Devon Automatic

Fantastic experience: Highly recommend Mark for your driving lessons, took me from an anxious driver scared to do over 20mph, to passing first time! Spotted the gaps in my knowledge and tailored his lessons to to match my learning style - get yourself booked in, you won’t regret it

Fantastic experience: One of best instructor in Torquay help my wife to pass her test after multiple failures highly recommended thank you so much

Fantastic experience: Excellent Instructor, I found him after multiple fails and lessons with another instructor in Poole, moved to Torquay and passed the test in my first attempt in Newton Abbott under his instructions, he pinpoint my weaknesses and taught me patiently. Highly recommended.

Fantastic experience: Mark was my third instructor, I came to him very nervous and knowing basically nothing despite 50 hours with other instructors in the area. Mark knew what my problem was before he’d even actually seen me drive! Mark managed to completely transform not only my driving, but how I felt about it too. Today I went into my test, calm and reassured that it was a question of when I’d pass rather than if, and i passed with three minors first time today! Mark was definitely the best instructor I’ve had, very professional, patient and easy to get along with. He’s also very good at teaching anxious drivers. Really glad I managed to find him and would definitely recommend him, especially to those who are close to giving up!

Fantastic experience: Before I came to Mark, I had gone through four instructors and failed my test twice. Mark is brilliant. During my intensive course, he spotted the gaps in my understanding and helped me to overcome them - I’d never been taught properly before I came to Mark. I passed my test on my first attempt with Mark as my instructor! Would definitely recommend Devon Automatic.

Fantastic experience: Mark has the patience of a saint, I am someone who has been learning to drive for many years and have never been ready to take a test. But after just a couple of lesson blocks with him I was able to pass second time around. Mark is firm and great at putting the pressure on but also fantastic at rewording and explaining things again in new ways to help you completely understand what to do, and is great at reassuring those who are anxious or neurodivergent. Would recommend him to anyone.

Fantastic experience: Mark as an instructor was super helpful, he did pushed me far as a driver within my intensive course but this helped me to really lock in. His different methods of explaining bits was super ideal for me and the lessons before my intensive were always successful. I passed first try with 3 faults. If you're unsure of things he's always happy to advise or see things from your perspective.

Negative experience: I had a very disappointing experience with Mark as my driving instructor. A serious fault during my recent driving test was caused by his guidance. Mark repeatedly told me to ignore a temporary 20 mph sign due to construction work, which I followed during the test and led to a serious fault. He didn’t acknowledge this mistake afterward, showing a lack of accountability. I paid £112 for his car on the test, along with numerous lesson payments, expecting professionalism, but his impatient, emotionally draining teaching style made learning stressful. There were unprofessional incidents, such as poking my leg with a tablet pen to demonstrate how to press the accelerator / brakes which felt weird and unnecessary. On a few occasions, Mark became frustrated over minor issues, such as me forgetting to mention a drop-off location early enough in my lessons. Despite apologising, he made the experience unnecessarily stressful. He also complained when I asked to be dropped off in town, citing his next student as being closer to my house, which added more pressure. During one lesson, Mark pushed me to the point where I ended up crying out of anger and struggling to breathe, yet I was still forced to drive home in that state. No instructor should make a student feel this way. I contacted Mark after the test to discuss my concerns and gave him three days to respond, but he is yet to reply. His lack of professionalism and failure to take accountability has left me with no choice but to write this review. I cannot recommend Mark to anyone. I strongly encourage learners to find an instructor who is patient, supportive, and accountable.

Fantastic experience: Very good instructor, got me to pass first time!

Fantastic experience: Mark is a super great instructor. I am completely new to driving but after 20 hours learning with him I feel much more confident and passed the test. He is very patient in explaining. He has lots of interesting and useful examples and metaphors that help me understand driving. He help me correct my mistakes carefully. I passed the test today all thanks to him. I highly recommend him to any new learner. You will be surprised by what you can learn from Mark.

