This review is for the new owners of Mike's Auto School or now Chelmsford Auto School: Took my money ($600) and won't show up for driving hours; no notice, no call, just a no show. Have tried to reach out on MULTIPLE occasions and left messages but no response or call back. A total disappointment of a driving school. Now have to invest in another local driving school for my daughter, most likely Safe Roads, although she has already taken the week-long driver course. The most unprofessional business I have ever had to deal with. Please, take my advice and the advice of others, STAY AWAY! read more

I still remember my time at this school with a horrible taste in my mouth. The highlights: the instructor knowing all the sporty bros in my class and stopping class to circlejerk with them and talk a about her kid, leaving a rude message on my answering machine when I misunderstood the payment schedule, being otherwise totally brusque and unaccomodating. I would only recommend this driving school to my worst enemy who I genuinely didn't want to ever develop the skills needed to safely get behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. read more

All I can say right now is WOW! If I could give zero stars I would! I didn't even get as far as to enroll my son (THANKFULLY)... the woman that owns this place was so rude & arrogant on the phone & spoke to me like I was interrupting her day from the minute she picked up the phone (I almost hung up right there). I asked her if my son would be able to start her next session the following week & she actually spoke angrily at me that I couldn't just call this short of notice & expect my kid to start the next day! A) It wasn't the next day but rather 5 days later & B) I'm so sorry , this is my 1st child to get their license & I didn't get the memo on your policies.. THATS WHY IM CALLING! My husband has been a state trooper for YEARS & actually did the road testing for some time (so he knows a lot of people associated with this) & we have NEVER witnessed such rudeness from someone who's profession is to prepare our youth to drive!!! I was so taken back & upset at the way she was talking to me that I actually called her a b/tc$ & anyone who knows me KNOWS I don't talk like that. The owner actually laughed & hung up on me. Right hand to God!!!' I stood there dumbfounded & thinking if she treats a parent like this I can only imagine how she treats our kids. FIND ANOTHER SCHOOL, ANY OTHER SCHOOL! Yikes! :( UPDATE!!! This school still stinks (we've heard many other complaints about the woman that owns this place being so RUDE) but if you are looking for an EXCELLENT program for your son/daughter .. check out SAFE ROADS ACADEMY! We found them after our experience here & they truly are phenomenal!! read more

I hate Mike Auto school they always call me 5 minutes before my appointment to tell me to reschedule!! I hate it! I will never take a lesson there read more

Stay away. The women that runs this program is crazy. She is judgemental, yells at the kids and has no idea how to teach and educate teenagers. In speaking with other parents with kids in the class I am not the only parent that feels this way. There are other driving schools in the area to chose from. read more

Cindi Paradis is a pathological liar. She did everything to keep our money, while she did not allow my son to take any driving hours. She would give us harassing phone calls full with lies and exaggerations. He was only allowed to take the driving test after he turned 18. She has some sort of background in special ed or low grade psychology and reallyshould go back to that dirty world. She certainly should not be trying to run a business, as she has neither the skills or the personality to work out in the real world. read more

After reading the negative reviews I am compelled to review and give our experience. My daughter just completed this course and she absolutely loved the instructor and the course. The owner is a no nonsense woman, she is entrusted with the safety of our children as future drivers. She expects the students full effort and attention and I am thankful for that. My daughter has many other commitments and they worked with us regarding her schedule so that she could get all of her driving hours completed in a reasonable amount of time. The instructor is direct, but fair and in our experience she always had the safety and best interest of the students in mind. read more

Terrible, terrible school, not even deserving of one star. The owner is rude, condescending, and unprofessional. Her drivers (in particular a certain female) are just as bad. Not only do they insult students to their face, but they also talk about them behind their back to other students in the car. They also yell at the students when they make a mistake on the road which can be very intimidating to a 16 yr old trying to learn how to drive. This place should be closed down. Don't waste your money. Go elsewhere. read more

This was the worst driving school ever! My kid would come home and have a sheet that said they did a really good job. Then we would go driving with them and they were all over the place! Then we get a call from the owner and she said our kid was terrible at driving. So why did the drivers tell us otherwise??? Her response was, "They are retired people who don't like to criticize the kids so they tell them they are doing better than they really are." Seriously??? Your instructors just lie to them to save from hurting their feelings??? What good does that do if they get killed or kill someone else?! Then she told the students that the registry only goes down certain roads for the road test so these are the roads you should practice on. I told my kid to practice on all of them as this lady has no real idea where the registry will go. But teenagers don't always think their parents know what's best and listened to this ditz. Guess what? The registry guy went the other direction and my kid did not do well at all. I'm glad my kid did not get their license. I want them to be safe but this lady could care less. If you love your kids, do not send them to this school. It totally sucks. And now that we are done with it I've had two other people tell me the same thing when their kid went there. Wish I had met these folks sooner. I would have paid another place to train my kid even if the cost was double! read more

Unless you can guarantee that you will have a place in Cindy's Clique, do not waste your money on Mike's Auto. Any one talking about Cindy's "tough love" approach is misguided. She is UNPROFESSIONAL and GOSSIPY. Even as I tried to sidetrack her from going on and on, she loves telling all sorts of personal information about students and other families...which means she's probably gossiping my family's information to other people as well. Her "best" instructor used student driving time to run personal errands, leaving my child and the other student to sit waiting in the parking lot while she stood in line. The same instructor repeatedly told my child to go over the speed limit even when it was posted or on a known dangerous curve in our neighborhood. Cindy gave my child's scheduled driving time to other students twice: the second time, before I could even respond past "Hello" she told me that she didn't care if it was inconvenient to us and told me to call her back to schedule at a certain time (when I called as instructed, another woman told me to call back in few weeks...at which point, Cindy scolded me for waiting so long!) Cindy obviously has a lot of issues she needs to be working out, but I am giving two stars instead of just one because a few of her driving instructors are good and informative (Bob and Bob) read more