Update: After sharing my honest experience, I received a threatening email from the owner demanding that I remove my review and photos, and threatening legal action. For the record, my photos were taken from the public sidewalk during posted business hours when the office was closed, not from inside. Everything I shared in my review was true and based on my direct experience as a paying customer. I will not be intimidated into silence. I am not asking for a handout -- only for fairness: either provide the six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction my child needs, or refund the money so she can complete her training elsewhere. The fact that the owner is threatening customers instead of resolving concerns only reinforces the pattern already visible in the many other one-star reviews. read more

Howard Driving School - Driving Schools Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

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He rude speak rudely and his whole demeanor will throw you off like u bothering him or like he doing something for you for free. trying to give the brother benefit of the doubt but please don't waste your money or time. learning how to drive its very serious and people got the courage and money to get their license and you get this rude old man wasting your time and money. he need to retire someone need to close him down. He need to simply be reported. i dont like giving reviews but no way everyone needs to be aware. it's true and it needs to be told SAVE YOUR HARD EARN MONEY. Send your young kids to someone that will be helpful respectful and interested in teaching safe driving. read more

This guys is a terrible communicator. No response to emails, phone calls or text messages. You literally have to stalk him and get very angry to get a response from him. I do not recommend classes here, read more

Please save yorself the headache! I wish I would have read the reviews first instead of trusting her school to partner with this company. Classes were done through my daughter's high school but behind the wheel was to be done directly through him. Calls were never answered for me. Calvin would reply stating he was either driving or he would reply hours later or after I sent him several texts. We only set up one driving date and that day my daughter could not find her permit in her bookbag so he would not take her for her behind the wheel lesson. He did not say well she could watch only if she does not have her permit. He did not try to accommodate anything at all! Instead he avoided my texts to reschedule and when he finally texted back he said her 9 months were up. I was under the impression her 9 months for behind the wheel were the 9 months after she got her permit not after she began the class. I would assume he would care more about his business being it is his business and he's not an employee. I think employees at other companies care more about their job than this man about his business. read more

Please if you are looking into a private driving school for your child, DO NOT CHOOSE THIS ONE! I took three driving lessons with Mr.Howard and every single time he would talk about things that are political or his opinions on how dangerous of a breed pit bulls are and one time we went to pick up the other student who was going to drive and observe with us and he started talking about how his mom should move him out of this dangerous neighborhood and she should care for his safety, before he got into the car of course because he should know you shouldn't say those things. but he was basically judging the mother and I would always stay quiet. He also talks about politics A LOT. The real reason i didn't finish my last lesson with him is because I accidentally forgot my permit one of the days and he said okay we can reschedule, he emails me saying he will send the invoice for $105 ON TOP of the $330 it costed to have all four driving lessons. I understand a fee for missing but if you do the math 105 dollars for one missed lesson is not correct. Not only that but every lesson is suppose to be three hours and mine would consistently become two, I would drive for the hour and thirty minutes and then observe for only 30 minutes. So the real amount of hours he puts in is not true so 105 dollars for one missed lesson which i technically already paid for is stupid and a waste of money. so once again DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY HERE!!! lol his response is bs any owner of a business would deny read more

Howard Driving School is not only affordable, but it also does a better job of preparing drivers for the road than the vast majority of high-end driver's ed classes. Mr. Howard is a fantastic teacher not only in the classroom, but on the road as well. During the behind the wheel sessions he is firm but fair. He takes learning to drive very seriously, but would never yell at a student or speak to them in a manner that might frighten them while they are driving. If you are looking for a driver's ed class that goes above and beyond without breaking the bank, Howard Driving School is the place to be. Mr. Howard is a good Christian man that displays kindness and patience while teaching his students how to practice and create safe driving habits. read more

This scammer is not worthy of a star. My son enrolled in the teen driver lessons (includes classroom & behind the wheel hours). Once the class was completed, Mr. Howard advised my son that the behind the week classes would not be necessary because your parents can log practice time for the DMV. So after 9 months, we go to the DMV so he can get his license. They advised us that no grades had been entered into their system to reflect completion on driving school. I contacted Mr. Howard and he stated that each student has only 9 months to complete those hours. I would have pay an additional $300 to get those hours. Since I already paid for the hours- I should have been able to simply schedule the hours needed. Of course, he refused to be reasonable about the situation. I reached out other driving schools but they stated that my son would have to start from the very beginning of the process- classroom & behind the wheel. Of course, my son wanted to be able to drive for his senior prom. As any parent would do, I decided to pay the additional $320. I contacted Mr. Howard to advise him that we had a small window of time before his prom- 4 weeks to be exact. He stated he would be able to finish the behind the wheel house in time to get his license. He scheduled his hours over the course of 2 weeks. Each day my son was the only student driving & he was back home within the hour. Once the class was completed- he advised my son that it would take 5 business days for the DMV to update his information. We lost a day due to the Memorial Day holiday- which means he would literally be getting his license 2 days before the prom. We have been on the Illinois Secretary of State website everyday waiting for this update. I reached out Mr. Howard to verify why the update had not taken place. He said that this process takes 10 business days. At this point we are less than 48 hours from the prom. So the likelihood of his information being updated by tomorrow is next to impossible. So I have wasted money on these lessons- my son turns 18 in 1 1/2 weeks. At that time, he can simply walk into the DMV & take his class. Don't waste your $ or time doing business with this clown. Just pay $1000 for real driving lessons. I will be reporting to the BBB as well. read more

Didnt need classes, just paid for road lessons at $70 an hour ($35 per 30 minutes), and got one free 30 minute "lesson" to start. Wasnt much of an experience. The "instructor" Calvin gave mild feedback and on two of the four occasions took a restroom break on MY TIME. He didnt seem eager for me to progress and neither did he to start new "lessons". If you want to go take your road test with the car it'll be $270 up front. He flips over a sand timer as soon as he picks you up and itll run even while you're waiting at the dmv to take the test. I neglected that option, paid a friend to take me and got my license first try. Some of the things claimed are on the test were not. All in all it was a waste of money, but thats my fault. read more

This was a great class, I learned a lot and he is very well organized. The quizzes are hard but he prepares you for them well.

Good driving school! The teacher is nice, and I feel confident about beginning to drive after taking this course.

I can't even give a star. This place is a rip off,. I had my son taken the teen class for what I paid $300 he took the class sessions and when it was time for the behind the wheel practice, every time I called to make the appointment I always got the voicemail or he was with a student and said he will call me back, which he never did until I left a lengthy message with a very upset voice. He answered and set up the appointments but then canceled one stating he made a mistake, I told him it was ok. Still I tried to be reasonable with him. I had to cancel the second appointment because my don got sick. Some of the conversations were by email. According with his cancelation policy states to cancel 4 hours in advance (doesn't state the cancelation should be by phone, email, text, eat) so I sent an email at 9:56am appointment was at 3:30 ( which is more than the 4 hours) when I tried to reschedule the class again Mr. Howard said I had to paid $90 because my son didn't show up for the BTW practice. I explained to Mr. Howard I had cancel the appointment to what he stated I did it by email which was unacceptable. Really??? I have the emails he sent me and in any of them it stated the cancelations were not accepted by email. This is ridiculous!!! read more

So I went to Howard's driving school myself! Passed the test the first time and he taught me how to drive defensively . After 23 years of driving I have never been in an accident . My sister and I still use a lot of what he taught us. He is currently teaching my 3rd and last child how to drive . With a packed classroom he must be doing something right. Keep up the good work Mr. Howard! read more