So you’ve found your dream car, and now comes the hard part: paying for it. Most people don’t have the means to pay cash for a new car. That’s why there are alternatives for financing.

There are times in life when you want or need to spend more cash than you have on hand. You can borrow the money and pay it back a little at a time if you have reasonably good credit.

Despite the economic recovery, 56% of American consumers have subprime credit scores, according to a 2015 study by the Corporation for Enterprise Development — meaning they need to improve their credit in order to obtain loans and avoid high interest rates. For those who want to boost their scores in anticipation of a home or car purchase, or to bounce back after a bankruptcy, some lenders offer a specialty product called a credit-builder loan.