Reviews of Stick Shift Academy (Driving School)

Nikhil Thorat

I absolutely loved the experience. George is a great instructor, and brought me from never driven a stick shift before to being able to drive the academy's brand new WRX on the street after a few lessons. He has gone out of his way to make sure that I am prepared to buy a my new car (which has a manual transmission), and the whole process has been extremely personable. 5 stars!

grouse

Awesome experience, definitely worth the money

Xavier Rivera

This is a the best place to learn how to drive standard, the instructor takes his time being very thorough in teaching you how to drive a standard vehicle from beginning to end.

Miles Stern

I was waiting to write this review until I had a chance to drive stick in a different car for an extended period. I can say without a doubt that this lesson works. I did the two hour's lesson and am now able easily to drive long distances in all gears safely and comfortably; enjoying the experience is a great added bonus. Jorge will take you to a parking lot at Arsenal mall where you will stop and start, eventually shifting up and down. You will then drive back to the office very indirectly, getting about 45 minutes on the road. Then you go to the office, get a receipt, and go on your way with a strong level of competency in manual driving (assuming you've listened). Recommend highly for anyone looking to drive manual.

Dean Makowski

George is awesome. My husband tried teaching me (he has driven stick shift for over 25 years) but he is very impatient and afraid about his car too much to do it well. George was very patient and clear and set straight a lot of my misconceptions about the proper technique. After a two hour lesson, we pulled back into the lot for the business and my husband thought George was driving, it was so smooth! In the one week since I have had the confidence to test drive 2 standard cars at dealers ( 1 WRX like the business car and a BMW 440) and our Porsche Cayman. Thank you George and Stick shift Academy, This was the best investment.

Ted L

Eager to head-off a mid-life crisis years before it developed, a small sports car with a manual transmission was just the thing I needed, something completely inhospitable to carseats and ground up cheerios in the floormats. The thing was, however, that I never learned to drive stick. While I was seemingly the one male in North America who couldn't drive stick, I was seemingly the only one with kids who wanted one and actually owned one. Everyone offered to teach me but no one had a classroom in which to do it. Explaining my predicament to Jorge, he put me behind the wheel of a brand new WRX. It had maybe 150 miles on it. That's trust. He is, above all else, patient and professional. Let that soak in. This is his business and he's good at it. He knows what he's doing and there's a reason why you'll spend maybe 90 minutes getting in and out of first from a stop. It works. You won't leave this place driving like you're in the Fast & the Furious but you'll have a very solid base from which to learn manual transmissions. There is no stress involved. My friend laughed when I told him that I paid someone to teach me to drive a stick, telling me that he could get me driving in 20 minutes. Perhaps, but I doubt it. Not everyone can teach and few have the patience that Jorge does. Time is precious and it's worth making the most of it. Hire a pro. Learn the right way and you'll be well on your way up the learning curve. I highly recommend SSA.

Leonard Gadicke

Highly recommended! Jorge is a fantastic teacher; this is the best way to learn to drive stick.

Christopher Han

George is the man. He's a great teacher, friendly guy, and all around great person. He's very patient while teaching and will tell you exactly what you need to do to get going. He took me from having zero experience to being really comfortable driving in normal traffic. Can't rate this guy highly enough. The car is also top notch - 2015 subaru wrx. If you're thinking of learning to drive manual, this is the place.

Blackrose0927

Just went to a class today and it was an awesome experience! If your going to Stick Shift Academy, Jorge, is an excellent driving instructor. He was very knowledgeable, patient, and explained manual driving clearly enough to understand how to properly drive the standard shifts. When I made mistakes he properly critiqued the situation so that I could understand the pros and cons of my actions giving me a brief idea of what to be prepared for when fully driving on the road. Again, Jorge is an excellent teacher. I will definitely attend another class and would highly recommend going to Stick Shift Academy! Pay attention, you can and will know how to drive a standard car at this school! :D

Mengxi LIU

Jorge is a fantastic tutor. I learned to drive in a manual car while haven't driven one for years. Today I managed to pick up manual driving within the 2-hour session, and Jorge helped correct my wrong habits. It turned out manual could be so much more smooth than automatic. Highly recommend no matter if you plan to drive in Europe, or buy a manual car to enjoy driving!

Adam McCaffrey

From the customer service upon registering through the class itself, these folks were great. Professional and patient instruction, a great car, and great, constructive feedback. Definitely would recommend.

David Hruska

I had a great experience here! Clear, patient instructions on a quality vehicle gave me the information and confidence to competently drive stick. Would highly recommend.

