Westside Driving School

"If you want to learn driving, ask Elliot to be your instructor! I have tried to learn driving on and off for a while and also tried some other driving schools in Portland area, but never felt right. It was only until I started practicing with Elliot weekly that I started to pick up the momentum and be comfortable with driving. I got my license after 6 lessons driving with Elliot. But the most important thing is that I now feel a lot more comfortable in driving than ever before. Elliot is an experienced driving instructor and has deep insights on what you need to master driving. Elliot makes driving very concrete. He has different color tags in the car, and has various little concrete techniques for me to understand lane positions, lane changes etc. Those were crucial for me to get started and overcome my fear. Over time, I no longer think about those tags much anymore, but it was absolutely useful at the beginning. Elliot is very calm. I am always pretty nervous about driving on the highway because of the speed. Elliot gives me confidence and reassures me that I am ready and I don’t need to worry. With his help, I have gotten more comfortable driving on high way. I will continue to practice with Elliot despite that I have gotten my license. It is such a good experience and I think I can always improve more. I highly recommend Elliot to you too!"

"Okay, I said I would write this review many moons ago and never got around to it but think about it at least twice a week so here goes nothing. I received lessons from Elliot in late 2021 and early 2022. I received my license in high school, however, never had my own vehicle and then lived in very walkable cities so driving wasn’t ever a necessity. Fast forward to a decade later, I was not very comfortable driving so I reached out to Westside Driving School after not being satisfied with another driving school in the area. I was scheduled with Elliot who is very calm, knowledgeable, and encouraging – the exact kind of person you want teaching you the rules of the road. I found the driving instruction so incredibly helpful and structured which I prefer. I don’t believe the instruction changes for licensed drivers vs. individuals practicing so you start from the bottom and build on that. If I excelled in some aspect, we’d move on to the next, so I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time on something I already had a handle on. After my first package of lessons concluded, I bought one more. I really attribute this to Elliot being a fantastic teacher who really taught me a lot and built up my confidence on the road. After each lesson we reviewed what I did well and what needed work. I also got notes emailed to me outlining what we practiced, tips and videos on certain maneuvers, etc. I really couldn’t recommend Elliot enough!"

"I found Jen to be extremely unprofessional and concerned with numbers rather than quality. She withheld my sons certificate for 3 weeks after him passing the class. She said was incapable of completing the certificates the week of passing, because she scheduled a vacation. She made him feel extremely uncomfortable during the drives. She is clearly incapable of handling as many students as she had during this session to which she admitted to via email. Don’t waste your money with this school. It’s not worth the hassle and time or wait"

"ZERO STARS DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY!! I had a horrible experience with Jen L, at Westside driving school. She was very unprofessional and unfriendly like. Driving teachers should be respectful and patient right?? Wrong, not here! When I had my lesson with Jen she treated me like a child. Every five seconds she would take the steering wheel abruptly, not telling me what she was doing. Having bad attitude towards me due to my mistakes I made. SHE literally called my driving sloppy when I was trying to LEARN! She knew I didn’t have lots of experience but she continued using rude words towards my driving skills. The whole lesson was a disaster and the outcome was very discouraging and a waste of time. I didn’t learn anything from her. She rushed though the whole lesson, not having time for me to fix my mistakes or redo them. Very disappointed in this company. Jen has no fit as a driving teacher. I highly recommend using another driving school. Don’t waste any more of your time!."

"I had Jen as an instructor and it was the worst experience. Instead of helping me find solutions she scolded me for every mistake that I did. She wasn’t helpful and she made my driving experience terrible. I had a couple lessons from her and I dreaded each one. She’ll talk to me as if I was a child and was very demeaning. If I didn’t get something instead of sitting down and explaining it to me , she’ll bash me for it. I’m not sure who I can talk to file a complaint. But she’s not fit to instruct new drivers and I wouldn’t wish my experience on any new drivers. Very sad that I wasted my money to want to better my driving experience and I didn’t learn not one thing. Besides her making me feel bad about what I don’t know which was the sole reason why I went to driving school in the first place.. if you’re a new driver please go to someone other than her.. Check out my review on yelp where I attached proof that I actually taken the course with Jen. Everything in this review is the truth of my experience with Westside driving school with the instructor/owner Jennifer Lingenfelter."