About Us

" Nobody ever regrets buying quality."

It is this philosophy which has enabled R N Byrne Ltd to enjoy an unparalleled reputation throughout the Eastern Bay.

Today with a sustained stockholding of around 90 cars, recreational 4 wheel drives, vans and utility vehicles, R N Byrne Ltd has something to cater for most people's needs. "If however, we don't have exactly what the customer wants," says Bob Byrne, "We can source it for them either through our contacts in NZ or our agents in Japan. Approximately 20% of our business is attained this way."

In the earlier years when Bob kicked off on his own, his young family saw very little of him. "I had to be away some nights and most weekends to buy stock,"says Bob," because there were only two of us to do the grooming, selling and paper work, I had to do the buying after hours. "It was nothing to shut the doors at 5 o'clock on a Wednesday say, drive through the night to pick up a car, get to bed at 2am, be up early to have the car cleaned to show Mrs McCorkindale, or whoever, at 9am."

These days of course stock is easier to acquire with advent of Japanese imports and the availability of new cars resulting in more trades, but one thing RN Byrne Ltd won't compromise is quality.

"We have never said we are the cheapest," says Bob, "but we have always endeavored to buy and sell a quality product at a fair price. Add to this our commitment to after sales service and we are intent and always have been in keeping our customers satisfied,"

With this in mind RN Byrne Ltd looked long and hard at all the warranty companies coming on the scene in the late 80's. "We linked up with Lumley Services (NZ) Ltd in 1990, " says Bob, "Because they, like us, had an excellent reputation and background, we have never had reason to regret the decision."

The original showroom was in The Strand, (the Hannah's building which Bob still owns) and the current site was purchased in 1973. The two sites were operating until 1984 when the right decision was made to consolidate the whole business in Commerce Street. In 1997 the yard doubled in size when the property adjoining was bought, the house on it sold and the extra yard space was created.

Having the right staff and looking after them has always been a priority for RN Byrne Ltd. Bob's two sons, Perry and Tony have all worked for the company since 1973 and our company secretary Kay Swanson has been with the company since 1972. Mark Allen, started here in 1999.

RN Byrne Ltd is a very community minded company, regularly supporting school teams, community organisations and local sporting clubs through sponsorship. Bob himself was on the Whakatane District Council for 18 years, nine of which he was Deputy Mayor and three as Mayor before retiring from local government. Bob was awarded an MBE in 1988 for his efforts and leadership shown during the 1987 Bay of Plenty earthquake and was also honored with rotary international's highest award -Paul Harris Fellow. He is a life member of the Whakatane Golf Club, an honour conferred for his services to the sport of Golf.

Whakatane is a great place to live and with a strong family involvement RN Byrne Ltd will be part of the Eastern Bay for a long time to come.