Michael Levit

Jorge is a great teacher. He was very accommodating and flexible with his time. I was able to learn to drive manual in 4 hours. The experience was well worth the money.

Leah Howard

This is THE place to go to learn or practice stick shift. Jorge is an incredible teacher! He is patient, knowledgeable, calm and enjoyable to learn from. He tailored the sessions based on my goals and made me feel comfortable and confident while I was learning. I HIGHLY recommend taking classes here!!! It was such a positive experience and I took away so much from the lessons!

Andrew Mulveyhill

Jorge is awesome, very patient and knowledgeable. If you're looking to refresh/practice, or even if you're starting from scratch, this is your guy. Highly recommended!

Daniel Caponetti

I would absolutely recommend SSA to anyone wanting to learn stick. I wanted to learn before buying a new car. Jorge walked me through every scenario a driver encounters on the road and, after I finished, I felt completely confident test driving a manual car. Jorge was also fun to be in the car with and talk to during the lesson.

Brian Dubois

George is a great instructor. Very patient. Great experience!

Brian M.

You get to learn on a very new Impreza WRX which is the icing on the cake. George is a genuinely nice person, and a great easy-going teacher. He does an awesome job explaining things clearly and will go over any questions you have. Scheduling times during the week are great too.

Dan Alexander

George is a great instructor; he can explain exactly what you are doing wrong and help you fix it within minutes without you getting stressed out. Money was definitely well spent here. If you are looking to learn stick shift this is the place!

Caryn Weisenberg

I first learned to drive on a manual transmission car and hadn’t driven one since (40+ years ago) and I wanted to be prepared for driving in Italy on vacation. I took a 3 hour refresher from another driving school and although I felt I had gained a level of proficiency there I still felt like I was missing what I needed to share the road with impatient drivers that wouldn’t know I wasn’t a regular stick shift driver. So I took a 2 hour class with George at Stick Shift Academy in Watertown. I learned more in those 2 hours about the proper way to shift and use the clutch and the proper way to rev match (for smoothness at starting up and shifting gears) than I think I even learned in a full drivers ed class when I was 16 when I was first learning the rules of the road ! George taught me how to set myself up using the very narrow clutch catch point window so that I am ready to go when the light changes which sounds like a fine detail but is exactly what you need to avoid having the driver behind you honk at you for taking too long ! And he taught me how to use the same catch point window to back slowly into a parking space with total control. And it was fun taking the lesson in a sports car ! I highly recommend this school to anyone that needs to learn from scratch or anyone who has been driving a manual for years and may have developed bad habits !

Oatey99

About two years ago, I tried to learn how to drive a stick. I spent hours in a parking lot stalling and cursing, and made simply no progress. Spending just a few hours with Jorge at Stick Shift Academy, I was able to go around Watertown/Waltham side streets with no problem. Jorge is simply a great teacher, and very experienced and helping get people comfortable driving with a stick. He is extremely patient and very helpful with getting down the basics with lots of coaching and repetition. He focuses on making sure you know how to maneuver well between neutral, first, second, and reverse very well and as smoothly as possible. Additionally, Jorge does really care about his clients as people and your goals with learning. He was very responsive and accommodating and clearly works hard to do the best for his clients. I highly recommend Stick Shift Academy.

Isaac Shapiro

Jorge was a fantastic instructor. Very patient and helpful.

Binaya Tuladhar

Excellent experience learning driving there. Very patient with you; encourages you not to panic if you stall.

Sussie Figueroa

Stick Shift Academy has a great reputation for teaching people how to drive a manual transmission car. The instructor is very patient and puts you at ease.

Vincent di Giacomo

Great way to learn how to work a manual transmission or brush off a little rust if you already know. Detailed instructions in a friendly environment , and great spots picked out for practicing the specifics. Will you try things over and over until it really becomes automatic reflex. Car is great for learning too — not some old beater! Something you’d actually drive. Had fun.

Anson Chan

Jorge was very good at teaching the basics and walking through the process step by step.

Danilo Barbiero

Great experience, instructor was very patient and clear. Lessons were fun and extremely helpful, definitely worth it!

Chris

George is a great teacher. Before I took my lesson with George, I could not even get the car rolling. After 3 hours with George, I can comfortably drive around town. George is very good at explaining what you are doing wrong. He knows if you are holding the clutch or using too much gas just by how the car sounds and feels. I found George's lessons very helpful and would recommend it to anyone new to manual transmission.