wayne. In fact, she took that at around 2PM. Then we rushed to Lodi. There is no time for me to practice even for 1 min. I checked with him the day before to confirm that I would get 5-10 mins to practice and be familiar with the car. However, everything is in a rush. No practice, no teaching at all. He only told me what is a K-turn and noticing the stop sign. Finally, I didn't pass the parallel parking part. The worse part is that Joseph he seems doesn't understand that we need to wait in a line in DMV. I can't understand people who trying to jump the queue. While I was waiting to reschedule my road test, Joseph came and said to the guy standing behind me that he knows me, so he is coming with me. The guy came to me to ask that whether I knew him and whether he is coming with me to settle down my issue. I thought he came with me to help me out. However, when the officer in LODI dmv told me that I needed to renew my permit, Joseph told me that he can't wait for me to get it done and start to bring his own documents to the DMV officer. In fact, he never tried to help me when he told the guy behind me that he is coming with me. He just wanted to jump the queue and get his own things done. This is morally wrong, even in most of the Asian countries. At the end, he told me that he can only drop me at Bayonne DMV if I wanted to reschedule for a road test. However, the time is around 4:30pm in downtown jersey city and he still needed to drop 2 people living in different places. I don't think it is enough time for me to renew my permit and reschedule my exam at Lodi. Finally, I spent nearly 3 hours on a super packed car and 1 hour on the road to wait, buy ending up with nothing. PS. Luckily, I am skinny, or I don't the small Japanese car can fit 5 people including Joseph himself. read more

Save yourself the headache and skip these guys

I read all the positive reviews on yelp and joined City Line Driving School. I am so glad I made this decision and took classes with Joe and Vanessa. I am a new driver and after 5 hours of driving, I drive like a pro (in Joe's words :) ) My first day was with Vanessa(one hour class). She is very calm and makes certain to explain all the rules (road, driving etc.) along with teaching to drive. All my consecutive classes were with Joe. Learning from him is a pleasure and so much fun. He is very experienced, knows his job well, extremely encouraging and it takes him only one class to know your weakness (and makes sure you overcome it by the end of your class). I was a very nervous driver initially but he made me so comfortable that I don't dread it anymore. Like mentioned in a previous review, all he does is constructive criticism. It helps you remember your mistakes and not repeat them. His tips and tricks are such that you'll take them along all your life. I would definitely recommend this school to my friends and family. read more

Have seen better driving schools than this. Overall my exp with Vanessa is good..but joseph can be mad sometimes..spoiling the whole learning experience. I would spend my 30 $ wisely elsewhere read more

I scheduled a two hour driving lesson with this driving school, I received a text message from Louie at 7:30a.m. saying I can't make the appointment ( which was scheduled for 9am) I'll catch up with you tomorrow (The day of my road test!) completely unprofessional a text message not even a phone call. Later that afternoon the owner Joseph calls me saying he has time and can fill in & give me a lesson. I was excited & agreed to have Joseph give me the lesson,one word HORRIBLE! Joseph was on his phone almost the whole time booking appointments. He was very Impatient and had a bad attitude at one point was slamming his hands on the dashboard when I over turned in the parking spot being distracted from his phone call. It was so terrible I got out of the car IN TEARS mid-lesson paid only for half my lesson and told him to leave me there which he replied "you won't pass if you don't use my lessons for tomorrow " read more

I have been to several driving schools, this one is absolutely the worst , avoid at any cost!!! When i tried to make an appointment, a guy named Joseph answered the call. He has very strong European accent, which i could barely understood, and on top of that he was extremely impatient and rude. So i ended up texting him but he doesn't reply on time and he doesn't confirm your appointment either. I wasn't even sure i had the appointment until texted him the night before. At our first driving lesson, he was angry all the time. I know how to drive and have a valid driver license, still he found reasons to shout at me because i accelerated too fast or brake too late or the way i hold the wheel was wrong. What was worse, for one time, he hold the wheel and forced me to change lanes without giving me time to check the mirror or sigal it before, very dangerous, big no no. Furthermore, during the 1 hour lesson, he took at least three phone calls, basically 1/3 of the time he was on the phone. He put the speakers on at maximum volume, which was a huge distraction for both me and him. Not surprisingly, the phone calls were all for scheduling driving lessons, the callers were all very polite but Joseph was so angry answering their basic questions like when you would have time, how much the class costs, etc. I did feel sorry for the callers. Apparently there is another instructor at this driving school named Vanessa but Joseph is in charge of scheduling. At the end of the class, i was so happy it was over and i will never never use this driving school again. read more

The worst instructor ever. Very rude and impatient. Left me on the NJ turnpike to walk home. I would suggest that no one use this school.

My first time sitting on the driver's seat, and it was a great experience!!! Joe is very patient and encouraging people with his great sense of humors! In my first class, we spent a few minutes at a parking lot, and then drove on the street! He helped me remove my nervousness and also the bad driving habit from the start! Looking forward to my second class! read more

Very unprofessional :(. on the day of the road test I was taken in a different car than the one I practiced. I was handed over this car right infront of the inspector who took my test . The controls of the car were completely different than the one I practiced on. Inspite of repeated calls, I was picked late for the exam, the examiner was not happy about it . Not puctual at all. I am a very confident driver but failed the road test as I got nervous with a) a different car on which I had never practiced b) was very late for the road test read more

What to say .. I asked for appointment .. They gave me appointment. Out of 5 time only turn up once and always cancel ..My instructor was always on phone a Mexican lady and never told me basic things. read more

City Line is literally the best driving school around. I had 2 one hour lessons with Joseph and he is a great teacher. He gave me the "recipe" for parallel parking and I nailed it. He uses tough love which means he isn't going to hold your hand and make you feel ok with making a mistake. He is going to ask you what are you doing!!!???!?!? Let's get it together. My first two lessons were around Jersey City and we practiced parking in Liberty State Park. When the lessons were over he took my to pick up my daughter from school and then dropped us off at home! Louis took me for my exam in Lodi and gave me some extra tips before the test. He was just excited as I was when I passed. I saw Joseph on the way out and he was excited as well. I believe that if you want someone to teach you how to drive CORRECTLY and you want to pass your test--go with City Line. I can't say enough good stuff about this team! Thank you Thank you! read more

called to set up appointment for son , very angry man gets on phone and starts going looney on me because of the time of 3:30 pm says i do 245 or 3pm , i say ok tell me whats available and ill work with your schedule but son has to get out of school around 2;40pm. guy starts losing his mind yelling about he cant do this i should call another local school. i reasurred him again lets breathe and ill go around your time slot. now he says ill pick him up at school. son wants to be picked up at home, so i ask to pick up at home and this rude individual begins losing his mind again saying call another school i dont know what is wrong with kids they need to pick up at home ...why why . again i ask him to breathe there is no reason to get so fiesty .he proceeds to hang up on me. i call back and he agin is yelling about time ...i ask him to do 4 pm and he loses his mind agian saying that is a waste of his afternoon ....ok have a nice day.. if he is like this with a parent i could only imagine our kids alone in a car with this nut.. stay away from this business. read more