Drive Stick Shift — Local services in New York

Pre Purchase Inspections Anton will send you car options that fit your budget and parameters. Anton has purchased many cars for himself, and the expertise shows. He has also done mechanical work on all of his vehicles. He was able to tell me if a car was worth seeing just by the listing and the language used by the seller. He even rejected a car I was considering because he felt it would be a waste of my time and money, and I am glad he did that!

I have had 2 PPI’s done with Anton. In my case, I sent him car listings (Mazdaspeed 3) and we set up a time to view the car. The cars I viewed were listed by private sellers, not dealerships. Anton will research your car prior to inspection!!

I picked Anton up, we drove to the car’s destination, and he performed his inspection. Anton jacks the car up and goes underneath to inspect for leaks, rust, modifications, and more. He will also check on fluids and any signs of neglect from the previous owner(s). After his inspection of the undercarriage and hood, we took the car on a test drive. Anton knows his vehicles well and can understand any pending issues while driving the car. He will bring the car through all the gears to test for slippage. He checks for steering, braking, shift feel, the whole 9 yards. In both instances, the drivers allowed me to speak with Anton privately during the test drive. The first Mazdaspeed 3 I saw was burning oil, had a smokey turbo, and a wobbly side axle. All stuff I would not have known had it not been for Anton. He informed me the car was over priced, and was not going to last long. The money I spent on Anton saved me a big headache.

For my second Speed3, things went a lot smoother. After the inspection process and the Anton Approval, we discussed price. Anton is more than willing to speak to the pros and cons of the vehicle with the seller and possible replacements that are necessary. He is truly trying to save you money and even talked my car down $900 from the original list price. After my experience, I got a trustworthy car for a great price thanks to Anton. His service gave me a lot of peace of mind.

Anton is willing to help you after you’ve purchased your vehicle. Excellent customer service. You can tell he is passionate about teaching others to learn manuals and he loves cars. He turned me into a gearhead within 2 days of...

Update: Having spent several hours learning from Anton, and several months getting to a point where i could actually get a car, I started hunting. Wouldn't you know it, finding a car is a pita. After much hunting, i found a car in Poughkeepsie, which is quite far from where Anton teaches. Since i wasn't comfortable looking at the car on my own, I hired Anton to drive up there (he was kind enough to let me hitch a ride up there with him) and inspect the vehicle for me. He also checked the Carfax report and explained what the maintenance visits and mileage actually meant, which is a very nice service to offer for those of us who never really looked at those before. I ultimately went with a different car, one that Anton found for me, and sincerely wish i had hired him earlier as this was far more stressful than i had expected. Were i able to give more stars i would for this. My original review is below, i left that after my first lesson with him.

Drove with Anton for 3 hours, we chatted a lot about the mechanical theory and some of the physics involved. He's clearly very knowledgeable about cars in general and fairly enthusiastic about teaching others. I was driving decently after the first lesson, not going on any highways yet, but I will definitely...

I now successfully (subjective 😂) drive a manual daily thanks to two classes I took with Anton. He was extremely informative and patient, but assertive when necessary while I stalled for 10 times consecutively or struggled to touch off at a stop sign. Thanks to his help I got over the fear of driving manual and I purchased my first manual transmission car and have been daily driving it since. Hills were still intimidating prior to my second class but we practiced and learned hill start techniques (w/ and w/o hill-assist) during my second class and I no longer fear inclines or panic while rolling back. Overall I’d highly recommend you consider taking the 2 hour class with Anton if you have no prior experience with driving stick and are looking to get on the road. Don’t be like me though and get a manual car 6 days after your first class. Certainly take your time and trust in Anton to help you gain mechanical understanding, confidence, and skills necessary to get on the road like a REAL driver. I hate...