Fantastic experience: Highly recommend Mark for any automatic lessons around Exeter. He managed to get me to pass within a week of driving on Exeter roads. Had previous driving instructor but Mark was levels above, tackling core issues of my driving. Mark is a great guy too so highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: Excellent instructor,, straight away found what I needed to improve and I'm very pleased on how much better I got driving safely that got me to a point that I pass my test with 2 minors, highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: Mark is an expert. After working with him I have massive respect for his knowledge of driving and also as a teacher. If you are looking for someone who is direct, no nonsense and one of the best in the business, the Mark is your instructor.

Fantastic experience: Mark is an excellent driving instructor, I passed with 2 minors on my first attempt and I owe all of it to Mark. He was able to recognise my bad habits in an instant and was able to get me out of those swiftly. I managed to pass and it was with ease as i felt comfortable with everything thanks to mark!

Fantastic experience: Mark was a fantastic teacher! Calm and explains each step clearly. Really grateful for his support and guidance.

Fantastic experience: Difficult to recommend Mark too highly! A consummate professional, the depth of whose knowledge and experience is obvious from the beginning. His calm and reassuring presence definitely made the greatest difference to my own driving, as an happy result of which I passed my test. I'm particularly grateful for the keen insight Mark brings to the psychological side of learning to drive: both more important, and harder to sort out, than the mechanical skills. Thanks, Mark!

Fantastic experience: Mark gave me his full attention over 2 weeks of intensive course. Very professional helped me every step of the way and couldn't of passed my test first time without him. Highly recommend

Fantastic experience: I am a foreign national, and when I moved to England I realised that driving here is not the same like other countries. I failed 4 times without a professional training, before I came across Devon Automatic. Mark is a wonderful,patient ,highly experienced driving instructor with 30 years of experience. He helped me get the passing certificate. I believe the whole process can be quiet daunting. I would recommend Devon Automatic and Mark to everyone who is interested on driving automatic cars and wanting to get a Hassel free full driving license.

Fantastic experience: A massive thank you to Mark for his guidance throughout my driving lessons. Mark's patience with explaining driving techniques and maneuvers made all the difference. I passed my test with only 5 minors!

Fantastic experience: A massive thank you to Mark for his outstanding guidance throughout my driving lessons. Mark's patience and clarity in explaining driving techniques and maneuvers made all the difference. His ability to ease my nerves and provide targeted feedback was invaluable. I passed my test today with only 4 minors, all thanks to Mark's excellent coaching. I highly recommend Mark to anyone looking to learn to drive. Thank you, Mark!

Fantastic experience: I had an excellent experience learning to drive with Mark as my instructor. He is incredibly patient and explain things clearly using many analogies, which made understanding complex concepts so much easier. Thanks to Mark's guidance, I passed my driving test on the fifth day with only one minor fault. I am so grateful for his support and highly recommend everyone to learn driving with him. Thank you, Mark!

Fantastic experience: Massive shout out to Mark, he’s the BEST driving instructor. Super patient, and excellent at explaining situations and manoeuvres. I was feeling very anxious to learn to drive, but Mark always put me at ease and really understood where I was going right and where I was going wrong. Thanks Mark!

Fantastic experience: A big thank you to Mark for a fantastic 8 days of instruction. I had never driven a car before and I can’t believe i have passed in 8 days with absolutely no faults. I would highly recommend Mark for anyone who wants to pass a driving test confidently

Negative experience: Booked a lesson, didn't show up or offer to rebook, Tried to justify his bad service and blame me, even though I have contradictory evidence in text. Needs better communication and professionalism

Fantastic experience: I would just like to say a massive thank you to Mark for all of his help. Mark has helped me to pass the test . He does an excellent job of explaining different concepts and making you practise them effectively. Is an incredibly excellent moment to learn from him.

