EASTERN Bay Motors will soon be under new ownership.

Following the death of Csaba Levai 18 months ago, his wife, Katie, has made the tough decision to sell the business as she considers her family’s future.

Mrs Levai said she was negotiating the sale of the business with an interested party.

While ownership will change, customers can expect the same quality service they have enjoyed in the past decade.

“The business will be sold with the current staff so you will still be able to engage the services of your trusted mechanic,” she said.

Mr Levai started working at Eastern Bay Motors in 2005 and in 2014, he and Mrs Levai, a qualified nurse, bought the company.

It was Mr Levai’s dream – which following his death in May 2023, became his legacy.

However, Mrs Levai has realised that no matter how hard she tries to fill his shoes, his passion for the business and his community, means his shoes are just too big.

So, she has endeavoured to find someone who will run the business to its full potential while she carves a different path for herself that allows her to spend more time with her sons, aged eight and 11.

She plans to get back into beauty therapy, practising to become a nail technician offering manicures, pedicures, dipping and gel polishes, doing mainly manicures and pedicures.

At Eastern Bay Motors, there was plans for some reorganisation.

“We may do some upgrades to the office area, so if you see the front door being shut it’s only temporary while we do some renovations.”

And the business will no longer be doing NZTA transactions such as road user charges and vehicle registrations. Mrs Levai said this was purely a financial decision.