Hauppauge-based GrooveCar is extending its footprint west by opening up an office of its CU Xpress Lease in the Los Angeles area with a partner, Fusion Auto Finance, a Dallas-based company.

The office for CU Xpress lease, located in Valencia, will provide dealer training, marketing and technology solutions for credit unions who want to help their members lease cars, GrooveCar stated. It will also include front-to-back servicing and safeguards against risk by guaranteeing lenders the full balloon value at the end of the lease, the company announced.

Fusion Auto Finance and GrooveCar first collaborated on offering CU Xpress Lease to the marketplace in 2006; it opened up its Valencia office this week. GrooveCar first started helping credit union members buy cars in 2000.

Although the office is in the LA area, GrooveCar anticipates getting more customers in Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona. California is also the country’s largest auto lease market, according to David Jacobson, the founder and president of GrooveCar.

He said imported cars are popular in California because they have a high resale value, making the rates for leasing them cheaper, a big factor in creating the strong leasing market on the west coast.