Fantastic experience: I’d like to thank mark so much for his time and patience he had with me for the week course I had! He helped me so much he was extremely patient with me and helped me with everything I was struggling with to help get me focused on my mistakes! Thankyou again Mark! I would deffo recommend mark! xx

Positive experience: I booked an intensive driving course with Mark, originally for February 2024 but after passing my theory test in August 2023, Mark went above and beyond to squeeze me in in December, I completed a 30hr driving course and to say the least it was quite the journey, I was a very anxious driver, but Mark helped me over come it and managed to pass first time with only 5 minors. He was very good at explaining things differently, he’s very honest and truthful and his analogy’s and metaphors really made me giggle thank you mark for helping me pass! Definitely recommend

Fantastic experience: I recently completed an intensive course with Mark in Newton Abbot - he was able to spot issues which I had been struggling with for a long time and helped me to understand them within a very short amount of time of being in the car. He is an incredible instructor, great communicator and his knowledge is second to none. He also has great analogies which helps explain how you are performing or how you respond to situations when driving. Within the short amount of time we did the course together, the standard of my driving from beginning to end was night and day. I would wholeheartedly recommend a course with Mark.

Fantastic experience: Highly highly recommend! I passed first time in Exeter and couldn’t ask for a better instructor. Super patient with me, great communicator and incredibly supportive. Can’t sing his praises highly enough! Thank you for everything!

Fantastic experience: Mark is an incredible teacher. Calm, patient and will make you feel as ease very quickly. I turned up to my first lesson with Mark completely terrified and by the end of the lesson I felt a lot more comfortable in being able to learn to drive. And eventually passing my test. I managed to to pass first time, and I know this is down to Marks experience in teaching and approach to his students. Would highly recommend!!

Fantastic experience: I passed first time with Mark! I had found him through the many good reviews. Mark was the second instructor I had, after having a bad experience with a different instructor. Mark is super professional and adapted his teaching style to suit me. He was always very patient and knowledgeable. I couldn’t recommend him anymore ! 10/10

Fantastic experience: Thank you so much for everything first time pass ☺️☺️

Fantastic experience: Like a lot of the comments below I'd been through a few different instructors before I got to Mark and he was head and shoulders above everyone else. I wasn't a natural but Mark managed to identify very quickly what I was struggling with and how best to work with me on things where others either hadn't spotted the root cause of faults or been able to understand/communicate how best to work through them. Thoroughly recommended.

Positive experience: Mark was my 4th instructor and I had been told by others that I would “never learn” and was “impossible to teach”, but he was very patient and took time to figure out how I learnt and adapted his teaching style to fit. Really helpful and I’ve now passed!

Fantastic experience: After multiple driving instructors and failed tests over the years I started a 1-week 30 hour intensive course with Mark and passed my test first time with only 3 minors!. Mark did an amazing job at building my confidence back up and he was able to identify issues previous instructors had missed. I highly recommend Mark if you are looking for an intensive driving course, I have already recommended him to a friend myself!

Fantastic experience: Mark was great at explaining what I was doing wrong, and helped me pass with just 3 minors :)

Fantastic experience: I came to Mark a very nervous driver with little confidence in my ability. After 40 hrs of intensive driving I passed first time! He is incredibly patient and easy to understand. He is calm, encouraging and develops a great driver-student relationship. I would recommend him to anyone looking to pass their driving test and, more importantly, learn how to drive safely and independently! Thank you Mark!

Fantastic experience: Passed first time with Mark! Very pleased. Mark is good at explaining different concepts. He could always quickly point out what's wrong with my driving and ways that I could improve.

Fantastic experience: I came to mark having failed several tests in previous years and just…Gave up. 6years on I decided to start from scratch and forget all past failures. Mark quickly established what type of learner I was and managed to find a way to get through to me. He was very good at telling you how it is. Which is sometimes needed all the whilst him Clearly having my best interest at the forefront. Also Allowing flexibility and an understanding that we are all working people with lives. 14 weeks later I’ve passed first time. First class instructor, Top class bloke. Would send anyone his way. Cheers Mark!

Fantastic experience: I would just like to say a massive thank you to Mark for all of his help. Six months ago after trying Manual I was on the verge of stopping to learn as I didn’t think I was ever going to get it. I started with Mark who has been so patient with me and helped me through my anxieties, and I have just passed my test first time. I can’t thank him enough, I don’t think I would have ever got here without all of his help.

Fantastic experience: Mark was the 6th instructor I've had and he was the only one to pick up on what I was actually struggling with. He's very patient, and I passed after a semi-intensive course that he was really flexible with organising. Would definitely recommend lessons with Mark